Hilmar won the toss and deferred, but that was about the only thing that seemed to go according to plan for the Yellowjackets on Friday night, as Escalon used team speed, tough defense, a little bit of razzle dazzle and a whole lot of touchdowns to upend their league rival, 49-21.

The game went to a running clock to start the fourth quarter, as Escalon had built up a 49-14 lead, the 35-point differential automatically ushering in the running clock.

With the victory, the Cougars brought home the Vaca Bowl Trophy, introduced this season and crafted by local resident Danny Medina. It will be engraved with the year and the score and make its home in Escalon for the next year, until these teams meet in Trans-Valley League play again next season.

Friday night’s game, Oct. 13, was a home game for Escalon and was played at Modesto Junior College, with an appearance by the Tiny Cougar cheerleaders part of the festivities as well.

After Talan Reider returned the kickoff to the 28-yard line, the first play from scrimmage saw quarterback Donovan Rozevink hand the ball off to Josh Graham, who followed the early blocks and then blasted his way for a 72-yard score. Reider added the extra point for a 7-0 Cougar lead just seconds into the contest.

The second score was the razzle dazzle, as Rozevink handed it off to Reider, who pitched the ball to Jamin Miller, with Miller then heaving it to Nico Franzia in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.

“We call that ‘The Nico Special’ and we have been wanting to use it,” head coach Andrew Beam said.

The kick was good, it was 14-0 Escalon.

Hilmar countered with a 32-yard touchdown run by quarterback Caden Bailey, kick good, to make it 14-7 but the Cougars were up 21-7 by the end of the first quarter with a 3-yard catch by Ryan Lewis and the kick by Reider.

The scoring parade continued in the second quarter, after an interception by Sam Jimenez set the Cougars up at the 20-yard line. It was Reider getting the call and he went on an 80-yard rumble, with Gio Chavez and Franzia providing the key blocks. Francisco Ontiveros sent the extra point through, as Reider was still trying to recover from the 80-yard burst.

Hilmar got a 5-yard scoring run to get back to within 28-14 but a touchdown catch by Jimenez – kick no good – put the Cougars up 34-14 at the half.

Hilmar got the ball to start the third quarter but went three and out. Miller then scored on a 68-yard rushing play, kick good; Franzia added a 28-yard touchdown catch and Jimenez pulled in the 2-point conversion, as the Cougars built up the 49-14 edge.

Final score of the contest came in the fourth, on a Bailey keeper for Hilmar, going in from about 35 yards out to make it 49-21 but the Yellowjackets would get no closer.

Junior running back/linebacker Carson Medina was among those seeing plenty of action and was happy to get the win against the rival Hilmar squad.

“It was great, I think we were really well prepared for it, we knew they were going to put up a fight, we knew it was going to be hard but we prepared well, showed up like we were supposed to, did our assignments and it worked out for us pretty well,” Medina said. “We were really expecting a pretty close game; we fought hard, they fought hard, I think it was a great game but we just had the edge today.”

Junior Austin Cullum got in for some key carries in the fourth quarter, including the one that gave the Cougars a first down and allowed them to take a couple of snaps to run out the clock.

“It feels amazing to be able to contribute to a big win like this,” Cullum said. “We thought it would be a close game but it wasn’t. It’s all heart; we practiced all week for this and we were prepared.”

Reider had a huge night, going over 100 yards and enjoying the chance to put away Hilmar.

“It feels extremely good; I thought it was going to be a close game in the beginning but then we just kept getting turnovers and it just ended up good,” Reider noted. “I thought the first two minutes we got into their heads a bit because we scored back-to-back on them.”

Junior offensive/defensive lineman Ryan Murphy was in the trenches all night.

“It’s great; we have the support from our running backs and our quarterback, Donovan is a great guy, thanks us after every single play, always lets us know that we’re valued and our coaches let us know we’re valued,” explained Murphy. “We feel like a unit … and it just feels good going out there on the line and performing. We’re definitely a super tight group, we’re all good friends … it’s a great bond and it’s something that you can’t have anywhere else.”

Beam said the somewhat lopsided score took everyone by surprise, but he knew his team was ready.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen the offense be that multi-dimensional and that in sync in a long time,” Beam said. “We used a variety of guys in a variety of formations and it was fun to see the offense click like that.”

Ultimately, he said, it seemed to come down to drive and desire.

“Our kids wanted this one,” Beam said, with the squad now controlling their own destiny in the race for the league title, something that eluded them last year. “We just had a lot of guys contributing.”

Escalon will host Ripon at the newly renovated Engel Field on Friday night, Oct. 20 for the Homecoming contest with kickoff about 7:30 p.m.