Escalon holds Ripon to 15 yards to set up TVL title showdown with MC

There have been some great artistic contests through the decades when the Escalon and Ripon football teams have met in one of the region’s oldest rivalries.

Friday night, while not getting high marks for artistic merit, Escalon will accept its 14-9 victory over the Indians as nothing less than a thing of beauty.

The Cougars (7-2 overall and 4-0 in the Trans-Valley League) got a 65-yard punt return by Brandon Grogan to set up a 1-yard plunge by Wesley Dick with 7:26 remaining, and that was all they needed to subdue Ripon on a very sloppy field.

The win for Escalon sets-up next Friday’s battle of TVL unbeatens, as the Cougars visit Modesto Christian for the league title. Ripon, which could have claimed a playoff berth via the TVL’s No. 2 seed by winning out, fell to 3-6, 2-2.

The conditions were so poor in the steady rain that Escalon fumbled the center-quarterback exchange six times, and the Cougars also had a poor punt snap that set-up Ripon’s only touchdown.

“We had the bad snap and all the fumbles, but give Ripon credit,” said Escalon coach Mark Loureiro. “I thought we would have the advantage on this wet field with our offensive line and we didn’t. Ripon’s kids did an outstanding job.”

Escalon got 110 yards on 21 carries from Hunter Calton, but the rest of the Cougars’ offense accounted for minus-10 yards. On the other side, Ripon was held to 15 total yards, but moved backward the entire second half with minus-18 yards and no first downs after halftime.

“It came down to which team could catch a break,” said Ripon coach Chris Johnson. “We got a couple in the first half and Escalon got them in the second half. It is frustrating to have conditions like this for a big game because it takes the playbook out of your hands. You can’t do the stuff you’ve done all year. We couldn’t even start to think about passing.”

Ripon took a 9-0 lead into halftime, scoring first when it took possession at the Escalon 14 on a wild punt snap that went for a 30-yard loss. Quarterback Nick Price bulled across from the 2 for the 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

Late in the half, the Indians pinned Escalon back at its own 2 after an excellent punt. When back-to-back center snaps were mishandled, quarterback Caleb Mullen was swarmed in the end zone for a 9-0 Ripon lead.

The game’s longest play from scrimmage, a 35-yard pass from Mullen to A.J. Camarena, set up Escalon’s first score, a 15-yard run by Calton. When David Martinez turned a mishandled conversion snap into a two-point conversion, Escalon was within 9-8 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

It still was going to take one more big play for either team to claim the victory, and Grogan stepped up. The senior grabbed a Ripon punt at the Escalon 29, slid through the first wall of tacklers, and sprinted up the left sideline before finally getting tripped-up at the Ripon 1.

“My boys, the hogs, were blocking for me up front and I saw an opening,” Grogan said. “I was thinking that as muddy as it was, nobody was getting any traction. I had to let the defense over pursue, then create my own hole.”

When Dick powered over from the 1, not only did Escalon have its first lead, but at that moment gained control of its own TVL title destiny.

“When this season started we thought about going .500 and making the playoffs,” Loureiro said. “Playing for the title was never in our minds because people told us this team couldn’t win. We play a lot of juniors and they showed up to play tonight. I hope this gives us some momentum going into playing a really good MC team.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Escalon holds Ripon to 15 yards to set up TVL title showdown with MC."