In their first game action of the season, Escalon’s JV football team fell to host Vacaville on Friday, Aug. 23. The freshmen, meanwhile, were on the road at Central Catholic on Aug. 22 and lost there.

JV head coach Brant Rose said the final score on Friday night was 21-7 in favor of the Vacaville Bulldogs, with Escalon shut out until finally breaking through for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“It was a tough opening game against a solid school that outmatched us in size and speed,” said Rose. “However as outmatched as we were, it felt like this was a game for us to win that we gave away.”

The coach said key miscues in the first half, including a fumbled kickoff after Vacaville’s first score that set up their next score, and an offensive drive by the Cougars that reached Vacaville’s eight-yard line but stalled with no points on the board, added to the road troubles for the JV Cougars.

“We had a second half red zone drive that also stalled, cost us from winning a game that we were in position to win,” Rose said.

In the first quarter, Vacaville scored on an eight-yard touchdown pass, with the kick good, for an early 7-0 lead. They added another score on a four-yard rushing play and the kick was good, the Bulldogs increasing the lead to 14-0.

Neither team scored in the third quarter; Escalon cut the lead to 14-7 in the fourth quarter. Ethan Butler connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Carter Yates and Carson Criteser added the point after to bring the Cougars within a touchdown.

But Vacaville put one more touchdown on the board on a 23-yard rushing play with the kick good, making the final 21-7.

“It was nice to see our defense get stops throughout the game against a very skilled offense, as well as our offense put together drives against a stout defense,” Rose explained. “But ultimately we need less mistakes than we had on Friday to win tough games against superior opponents.”

The JV boys will be back on the field Friday night in a home game against Golden Valley of Merced.

FRESHMEN

It was a tough loss on the road for the youngest Cougars, as they fell by a 55-12 decision to host Central Catholic on Thursday, Aug. 22.

Escalon had a pair of touchdown passes from Jake Ferreira to Dylan Machado for their scores.

Head coach Joey Costa said the team definitely needs to focus and put together a better all-around effort for their next contest. They will be on the road Thursday at Golden Valley, another formidable opponent.