Second-quarter surge helps Patterson roll past Hilmar 45-20 in season opener
It’s far too early to call any team the favorite to win a Sac-Joaquin Section championship, but Patterson High’s football team certainly stamped itself as a main contender on Friday night.
The Tigers looked the part of a heavyweight in Division IV with an emphatic 45-20 victory over Hilmar in the teams’ 2023 season opener at Patterson Community Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Max Medina passed for four touchdowns and ran for another, and the Tigers used a 31-point second-quarter surge to blow the game open.
“It was a tight game early,” Patterson coach Rob Cozart said. “But the guys responded, and it became a battle of turnovers and takeaways, and the guys just being relentless. That was that second quarter.”
The game figured to be a shootout between two of the area’s best young quarterbacks: Medina and Hilmar’s Caden Bailey. Medina had a nice night running the Tigers’ up-tempo offense.
And while Bailey had a good game running the football, rushing for two touchdowns, he struggled through the air. His two interceptions were part of a disastrous second quarter that saw the Yellowjackets turn over the ball four times.
Thanks to those turnovers — and a quick-strike Patterson offense — a 7-7 game turned into a 38-7 Patterson lead in a matter of minutes.
Medina’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jorge Rodriguez capped the 31-point quarter.
“A team like Patterson, you can’t make mistakes,” Hilmar coach Frank Marques said. “We had a complete debacle in the second quarter. It’s hard to come back from that.”
Patterson going for three-peat in CCC
Patterson is a clear favorite to win its third consecutive Central California Conference championship and appears to be one of the teams to beat in the section in Division IV.
The Tigers were knocked out by Sacramento-area powerhouse Grant last season in the Division III playoffs. Due to reduced enrollment and a change in the playoff format, Patterson knows it will play in Division IV come playoff time.
“Now it’s set and we know who’s there and who’s where, and so it’s easier to track and figure things out to where the season’s going to go,” Cozart said of the new playoff format.
With an opportunistic defense, a high-scoring offense and solid special teams, the Tigers appear to have everything they need to make a run both at a league title and what would be their first section crown.
Medina, an agile and accurate left-hander who started as a freshman, has plenty of weapons at his discretion. And his offensive line is huge and physical.
“It’s amazing they make it so easy for me,” Medina said of his offensive line. “Especially my receivers; they have height. My line has height and size, so it makes it easier on me.”
Learning experience for Hilmar
After watching their 7-0 lead turn into a 38-7 halftime deficit, the Yellowjackets responded in the second half with a solid effort. Hilmar pulled within 38-20 with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.
But Patterson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to ice the victory.
If it weren’t for the second-quarter collapse, the game would’ve been much closer. That bodes well for Hilmar’s chances in the always-tough Trans-Valley League this season.
“We asked the kids at halftime what kind of character they were going to have,” Marques said. “They came back and battled, and I was really proud of them for the effort they gave in the second half. That’s how you develop players and overcome adversity.”
Hilmar will hope to get in the win column next week when it plays at Los Banos.
Patterson gets another home game next Friday night against Mountain House.
This story was originally published August 19, 2023 at 12:05 AM with the headline "Second-quarter surge helps Patterson roll past Hilmar 45-20 in season opener."
