North dominates in Small Schools All-Star game

RIVERBANK — When the North all-star offense walked to the line of scrimmage, it featured seven gold helmets emblazoned with a purple "E."

That's "E," as in Escalon, the team which all but hijacked the 18th Small Schools All-Star Game on Friday night.

A large portion of Escalon's Class of 2010 posed for photographs, smiles shining after an overpowering 35-6 victory over the South.

Prepared by only two practices, the Cougars fell back on what they do best — pounding it down the field with their winged-T offense.

The South, outgained 326-133, answered only with a fourth-quarter touchdown. The rest of the night belonged to the seven Escalon graduates on the North's 21-man roster. A crowd of about 1,000 at Angelo Novi Field witnessed an Escalon tour de force.

"Having seven guys out there made it real comfortable," said Spencer Franceschetti, the undersized but skilled Escalon quarterback who passed for a touchdown and rushed for another. "We ran our offense and later on we solved some things they (the South) were doing and made some things up."

Francescheti and linemen Travis Cardoza and Derrick De Freitas also manned the Escalon baseball team. Winning is not new to them.

The last two years, Franceschetti called the signals for a football program which won 21 games. He also started at shortstop for a baseball team which won 51 games, plus a career-capping win over Central Catholic for a Sac-Joaquin Section title over the same time span.

"A lot of guys grew up together. We went out there and gave our heart and soul," Franceschetti said. "This is a special thing and it takes special people."

Franceschetti, targeted for future baseball at San Joaquin Delta, rolled to his right and threw his body into two defenders as he finished off a 10-yard rip for the North's first touchdown.

Later, he capped his team's scoring with a 37-yard lob to Bret Harte's Anthony Ballard. It was the second touchdown by Ballard, who caught a 27-yard option pass from Millennium's Brandon Haynes before halftime.

Escalon running back Steve Silva accented the North's domination by rushing 19 times for 61 yards. Tellingly, he never was stopped for negative yardage.

Calaveras' Jake Fischer also fell on a loose ball in the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Argonaut's Daniel Welch, another star from the Mother Lode, rushed 13 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

The South, though dominated, contributed a gutsy goal-line stand during the first half. Summerville receiver Jordan Sooter (4 catches, 62 yards), moments after his diving catch for a 33-yard strike from Ripon Christian's Tyler Voogd, snared a quick 5-yard slant from Voogd for the South touchdown.

"I almost got the wind knocked out of me on the dive. They talked me into staying out there," said Sooter, who will study chemistry at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. "It felt great just to get the zero off the scoreboard."

It felt better, though, if you showed off an "E" on your helmet.

Bee staff writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.