Firing on all cylinders – and never letting up – Escalon’s varsity football team rolled past host Hilmar on Friday night, Sept. 27, by a final score of 42-17.

The lopsided contest was a surprise to many, as Escalon has struggled in the early going, but head coach Andrew Beam said it was a game in which his squad finally found some rhythm on offense and used multiple weapons to keep Hilmar on its heels.

Escalon scored a touchdown in the first quarter, two in the second and three more in the third while limiting Hilmar to a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter, and one touchdown in the third quarter. The Cougars held a 21-10 lead at the half and tacked on 21 more points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Jeremy Grivette scored the first touchdown of the night on a one-yard plunge.

“He had seven straight carries to close out the first quarter,” noted Beam, including the touchdown.

The snap was bad on the point after attempt but Escalon had the 6-0 lead.

Second quarter scores for the Cougars came on a Carson Medina nine-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion from quarterback Donovan Martinez to Ryan Lewis; then Lewis had a 20-yard touchdown catch with the point after kick good by Ricardo Felix.

It was the Dom Arauza show in the third quarter, as he pulled in passes of 62 and 11 yards from Martinez for touchdowns. Chase Cummings caught a 24-yard pass from Martinez to close out the Escalon scoring.

“Defensively, we were forcing turnovers; we forced four fumbles and recovered three of them,” Beam said.

The defense provided a smooth transition for the offense, which was efficient throughout the night. Daniel Marrufo, Ben Ferreira and Ryan Lewis each had a fumble recovery.

The game was also the second battle for the Vaca Bowl trophy, a cup that Escalon won last year in the inaugural season and one they wanted to keep.

“We’ve played a really tough schedule and we knew it was going to pay off,” Beam said. “What better night to do it than to be on the road, playing your rival, a 3-1 (overall) Hilmar team … the kids played with more enthusiasm, more excitement.”

They also kept Hilmar standout Caden Bailey under control, limiting his overall impact in the contest.

Defensively, Lewis had eight tackles, including two for loss while David Ingles had five tackles.

“Preston Berhorst, in his first varsity start, forced a fumble and played very well,” Beam said. “Offensively, Dom Arauza had three catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns, made some really nice plays. Lewis had seven catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Grivette had 15 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown.”

Junior quarterback Martinez rushed for a first down on a fourth and four to kickstart the offense early, and completed 12-of-17 passes on the night for 192 yards and four touchdowns.

“The offensive line finally got it together and blocked really well; this was our most complete game,” Beam explained. “It was just a good night overall and our second offense did really well.”

Now 1-1 in league, Escalon has another tough task ahead, as they will go on the road to face Hughson on Oct. 4. The Huskies are currently 5-0 overall.

“This is a more old school, we don’t like each other, rivalry,” Beam said.

The varsity game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

JV

Getting into the end zone just one time on Friday night, the JV Cougars fell to host Hilmar by a 17-7 final in the Trans-Valley League contest.

In the first quarter, Hilmar scored on a five-yard run and added the point after to go up 7-0. A 10-yard rush, kick good, made it 14-0 Hilmar at the half.

Escalon found the end zone in the third quarter, as Curtis Thomas went in on a two-yard rushing play and Carson Criteser added the extra point. That trimmed the lead to 14-7, but Hilmar was able to convert on a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, taking the win by a 17-7 final.

“Although this was another tough loss against a good team, our coaching staff is happy with how our players competed for the entire game,” said head coach Brant Rose. “We had to manage through several injuries to key players endured during the previous game and during the game against Hilmar.”

The coach said they were encouraged to see multiple reserve players, notably Houston Sizuela, Curtis Thomas and Ed Quiroz fill important roles.

“Hilmar will be a TVL title contender this season, and our outmanned team maintained striking distance until the very end,” Rose noted. “Hopefully that’s something our team can build on.”

Freshmen

It was a back-and-forth battle in Hilmar on Thursday night, with the Escalon freshmen ultimately taking a tough 27-26 loss.

Head coach Joey Costa said Escalon scored first, after a long drive was capped off with a touchdown run from Dylan Machado that put them up 6-0. The point after attempt failed due to a high snap. Hilmar answered back to make it 7-6 and then Hilmar scored again but missed the 2-point conversion, going up 13-6.

Just before half, Stratton McSorley hit DJ Bass for an Escalon touchdown and the kick by Juan Pablo Da Luna was good for the extra point to knot the score at 13-13.

Second half play saw Erin Vanderwerff return the kickoff for a touchdown – about a 70-yard play – but the extra point attempt failed, putting Escalon up 19-13. Another Hilmar score, extra point no good, tied it 19-19.

“We then went on a long drive that was capped off by a Val Garcia touchdown run to start the fourth quarter,” Costa said. The extra point was good, the frosh squad went up 26-19.

The teams then traded possessions before Hilmar went on a drive that included a big run and a couple of shorter plays that resulted in a touchdown; then the host team got the 2-point conversion for a 27-26 lead.

Though they had a chance late, Escalon couldn’t get the score they needed and ended up turning the ball over on downs, with Hilmar able to kneel out the clock.

“Overall, I was very proud of our efforts and we played hard on both sides of the ball,” Costa said. “We knew going into Hilmar’s home stadium for a TVL game would not be easy. I felt we had chances to put the game away but we just couldn’t finish and take advantage of those opportunities. I was very proud of the way we never quit but against good opponents, you can’t let these types of games slip away.”

The freshmen are 3-3 overall, 1-1 in league. They go on the road to Hughson on Thursday, Oct. 3.