Titus Beers honors childhood friend, fuels win in Hughson debut against Escalon
The first Friday in October is a milestone in the Sac-Joaquin Section — the day high school football transfers circle on the calendar as their first official game day.
CIF rules mandate that varsity football transfers sit out the first few weeks of the season if they played on the varsity team at their previous school and transferred without changing their address. Players miss five or six games, depending on when their team’s bye week falls, meaning they take the field itching to make an impact.
Friday’s was the first game Hughson tight end Titus Beers was eligible to play after transferring from Big Valley Christian. It also was the day he honored the loss of a friend.
Morgan Thornsberry died Oct. 1, 2015, from a head injury, according to a Gofundme fundraiser update posted by Morgan’s parents, Kasey and Shandea. A Hughson kid, Beers grew up with Morgan, who was just 7 years old when he died.
Thornsberry’s favorite color was green, so when Beers debuted 10 years and a few days after his friend’s passing, he made sure his green gloves, towel, mouthguard and helmet accents were on. Also on Beers’ helmet was his friend’s favorite quote, “Watch this.”
“We were best friends for the longest time, so every October, I get to wear green for him,” Beers said. “So I’m just so thankful I got to come back in October.”
Beers’ debut went as well as anyone could have expected. The junior caught five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns offensively and had an interception and tipped a pass to cause another pick in Hughson’s 29-6 Trans-Valley League win over rival Escalon.
“Watching was tough, but the weeks (of practice) got me a lot better. I was able to get extra workouts and get some extra work in,” Beers said of his sit-out period. “But the games were rough. Sitting on the sidelines watching my boys do stuff I couldn’t do yet. But I just left it in God’s hands.”
Eli Wilbanks got the Huskies on the board first with a pair of first-half touchdowns to give the team a 14-0 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the half. The team’s leading rusher all season, Wilbanks paced the team on the ground again, adding 85 yards to his two-touchdown day. Hughson took a 21-0 halftime lead after freshman quarterback Hudson Baldwin found Beers in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter.
“It’s great, I’m just doing my part on this team,” Wilbanks said of his impact. “My guys do their job (and) that sets me up for success. We work like a family. We’re very close.”
Baldwin completed 15 of 18 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One was in the first half and the other was the Huskies’ only second-half score. It was a 49-yard bomb down the left sideline to Beers, who caught the ball between two defenders and coasted into the end zone.
Hughson bounced back from last week’s one-score loss to Ripon Christian like head coach Shaun King wanted it to. The Huskies controlled the game from start to finish, shutting out the Cougars in the first half and immediately answering Escalon’s touchdown drive that opened the second half with a 10-play, 67-yard drive, capped by a two-point conversion pitch and catch from Baldwin to Wilbanks.
“It was a great week of practice even coming after a loss,” King said. “We kept our heads high. Ripon Christian is a great football team, Escalon is a great football team.
“We called it ‘Escalon week.’ It’s just different, so I’m proud of how they came out tonight.”
There still are things to clean up, King said, before the Huskies take on Sonora on the road next week. Though they bounced back from a couple of turnovers, a first-quarter interception and a second-quarter fumble are two miscues the Huskies cannot afford to have if they want to have long term success this season.
As for Escalon, a bye week couldn’t come at a better time. It played the past couple of weeks without a healthy running back and with each member of the backfield playing through an injury. One of its top offensive linemen is also sidelined with an injury. But head coach Andrew Beam said the Cougars won’t use that as an excuse.
“Those guys played an unbelievable game,” he said. “Sometimes you just get your butt whooped and that’s what happened tonight.”
The Cougars’ lone scoring drive was a 10-play trek down the field, capped by a nine-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Logan Huebner with 7:18 left in the third quarter. A penalty for running into the kicker on the extra point moved the ball to the two-yard line but Escalon could not convert the two-point conversion.
The Cougars will embrace the bye, using the time to tweak schemes, regain some confidence and, most importantly, recover from the injuries that came with playing a tough nonleague schedule and three tough, physical TVL games.
