Modesto Christian claims Trans-Valley League title, Parsons gets 100th victory

If there was any doubt as to the possibility there can be a perfect fit between coach and school, it was put to rest Friday night at Modesto Christian High.

On one sideline was Escalon and Mark Loureiro, and all he’s done is win a Sac-Joaquin Section 264 wins, all with the Cougars.

On the other was Mike Parsons, who had to leave the Crusaders to realize where his coaching home really stood – a fact his team cemented with a 30-14 victory that gave Modesto Christian the Trans-Valley League title and Parsons his 100th career coaching victory.

So just how good is the fit for Parsons and the Crusaders? In seven seasons at the school his record is 72-14 with three TVL titles and a state crown. In stops at Riverdale and Clovis West, his record was 28-42.

In fact, after finishing the 2013 season at Clovis West, Parsons considered giving up coaching, only to be talked out of it and goaded into returning to Salida.

“Last year I struggled with coaching,” Parsons said. “I checked on getting my master’s (degree) and going into administration. Football is fun again. The kids and the families at MC have made it fun again. It’s been awesome, I’m fired up to coach some more and I’m going to be here for a while.”

He inherited a cupboard of players that might have appeared barren when he took back the job in June, but upon closer look was stocked with a lot of quality, if not quantity.

It meant that he would have to prepare a very small group of young men to do battle against a very difficult schedule, and that was before taking on the TVL. And once into conference play, attrition again would be a factor on a week-to-week basis.

On Friday, the problem became quarter-to-quarter as Escalon did what it could to wear down its hosts.

Modesto Christian jumped to a 14-0 halftime lead, getting on the board when Windsor Jamison returned the opening kickoff 90 yards, then getting the first of three short scoring runs by Conner Dowd just 36 seconds before the half.

Escalon got back in the game when it scored one play after MC’s lone turnover when quarterback Caleb Mullin hit receiver Brandon Grogan with a 29-yard scoring strike.

Both teams followed with touchdowns on their ensuing drives, but MC, which plays most of its players both ways, was beginning to tire. A missed extra point allowed Escalon to pull within 20-14 with nine minutes left in the game, and MC needed a surge.

It got one when it started using quarterback Luke Andrew to run the ball. Using fly sweep motion to create a blocking advantage out of the shotgun wing-T, the Crusaders were able to out-man Escalon on the edge. Andrew gained 125 second-half rushing yards on this play, and it set up a 29-yard field goal by Enzo Gomes with 3:58 remining to push the margin to 23-14.

“When we scored to make it 20-14, I thought we had them on the ropes,” Louriero said. “But give them credit for answering and Mike did a good job utilizing his quarterback as a running back. They had a nice scheme that we couldn’t stop because when they ran motion with the fly guy to that side they had a man-and-a-half advantage on us.”

Jamison intercepted a pass on Escalon’s next play. Seven plays later, Dowd was in the end zone for a third time, cementing the victory and setting off the MC celebration.

“This game was kind of a microcosm of the full season,” Parsons said. “We had to fight through it and scrape. Yes, we have only 18 guys, but eight or nine of them are great high school football players who get after it and have a blast playing together.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Modesto Christian claims Trans-Valley League title, Parsons gets 100th victory."