‘We couldn’t stop them.’ Escalon dominates second half in title game against Hilmar.
The first half of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game saw a flurry of touchdowns. Hilmar and Escalon combined for 34 points in the first quarter alone.
The Yellowjackets hit the Cougars with some haymakers, including a 36-yard touchdown pass from Seth Miguel to Aidan Azevedo on the final play of the first half to give Hilmar a six-point lead at Lincoln High’s Spanos Stadium.
“We had to slow this thing down,” said Escalon coach Andrew Beam. “We had to have the pace of the game dictated by us. It took a long time but we finally got control of the pace of the game.”
The top-seeded Cougars (12-1) turned to their ground game to control the second half, outscoring No. 2 Hilmar (11-2) 20-0 to defeat the Yellowjackets, 41-27, and win their ninth section championship in school history.
“We put this game on our offensive line’s shoulder on Monday from tackle to tight end,” said Beam, who led the Cougars to their first blue banner since 2010 “We were going to win or lose with our guys up front and they answered the bell. We ran the heck out of the ball.”
The Cougars played keep-away in the second half, running 39 plays in the final two quarters to just 17 for Hilmar.
Fullback Luke Anderson pounded the ball up the middle, finishing with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Kaden Christensen worked the edges for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
“It’s frustrating because we couldn’t stop them,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques, whose team was denied a third straight section championship. “We only had three or four possessions there in the second half.”
The Yellowjackets stormed out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter. Hilmar started the game with an 88-yard kickoff return by Justin Barros.
Yellowjackets quarterback Seth Miguel was hot early, completing his first four passes for 121 yards, including a 53-yard scoring strike to Joseph Olsson and a 45-yard touchdown pass to Barros.
Miguel completed only 5 of 16 passes the rest of the way, throwing his first two interceptions in eight games.
“We just kept our composure, ran the ball and slowed down the game,” Christensen said. “Just playing Escalon football is what really helped us. That’s what kept us in this, slowing the game down. Letting Luke run 3 or 4 yards a carry, getting first downs after first downs. We let the big men work up front. Without them, this game would have been way different.”
The Yellowjackets had their opportunities to hit some big plays in the second half, but Steven Silva dropped a 30-yard pass on third down when it appeared he could have walked into the end zone late in the third quarter.
Hilmar also had Escalon defensive back Kaidence Trejo beat for a potential touchdown pass on a pump-and-go to Barros, but Miguel’s throw was underthrown and Trejo intercepted the pass.
“We had a couple chances in the second half but the bottom line is we couldn’t stop them,” Marques said.
After having its season end the last two years with playoff losses to Hilmar, Escalon was finally able to celebrate and will advance to a Northern California Regional Bowl game next week.
“There’s a lot of excitement, there’s a lot of joy and there’s a lot of relief,” Beam said. “But it’s mostly excitement.”
