After a rocky start to the season, Escalon’s varsity flag football girls found a way to turn it around and hit their stride. They parlayed that into a share of the Trans-Valley League title and a trip to the playoffs.
They won a Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 quarterfinal game at home against Sacramento Adventist, 12-7, on Oct. 31; then fell by a 20-6 final to the top ranked Colfax squad on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
“It was a frustrating night in Colfax when we just couldn’t get much going on offense against a stout defense,” said head coach Steve Largent. “Our defense did a good job limiting the Falcons most of the night; unfortunately, the Colfax athletes made a few more plays than us that resulted in more scoring chances.”
Escalon started off well, the coach added, but he said it seemed like every time the team got inside the 20, a penalty went against them so it was tough to get any momentum going.
“Down 20-0 at five minutes left, the Falcons had first and goal inside our 20,” Largent explained. “We took a timeout and coaches just told the girls to go out like champions. Don’t lay down and let them score, don’t ever stop playing with heart and passion.”
The coach said his team answered the call, and then some.
“The girls got the goal line stop and then put together one last great scoring drive, capped by Ari Velasco to Mia Arteaga to make it a respectable 20-6 finish,” Largent said. “Bella Alcala and Helena Arroyo led the way with four flag pulls each. Ari Velasco threw a touchdown pass and made a fantastic interception on the defensive side of the ball.”
The late season injury bug that hit the Cougars hard had an impact, he added.
“Not having Jasmine Barron (knee) and Yesenia Marsellis (foot) will always be a footnote on that game,” Largent said. “Colfax was 14-0 for a reason and there was no shame in losing to a good team.”
And while Colfax advanced to the Section title game, it was another Trans-Valley League squad – the Hughson Lady Huskies – who came away with the blue banner, crafting a 26-13 over Colfax win on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Hughson, the number seven seed, advanced to the title game with a 21-18 upset of number three Orestimba in the semifinals.
Largent said the ‘footnote’ of injuries will always have him wondering, if the Lady Cougars had been fully healthy, it might have been their chance to play for the Section title.
But injuries are part of the game and he said the team can still be proud of its season, how far they came and how much they matured and found a way to work together to get the victories on the field.
Escalon finished the season with a 14-11 overall record.
Largent also said the success of the team last year, during its inaugural season, may have made it a little more difficult for this year’s squad, after losing several seniors to graduation and bringing several new players into the mix.
“I think there was such an expectation to hit the ground running,” he admitted. “We won the first two games we played at the Merced Tournament, then we had to wait two-and-a-half hours to play again and that two-and-a-half hours became 12 days before we saw another win.”
The long losing streak had the team doubting itself and Largent said coaches and players agreed they had to have a total re-set.
“We had to get back to basics. We brought up a freshman (Marsellis) in the middle of the year, we went to San Ramon and played two very good teams, we used that trip as a way to learn and get better for league competition.”
Largent said this year’s seniors brought experience with them from last year’s inaugural flag football season and were anchored by senior captain Mia Arteaga, who led by example.
Helena Arroyo and Isabella Alcala set the tone defensively for the squad, said Largent, and when the injuries started to mount up, he noted that Haley Barker went back to play wide receiver and had some huge catches for the team down the stretch in crucial situations.
“Jazmine Casillas, Ashlyn Paxman and Lily Gonzalez stepped up and Alondra Gonzalez joined us from cross country and was used as a rotating pass rusher,” Largent said.
Colfax was in their second year with the sport as well; they lost in the semifinals last season, as did Escalon. This year, Colfax got a step further but still didn’t take the top prize. Largent said his team will continue to work toward that goal of bringing a blue banner back to the school.
“I would consider it a success; we started 3-7 and I view the playoffs as a reward,” Largent said of the season. “We get a lot back so it should be an exciting 2025.”
