Now, it gets real.

With a first-round victory under their belts, Escalon’s varsity football Cougars take on the daunting task of battling Placer in the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs.

“They are one of the best teams in the division; all season they had been looked at as the number two seed and somehow they got bumped to the number four seed,” Escalon head coach Andrew Beam said. “Placer feels pretty slighted.”

The Cougars, getting the number five seed in the division, defeated number 12 Fairfield by a 30-7 decision on Nov. 8. That game was at home for Escalon; this week, they head to Auburn for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the host Hillmen.

Tickets are available through GoFan only, Placer High School is at 275 Orange St., Auburn.

And with the host team feeling slighted by their number four seed, they will be eager to show they should be ranked higher; their goal is to do that by soundly defeating the number five Cougars.

“We’re looking forward to a great challenge,” Beam said. “I have a lot of respect for their coaches, their program; they are kind of a hybrid between us and Oakdale and they run all different versions of the Wing T.”

They also have a squad that boasts plenty of experience with 21 of the 22 spots on the offense and defense filled by seniors.

The two teams have also met before.

“It was in 2012; Placer was the number one seed and we were the number eight,” Beam explained. “We beat them 27-26 on a Thomas Diniz walk off field goal.”

It’s not likely Placer coaches or fans have forgotten that, even if the players of today were only in preschool or kindergarten back then.

For the Escalon players, excited to be moving on after the win over Fairfield, they are keeping the game in perspective and focusing on what they need to do.

“The most important thing is we gave it our all and I’m proud of us and I want us to keep going,” said Nathan Belletto, winner of the Ball-Out Belt for his outstanding defense on Friday night against the Falcons. He anticipates a determined and cohesive Cougar team to take the field at Placer.

Running back Ben Gonzalez was pleased with the Nov. 8 win, a team effort against Fairfield.

“Our O-line blocked their butts off … our defense did a great job,” he said. “We’ve just got to prepare for Placer; they’re a really run heavy team, just like us, the Wing T offense so we’ve just got to prepare for that.”

Freshman Dylan Ball was back in the line up after a few weeks’ absence due to injury and scored a touchdown.

“It felt amazing; I was tired of just watching so it felt nice to be able to run, to actually be out there with the team and to contribute,” Ball said.

Fellow freshman Carter Yates also got into the end zone on Friday and said that was satisfying but he knows there’s more work to be done.

“Their tackling wasn’t that good, I just had to run hard,” Yates said of scoring against the Falcons. “I’m nervous in the beginning but the nerves get out after that first run.”

David Ingles said there are pieces that are falling into place at the right time.

“I love how our DBs (defensive backs) have been playing, I think they kind of struggled earlier in the season but they overcame a lot of adversity and it’s something to admire about them,” Ingles said. “I also think the D-line has been doing pretty good and I’m happy with my team all around.”

He said they will also prepare and be ready to go when the game begins on Friday night.

“With the Wing T that we’re facing, it’s just like Oakdale’s,” Ingles noted. “We’re going to have to be tough and do what we always do, which is put our nose to the grindstone.”

On defense, Alex Jones had an interception against the Falcons, tipping the ball off his fingers and then pulling it in.

“It was high, I had to jump for it but that was definitely amazing, that was fun,” Jones said of the pick, smiling. “We’re excited for next week; it’s going to be a tough challenge. But we’re up for that, always.”

While he doesn’t see a lot of playing time on the field, senior Josue Ruiz said it does take everyone on the team to get the wins.

“I’m so happy that we have found our meaning and that we can go forward and build on it,” he said. “We really need to step up our game in practice and I believe that if we give 110 percent in practice, we will give 110 percent during the game. I take it with pride and I try to get all the young guys to take it with pride that not all of us go in the game but, at the end of the day, it takes all 52 of us to go and win that game, every Friday.”

Ironically, the win over Fairfield put Escalon at 6-5 overall; the first time this season they have been above the .500 mark and they are riding a three-game winning streak.

“We’ve got a chance,” Beam said. “But we’ve got to be very, very sound on defense and offensively, we’ll have to play error free football.”

Some might consider it a mismatch, but the coach said he’s found that the Cougars welcome the challenge.

“We enjoy and we thrive on playing these teams and big match-ups,” Beam said. “This is the right time to win four in a row … hopefully we can continue the trend.”