Escalon avenges loss to TVL rival Hilmar with playoff win. ‘We absolutely wanted this’
Escalon High senior Ryker Peters was ready for a second shot at Hilmar.
The way Peters tells it, he was like a rabid dog when he saw a potential second-round playoff matchup with the Yellowjackets. Especially after Hilmar defeated the Cougars by one point earlier this season in Trans-Valley League play.
“We were excited,” Peters said. “We just sat there, foaming at the mouth with redemption. Coming out here, knowing that we lost to them in TVL, allowing them to be TVL champs. We wanted revenge.”
Led by Peters, the No. 5-seeded Cougars came out focused and motivated and pulled away late for a 42-28 win over No. 4 Hilmar in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V quarterfinals at McSweeney Field on Friday night.
Peters played like his season was on the line, carrying the ball 24 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
“We wanted this, we absolutely wanted this and it showed,” Peters said.
Peters scored on touchdown runs of 68, 21 and 47 yards as the Cougars (9-3) hit big plays in big moments against Hilmar, especially in the second half.
“Every yard is physical,” Escalon coach Andrew Beam said. “His 2- and 3- and 4-yard carries lead eventually to the big breaks that he had. That’s a lot of wear and tear on his body. He’s been our workhorse all year long.”
The Yellowjackets scrapped and clawed their way to give themselves a shot at defeating the Cougars for a second time this season.
Sophomore quarterback Caden Bailey rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Senior receiver Derek Taylor had four catches for 100 yards.
Running back Luis Vargas scored two touchdowns in the second half, his first on a 4-yard run that pulled Hilmar (7-4) within 28-21 with 10:14 left in the game.
However, Escalon pulled away late as quarterback Donovan Rozevink connected with Luke Anderson for a 56-yard touchdown and Owen Nash on a 54-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to 42-21 to seal the victory with just under 3 minutes left.
Beam said the biggest difference in the rematch was Escalon’s defense.
“Defensively we were able to corral Bailey and Vargas,” he said. “Those are two special, special players. Just being able to tackle those guys in space has been a problem and we were able to do that somewhat today.”
After the game, both coaches voiced their displeasure in the two TVL heavyweights having to play each other so early in the playoffs after squaring off in section championship games in 2021 and 2019.
“It’s disrespectful to our league, it’s disrespectful to Hilmar,” Beam said. “It really bugs me that we had to do this. It lived up to the hype as always.”
“I’ve said they are the best team in the bracket,” Hilmar coach Frank Marques said. “Sucks that we had to play them in the (second) round. We would have had to play them eventually. They’re going to give a lot of teams headaches. They’ve got so much talent.”
Escalon advances to face No. 1 seed Sutter, which defeated No. 8 Ripon 14-0 on Friday.
Hilmar had to come to grips with the sudden end of its season.
“I told (the players) at the end of the day you’re hanging a banner and putting a patch on your jacket,” Marques said. “You’re TVL champs, undefeated. Not very many people can say that.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 12:15 AM with the headline "Escalon avenges loss to TVL rival Hilmar with playoff win. ‘We absolutely wanted this’."
