“You always get nervous about Homecoming,” admitted varsity football head coach Andrew Beam.

But this season, all the distractions that came along with the week turned out to be a good thing.

It provided some much-needed positive energy for the team, coming off a 28-0 thrashing by non-league opponent Woodland Christian on Oct. 10.

“I think those distractions in a way were good,” Beam said of the dress up days, the rally on Thursday, the downtown Homecoming parade on Friday. “It got our minds off the previous week.”

It also fired up the varsity squad, as Ripon Christian came in riding a wave of confidence after defeating Ripon on Oct. 11.

“There was so much school spirit on campus and everything went off as smoothly as you could hope,” Beam said of the week, right down to the solid performance by the varsity squad in the must-win Trans-Valley League contest.

Escalon won the toss and opted to receive; it didn’t take long for the Cougars to make a statement. Ben Gonzalez returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for the score; the point after kick was good by Ricardo Felix for a 7-0 Escalon lead just 13 seconds into the game.

That set the tone early; Escalon converted on two more drives in the second quarter and added the two-point conversion each time, building up at 23-0 lead. Ripon Christian was able to get a late second quarter score, cutting the lead to 23-6 at the half.

In the second quarter for Escalon, it was Carson Medina getting in on a one-yard run and also getting the two-point conversion, then Medina caught a five-yard pass from Logan Huebner for the touchdown, with Chase Cummings pulling down the pass for the two-point conversion.

“It was a real shot in the arm to have Logan back at quarterback,” Beam said of getting the starter back after he went out in the league opener against Sonora with an injury. “Donovan (Martinez) did a great job filling for him.”

Senior captain Medina also had the best game of his high school career, making a difference on both sides of the ball.

Leading 23-6 at the half, the Cougars kept up the pressure in the second half and Ryan Lewis got into the end zone in the third quarter on a 47-yard catch and run play, the pass by Huebner. The two-point conversion was denied but Escalon increased the lead to 29-6. The teams traded scores, 14-14, in the fourth quarter but by the time the horn sounded, it was a decisive 43-20 victory for the home team, putting an exclamation point on the successful Homecoming Week.

Carter Yates, a freshman brought up from the JV team to fill in for injured fellow freshman Dylan Ball, made the most of his opportunity, with an eight-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Medina also had a fourth quarter score, on a 47-yard interception return. Ricardo Felix put the extra point through on both the fourth quarter scores.

“Ripon Christian really felt like they were going to come in and handle us, they were very confident, very cocky; but our boys were ready,” Beam said. “This one was a little more personal; a lot of these (RC) kids are from Escalon. I’m sick and tired of seeing the RC bus at the Escalon auction yard a half-mile from my house.”

The players had also heard – and joined in – the chatter throughout the week, with RC boasting about taking down the traditional TVL powerhouse Cougars, battling their way through an injury-riddled season.

“This was a long time coming,” Beam added of the satisfying victory over the Knights.

With the crowning of Lisa Murga as the Homecoming Queen at halftime and a “new fireworks show” to herald the team’s arrival on the field prior to the coin toss, Beam said it all worked out well.

“I think we played more physical and our offensive line pushed the entire night,” said Beam. “Everyone got into the game and everyone contributed.”

Senior captain Ryan Murphy played with an edge, something Beam said the Cougars have been looking for from him. He was able to lead the charge on the O-line, which provided for some big gains for the ground game.

Carson Medina had 14 carries for 83 yards; he had a rushing touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and had a two-point conversion, along with the interception return for a score. Carter Yates had eight carries for 55 yards and one catch for eight yards and a touchdown. Logan Huebner was 8-for-12 passing for 91 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Dom Arauza and Luca Cerasi both had outstanding games, said Beam, Arauza with five tackles and Cerasi with six, while Marcos Valencia added five tackles and Daniel Marrufo had a strip forced fumble and recovered the ball.

Escalon improved to 3-5 on the season with the win and look to keep the momentum going as they head into Ripon for a crucial contest on Oct. 25.

“Ripon is playing rejuvenated,” Beam said, as they defeated Sonora in league play on Oct. 18. “This is a rivalry game so you can throw the records out, even though we both are 3-5. Last year we kind of broke the curse and we won there; but there will be a little more animosity in this game, we just have to take it one week at a time.”

JV

Limited scoring in Friday night’s game saw the host Escalon JV boys fall to visiting Ripon Christian by a 6-0 final.

“A very disappointing loss, in incredible fashion,” said head coach Brant Rose.

The only scoring of the game by either team came in the first quarter, when Ripon Christian recovered a fumble and returned it 60 yards for the touchdown. The point after attempt was no good, but the JV Knights had a 6-0 lead early, and that ended up being the final score.

“We were moving the ball well on that opening drive prior to the fumble, and after that the heavy pressure RC continued to bring defensively simply stifled us,” Rose said. “We always had poor field position, and that also added to our offensive difficulty.”

Rose credited the JV Cougar defense, noting they dominated the entire game and never gave up a score.

“We recovered a fumble the one time RC entered the red zone,” added Rose. “Other than that, we really limited their offense for all four quarters. Unfortunately, that effort wasn’t enough to overcome our offensive struggles.”

The boys head to nearby Ripon for a TVL clash on Friday, Oct. 25.

The freshmen had a bye this past week and will host Ripon at Engel Field on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.