With both the varsity and JV football teams having a bye on Sept. 13, the Escalon freshman squad was the only one that suited up for game action this past week.
Escalon welcomed the El Capitan Gauchos from Merced to Engel Field on Thursday, Sept. 12 and held off the visitors in a tight 9-8 decision.
The freshmen had one touchdown and got a safety early in the contest, with El Capitan battling back in the second half with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.
“We were led on offense by our fullback Val (Valdemar) Garcia who scored the lone touchdown,” said head coach Joey Costa. “We also had a big contribution on offense from our running back Dylan Machado. Juan Pablo De Luna made the one extra point attempt, which proved to be the difference in the game.”
Costa said he feels the freshmen and the coaches went in to the contest with a pretty good game plan defensively, noting that the team held El Capitan down for the most of the game.
“That was with the exception of one big play we gave up that led to their touchdown,” Costa said.
Defensive leaders for the frosh squad were Juan Sanchez and Val Garcia.
“We also had strong linebacker play behind Cade Riesenbeck and DJ Bass along with Dylan Machado and Erin Vanderwerff,” said Costa. “I also thought corner Ethan Morrill and safety Jacob Morales played well.”
With the win at home – their first home game of the season – the freshmen climbed back to the .500 mark.
“The win was very sloppy but got us back to 2-2, and they (Gauchos) were 2-1 coming in with their loss coming to Turlock,” Costa said of the teams leaving the field with the same 2-2 record.
That contest wrapped up the preseason schedule for Escalon, and the freshmen go back on the road this week, opening Trans-Valley League play on Thursday, Sept. 19 against Sonora, which joined the TVL this season.
“This will be a very tough test as they are a very good football team and that is a tough place to play,” Costa explained. “They are a very well coached team and, like us, have played a tough preseason schedule. Their offense is difficult to defend so we will have to be very disciplined.”
Costa said his team has had some good quarters of play in preseason but is still looking for a solid effort for a full four quarters.
“Hopefully we start working towards that as the TVL begins,” Costa said.
