Escalon will put two No. 1 rankings on the line Friday when it’s at Patterson, continuing a rivalry that has become one of the best in the Stanislaus District.
The Cougars tuned up for their meeting with the Tigers — 3-0 and The Bee’s No. 3 large school — by crushing Linden 62-7 behind an attack that featured three 100-yard rushers.
Escalon, No. 1 in The Bee’s small-school poll and No. 1 in CalHiSports’ state Division 3 bowl rankings, led 48-0 at the half. Josh Miguel (101 yards, two TDs), Dylan Furtado (123 yards, two TDs) and fullback Matt Roberson (101 yards, TD) were devastating.
Escalon QB Gino Franceschetti didn’t throw much, but he made all of them count. His six passes went for 155 yards and two TDs, and he was 8-for-9 on PAT kicks.
Escalon is hoping to return to the D3 Bowl and defend its state title, but it also badly wants a shot at Patterson. The Tigers upset Escalon 22-15 a year ago, the only loss in the team’s 14-1 campaign.
MANTECA WINS TUNEUP — The VOL opener is still two weeks away, but Manteca has a crucial game awaiting it next week when it visits Stagg (3-0), which has allowed just 21 points in three games. The Buffs got ready for that battle by beating Edison 16-6, behind another strong outing by QB Alex Martinez (15 of 22, 231 yards, TD) and Eric Ceja (6 catches, 140 yards, TD).
It was the defensive effort that caught coach Eric Reis’ attention, though.
“Defense played great tonight,” he said. “We held a very fast, athletic team to 101 yards on offense. (Edison’s) QB is very elusive and I thought we did a great job containing.”
HUGHSON STAYS HOT — There was plenty of offense in north Modesto, as Waterford's Dylan Gonzalez got his Wildcats in the win column with a 34-carry, 154-yard, four-TD effort to beat Big Valley Christian 36-28. Gonzalez, a junior, had 31 carries in Week 1 and averages 26 carries and 122 yards a game.
The dominant ground game almost wasn't enough, though, as Big Valley shed its reputation of "three yards and a cloud of dust." QB Zach Ziegler threw four TDs, including a 42-yarder to Jordan Evans to get the Lions within one score late in the game.
LIGHTNING AND THUNDER — Lightning forced a temporary halt to Sierra's game at Laguna Creek, but it was the thunder provided by Anthony Cota that nearly allowed Wolves to pull off the upset before falling 40-33. The Bee's most recent Athlete of the Week, the burly back carried 23 times for 184 yards and two TDs.
Cota ran for 101 and 208 yards in his two previous games, and has seven TDs. He gives Sierra a nice combo with receiver Zach Penirian (nine catches, 149 yards, TD) as it prepares to open VOL play at Oakdale in two weeks.
BIG GAME WEEK IN RIPON — It's been a few years since Indian fans got charged up for a non-league game that didn't involve neighborhood rival Ripon Christian, but that will change this week with No. 4 small-school Argonaut (2-0) coming to town.
The Mustangs beat Ripon the last two seasons, but the Indians often were battlinginjuries. They look to be intact this season, with Anthony Baciocco (127 yards, two TDs) and QB Kyle Wengel (2 TDs, including a 26-yarder to Baciocco) sharp in a 35-7 win over RC. It was the third week in a row Ripon (3-0) had at least 450 yards, with 400 on the ground this week.
"Our defense shut down RC's pass-oriented offense, sacking Danny Vos five times and forcing him to hurry his throws," Ripon coach Chris Johnson said.
PEAKS AND VALLEYS — It's been a wild fall for Turlock, a question mark when the season opened after taking devastating hits from graduation. The Dogs forced five turnovers to nip Downey 12-7 and were dominated in a 33-7 loss to Oakdale, but ran past Davis 54-22 behind its four-back attack.
Sophomore QB Sean Downs and three backs combined for 29 carries for 340 yards and six TDs. Jordan Silva made the most of his two carries, turning them into TD runs of 65 and 29 yards. It was a familiar story for Davis, depleted by personnel losses to Gregori and by school boundaries that have dropped its enrollment.
Davis trailed 26-15 after three quarters, with Rey Vega (23 carries, 128 yards, two TDs) doing his best to keep Sparta close, before fatigue hit and Turlock rolled off four unanswered TDs.
VIKINGS' QUEST — Will the real Johansen Vikings stand up?
After scoring 41 in Week 1 and losing, they were shut out in Week 2. Friday night, they brought everything together. They forced four turnovers and three backs (Codie Corbin, 91 yards; Johnny Uperesa, 86 yards; and Joseph Lopez-Gordon, 94 yards) to handle Central Valley 34-14.
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