In the final game at Engel Field, before the historic football field is torn up and replaced and improved, the 2022 varsity Cougars made sure it was a memorable one.
Riding a nine-game winning streak, Escalon made it 10 in a row, closing out a state championship season with a 28-7 win over the Northwood Timberwolves of Irvine.
“This one is different than the last one,” admitted head coach Andrew Beam, who has won his second state title, also guiding the Cougars to a championship in 2019.
With no playoffs in the COVID year of 2020, this is Escalon’s second state title in three years.
“I have been using the word hard; that this one was hard,” Beam said honestly. “There were a ton of ups and downs, a ton of challenges … ten weeks ago after we lost our second game in a row, I said that, in all reality, I don’t know how to save this. We as coaches were almost at a loss, how do we salvage this, how do we convince the kids we can salvage this.”
The Cougars played a tough preseason campaign and emerged with a 3-1 record. Coming off that run, Beam said the team – and coaches – firmly believed the squad was in the running for the Trans-Valley League title … and more.
The script didn’t work out that way, as Escalon lost its first two league games, to Hughson and Hilmar. And even though the team saw its chance for a league title slip away, Beam said there was more to consider.
“Our goal of being a champ was still there, there was a bigger picture to chase, that’s what we focused on,” he said.
It also was a time for the coaches to reevaluate their approach and Beam said the team persevered through its growing pains.
“As in any family situation, there are good times and there are learning experiences; this team took a little bit of time to gel,” said Beam. “We had to come together as a team better, be better teammates, with each other.”
It was also after those two losses that the team found a way to flip the switch; they took a win at Ripon in their next game and never looked back.
“Some of our leaders were carrying themselves better, there were some personality adjustments, some maturation development amongst a lot of the guys in this group,” Beam explained. “There had to be; there was a sense of urgency, now or never, and coming out of the locker room at Ripon, the switch flipped.”
The championship game itself on Dec. 10 saw Escalon take a 7-0 lead, Northwood tied it at 7-7 by halftime. The Cougars, however, stepped up with a major push by the offensive line in the second half and outscored Northwood 21-0 over the third and fourth quarters, taking the victory and the state title.
“It still is hard to fathom, I keep reflecting on this group … this was a challenge,” Beam said. “That’s why the feeling right now is so satisfying; because of the hard work that it took.”
Rain and wind, which turned the game into a sloppy mess, was no deterrent to a large and loud Escalon crowd, which cheered the Cougars on and was rewarded by being able to share in celebrating the state title.
“We are fortunate not because we have some really good talent but because of the amount of support we have, from our loved ones, the family members of all of these boys, the community, educators, teachers, administrators, this group is so supported and that’s immeasurable, its influence on our success,” said Beam, adding that the support from the stands was key as well. “You could hear that crowd; you could feel it.”
Carrying the ball 17 times on a 19-play scoring drive, Ryker Peters said the support made the difference.
“The fans, my teammates, all of them coming out to say we need this, we need this, come on, we need you right here, right now and I was just like, all right, leave it all out there,” he said of the drive that resulted in a touchdown and a 21-7 lead with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.
And a few plays later, teammate Owen Nash returned an interception for a touchdown, which is when Peters said he knew the Cougars would capture that coveted State Championship.
“As soon as Mr. Owen Nash pulled that pick six, I was like “Yes” – best feeling in the world,” Peters said. “We finished the job. We finished the job, on Engel Field, last time touching this big old green grass; best feeling in the world.”
Nash couldn’t agree more with the assessment by Peters.
“So far, it’s at the top right now,” Nash said of the feeling of bringing another state championship to Cougar Country.
A team captain, Nash said it was a collective effort for the team to battle back from 3-3 to end up at 13-3.
“We were backed into a corner and this is what champions are made of, how you overcome adversity,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of my team … everybody, they played their hearts out.”
Junior Jamin Miller had a fumble recovery to set up the first score of the night for his team and said while Escalon has a tradition of winning, each year is different.
“We had to work hard for it … it’s just a really surreal moment,” he said. “I take it game by game; we have our end goal, a big picture, but it takes week by week, brick by brick to complete the goal that we had for the end of the season.”
Jacob Rauch said it was satisfying to see all the hard work of the team pay off.
“Definitely feels great, it’s obviously something not a lot of teams get to do,” Rauch said of celebrating the state title. “When we were sitting at 3-3, I don’t think anyone thought we would be here. We had doubters … but as a team, we know each other, we knew we would be able to persevere and that’s exactly what we did.”
Senior Tate Christensen was among the offensive linemen that helped push the Timberwolves back in the second half and get the Cougars into the smashmouth style that has been so successful in years past. He also said the faith and support from coach Beam was crucial for the team as they progressed through the season.
“Coming off a loss like Hughson, we came back to practice, we were a little flat and you know, Beam was there to pick us all up,” Christensen noted. “He never lost faith in us, so we thought there’s no point in losing faith in ourselves.”
Junior quarterback Donovan Rozevink said the conditions made it tough, especially since the rain and wet field basically took away their passing game.
“We knew it was going to rain pretty bad … we kind of had a game plan that we wouldn’t be able to throw the football since it was going to get all heavy and slippery,” Rozevink said. “We still had a plan; just feed the ball to Ryker Peters and our running backs, let them do what they do and let our offensive line beat up on them (Northwood). We’re the only ones who really thought and believed that we were going to get this far in the season; we came up short last year and didn’t get to the state game but it feels great to get to it this year. I still can’t comprehend that we’re state champions.”
Logan Anderson, a team captain, said it took everything the Cougars had to get the state title, including finding a way to grow up during the season.
“This team, I wouldn’t say we’re the most mature, the smartest, but I can tell you we are family and we have each other’s backs no matter what,” Anderson explained. “That’s what we proved tonight, that second half we came in with a tie ball game, our O-line stepped it up and won us this game and it was amazing.”
There also was a sense of pride in knowing that the end goal was reached.
“It just feels like the job is done now,” added Anderson. “We won the games we won, we went with ‘the job’s not finished’ and now, the job’s finally finished.”
Escalon has played 30 games in the past two years, with this year being the first time they played 16 games in a season.
For the title game, sandwiched in between what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Greg Largent, longtime Escalon Unified School District teacher, coach and PA announcer for Cougar football games and Andrew Beam’s 35th birthday, the head coach said it definitely was bittersweet. Largent passed away in September after being hospitalized following a massive heart attack; his son Steve Largent has taken over in the booth and called the Cougar homes games this season. Steve also wished his father a happy birthday from the booth on Saturday night during the game and the crowd gave a long ovation in Greg Largent’s memory.
The Cougars had a ‘GL’ patch on their helmets for the state championship game.
“It was the right way, it was the perfect cap to a challenging season,” Beam said. “With the losses that we had on the field and off the field – I know that Mr. Largent would be extremely happy and proud of the way the coaches, these boys, this community has responded. He is forever in our thoughts and it was nice to see that ‘GL’ patch on the helmets for that final game.”
