Escalon continues to roll, blanks Pacheco to set up matchup with familiar rival
Things were going well for the Escalon High football team after the season’s first four weeks.
The Cougars were 3-1 with their only loss coming to one of the Central Section’s powerhouse programs, Buchanan, by one point.
Then they took a step back.
An ankle injury to running back Ryker Peters, who tore through the preseason with 884 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, in the final nonleague game and two losses to open Trans-Valley League play had the Cougars looking for answers.
“We needed to refocus and still figure out that there was a lot of season to play for,” coach Andrew Beam said. “Maybe a TVL title is off the line, but playing November football was the next goal.”
The Cougars started “November football” on Friday night with a commanding 55-0 victory over Pacheco in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs. Escalon will face old rival Hilmar in the second round.
The Cougars lost 21-20 the first time they played, but Escalon might be a better team this time around.
Though Peters played through his injury, the Cougars asked for offensive help from its other running backs. Logan Anderson, Josh Graham and Jamin Miller led the way on the ground for four games.
“When it came to those big league games when I was needed, unfortunately I wasn’t able to give my best,” Peters said. “But when you’ve got six bullets in the chamber and they’re all firing, nothing’s better than that.”
The offense also expanded past just a rushing attack. Quarterback Donovan Rozevink and receiver Owen Nash started to jell, connecting for six touchdowns in the final five regular season games.
“It was good to get the passing game going,” the 6-foot-4 receiver said. “We finally got our chemistry down.”
Said Beam: “It’s no secret that we struggled to throw the ball early, but we’re gonna go as far as we’re able to throw the ball. Donovan has done a great job at improving as the season went on and Owen might have started slow but he’s a beast. … We just gotta give him opportunities and he’s gonna go make plays.”
The defense stepped up as well, coming up with nine interceptions in four games.
“All gas, no breaks,” Nash said of the Cougars’ mindset after dropping the early TVL games. “We’ve got everything to lose now. It was do-or-die.”
Since the losses, Escalon has won five straight.
All four weeks worth of improvement and improvisation proved to be valuable in the Cougars’ playoff opener.
They opened the scoring with a Rozevink-Nash connection for 27 yards, Peters was one of four running backs to score first-half touchdowns and the defense forced two pick-sixes.
A rivalry continues
The win sets up the matchup everyone wanted and expected. Escalon vs Hilmar. Win or go home.
Every season since 2017, the two sides have played twice a year. Once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. In the previous four seasons, they met in the later rounds but this year they are on the same side of the Division V bracket, resulting in a second-round matchup.
“The fact that we are going to play each other is what we’re used to,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “We’re used to facing them in the postseason, now we’re just doing it a lot earlier.”
In TVL and postseason play, they have played 22 times since 2004 and are 11-11.
But since 2017, Escalon leads the series 5-4. The teams are responsible for four section titles in as many years. Hilmar won Division VI titles in 2017 and 2018 while Escalon won a Division VI championship in 2019 and the Division V blue banner in 2021 — both at the Yellowjackets’ expense.
During the 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons, whoever won the league matchup also won in the playoffs. They split in 2017 when Escalon won during TVL play but Hilmar won in the semifinals.
This year, the Yellowjackets took the first matchup, a game in which Escalon missed two extra points, missed a field goal and had a field goal blocked.
Escalon is seeded fifth in the playoffs; Hilmar is the fourth seed.
“We had beaten them in the last two years in the regular season then in the rematch in the postseason, now it’s our chance at redemption,” Beam said. “Hilmar is a great team and they’ve got great playmakers so if we don’t come focused and ready to play football, we’ll get beat again.
“We’ve got to be able to shore up the little things if we want to win the next one.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 8:38 AM.
