ESCALON – A soft rain pelted the helmets of the Orestimba Warriors and Escalon Cougars during the final minutes Friday night, and Escalon loved the reminder.
It’s November. The Cougars love November.
They ended the regular season with a by-the-numbers 41-14 victory over Orestimba, a hard-earned 5-5 season record and a tie for second place behind Hughson in the Trans-Valley League. These are modest feats for a program that hasn’t dropped a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game in six years, but all contenders in Division IV already understand the cold truth about Escalon.
The Cougars always are a hard out in the bracket.
“With our Wing-T and physical football, you hope to catch that groove,” Escalon coach Andrew Beam said. “Sometimes it’s looked like Escalon football. Tonight we played 3½ good quarters.”
Beam referred to his team’s early 22-0 lead against Orestimba and the not-so-good final six minutes of the second quarter. Orestimba (6-4, 3-3) recovered to 22-14 at the break on Jacob Valenzuela’s 45-yard scoring pass to Dylan McCauley (5 catches, 83 yards) and Devon Bell’s 25-yard scoop-and-score of a bobbled punt snap.
“I’m tired of yelling at you guys,” Beam said he told his team in the locker room. “We can’t be doing this every week. We have to string four good quarters of good football.”
The Cougars’ answer was an overpowering second half. They pounded for touchdowns on their first three possessions while limiting Warriors to only two first downs post-halftime.
Logan Huebner, Escalon’s run-minded quarterback who missed the season’s middle four games, is rounding into form at the right time. He opened the game with a 42-yard rip for a touchdown en route to two rushing TDs and touchdown passes to Chase Cummings, tight end Ryan Lewis and Donovan Martinez.
Martinez, the quarterback who replaced Huebner while he rehabbed a knee injury, aligned as a receiver and ran a 16-yard wheel route for a gadget-play score during the second quarter.
“It just felt good to be back out here in the front lines,” Huebner said. “When we get our rhythm going, I just think it’s really hard to stop us.”
Escalon’s business-like response in the second half looked like the game plan it must deploy in the playoffs. After a 39-yard kickoff return by Ben Gonzalez, the Cougars marched 55 yards in nine plays. Eight of them were handoffs to Carson Medina (19 carries, 119 yards), who finished it with a 6-yard burst.
Moments later, Dominic Arauza’s athletic interception and 57-yard return set up Huebner’s play-action 6-yard TD toss to Lewis. A close game suddenly wasn’t so close. Escalon outgained Orestimba 403-189.
“I liked the way our guys responded in the second quarter,” Orestimba coach Aaron Souza said. “Just wasn’t good enough tonight.”
Souza’s team, despite the loss, will qualify for the postseason for the 11th time in the last 15 years. The live arm of Valenzuela gives the Warriors a slugger’s chance in Division VI, and Souza still believes his team—thanks in part to a win last week over Ripon Christian--will earn a first-round home game.
Escalon (5-5, 4-2) also thinks it will stay at Engel Field for the first round next week. The Cougars, beset by losses of key players since Game 1, somehow held their season together.
Beam put a “Maybe” on the return of injured freshman Dylan Ball, Escalon’s most explosive threat. Carter Yates, another promising freshman running back, was promoted to the varsity a few weeks ago and could provide a post-season spark.
Regardless, the second phase of the season kicks in with the section’s announcement of the playoffs qualifiers on Sunday.
“We knew our preseason would be challenging. We survived,” Beam said. “It's going to make us better in the playoffs. We’re going to see some powerhouses in Division IV.”
Record aside, one of those powerhouses will be wearing purple.
Escalon 41, Orestimba 41
Orestimba 0-14-0-0—14
Escalon 15-7-13-6—41
1st Quarter
E—Logan Huebner 42 run (Huebner run)
E—Chase Cummings 26 pass from Huebner (Ricardo Felix Chavez kick)
2nd Quarter
E--Donovan Martinez 16 pass from Huebner (Chavez kick)
O—Dylan McCauley 45 pass from Jacob Valenzuela (Devon Bell kick)
O—Bell 25 fumble return (Bell kick)
3rd Quarter
E—Carson Medina 6 run (run failed)
E—Ryan Lewis 6 pass from Huebner (Chavez kick)
4th Quarter
E—Huebner 5 run (pass failed)
Records—Orestimba 6-4, 3-4 TVL; Escalon 5-5, 4-2 TVL
JV—Escalon 21-0
