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Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

King of the TVL: Modesto Christian holds on to beat Escalon

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SALIDA -- Einstein had it wrong and he wasn't alone, because E does not equal MC squared.

Not this season, and particularly not on Friday night, when Modesto Christian's MC was more than the equal of Escalon's E in a 21-16 Crusaders' victory before an overflow crowd of about 2,500.

MC's victory moved the Crusaders to 9-0, making them the lone unbeaten small school in the Stanislaus District. They are 4-0 in the Trans-Valley League, have clinched the league's No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs, and can earn an outright TVL title next week with a win over Ripon Christian.

Escalon, which also entered the game with an undefeated record on its list of goals, fell to 8-1, 3-1, and will meet Ripon next week with second place in the TVL at stake.

"To hold that Escalon team, that juggernaut, to 16 points is incredible," said Modesto Christian coach Mike Parsons. "I thought we could score 21 and it would come down to our defense."

Well, Parsons was Einstein on this night. MC did get those 21 points, grabbing a 21-3 lead midway through the third quarter, and it did come down to its defense.

Overall, the Crusaders' defense was outstanding, holding Escalon to 258 total yards, and 160 on the ground, less than half its season average of 334 yards.

But the Cougars cut the lead to 21-10 with 2:15 left in the third quarter on a three-play, 40-yard march after a short punt, and scored again at the end of its next possession, moving 64 yards on 11 plays.

Steven Silva's 1-yard fourth down plunge cut the MC lead to five points. The two-point conversion failed, but Escalon was put right back in business at the Crusaders' 21 after the ensuing kickoff was fumbled away.

"I'm thinking they're going to score there and we'd have to come back with a drive," Parsons said.

That's when Modesto Christian's defense stepped up once again. Two running plays failed to gain a yard, a third-down pass fell incomplete, and Raymond Nelson broke through to sack Escalon quarterback Spencer Franceschetti on fourth down with 4:54 remaining.

Escalon would not again touch the ball, as MC converted a fourth-down fake punt from the Escalon 43 in the final minute, then kneeled to run out the clock.

"It means so much to beat Escalon," Nelson said. "Growing up, they've beat the heck out of us, every year. We've bled on this field for four years, we came together and did what we had to do."

Nelson was a huge part of the Crusaders' fast start. He caught a 45-yard scoring pass from Dustin Hayes after a flanker reverse with less than three minutes gone in the game for a 7-0 lead, and his 25-yard touchdown catch from Isaiah Burse gave MC a 14-3 lead with 11:14 left in the half.

"I've been leading these guys for three years and it's been a blessing," said Burse, who ran for 76 yards and passed for 98 as MC rolled up 409 yards of offense. "This team is much more than me and we've all tried to show that."

When Aaron Brown scored from 7 yards out for the Crusaders with 6:50 left in the third quarter, it appeared MC was in control.

"As soon as we lost to Hilmar in the playoffs last year, we got ourselves back together and started lifting much harder than we did the year before," Nelson said. "We worked 11 months to get to this point and it all paid off tonight."