The recipe for success throughout the year for the No. 3 ranked Hilmar Yellowjackets has been to put the ball in the hands of junior Caden Bailey. Thursday night’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V quarterfinal game against the No. 6 seeded Pioneer Patriots (Woodland) at McSweeney Field proved to be no different.
The speedy Bailey scored four touchdowns on the night, with three of them coming in the second half in what turned out to be a tightly contested game, 41-32 win for the Yellowjackets.
Bailey opened the third quarter with an 85-yard run to push Hilmar’s lead to 28-13. When the Patriots answered back with a 45-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Martin Bartz to Devion Corley on the ensuing drive, Bailey once again took matters into his own hands - or legs - by breaking off a 31-yard run to make it 34-19.
Pioneer refused to go away, though, with Bartz finishing a long Patriots drive down the field to start the fourth quarter with a 7-yard strike to Haiden Aletto to close the Hilmar lead to 34-26. The Patriots were back in business following a recovered fumble off a bobbled snap just four plays later, eventually resulting in a 4-yard connection from Bartz to running back Landon Dahler to make it a 34-32 game with 1:34 remaining in the game.
Following a failed two-point conversion attempt by the Patriots, Bailey put the game on ice by breaking loose for a 50-yard score with just over a minute left. After breaking the pylon, he turned to his sideline to let out an emotional roar. They were emotions that had been building up for nearly a year’s time.
“This week is special because last year, we got sent home this round,” Bailey said, alluding to last year’s 42-28 loss to Trans-Valley League rival Escalon. “I didn’t want to get sent home again. I wanted to give our seniors another week. I was just proud I got to do that and I kind of let it all out in that moment.”
Hilmar head coach Frank Marques had plenty of praise for his junior star after the game.
“I’m glad he’s on our side. I’m glad that he gets to wear green and gold and the Hilmar stamp on his chest because he’s something special… I’m glad I don’t have to defend him.”
Also receiving praise was the offensive line of Alex Cardenas, Jaden Strickler, Matthew Avila, Dakota Maynard, Jackson Takhar and others, who controlled the line of scrimmage in each of Hilmar’s two red zone appearances that led to a pair of rushing touchdowns from senior Logan Cardoso. Cardenas refers to the group as “The Hogs,” the same nickname given to the iconic Washington Redskins’ offensive lines of the 1980s.
“Those five guys really work their behinds off,” Marques said. “Coach [Austin] Almeida really does a great job with those guys as offensive line coach. Those guys definitely deserve a lot of credit.”
“I just knew we had to come here and be physical,” added Cardenas, who also had three sacks on defense. “I knew they were a good team. I knew it was going to be a hard fought game. We knew they were going to come out strong, but we just had to come out stronger.”
Next up for the Yellowjackets is the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 2 seed Casa Roble (Orangevale) and No. 7 Lathrop. CalPreps.com has given Casa Roble a 95 percent chance of winning and has listed them as a 25-point favorite.
“It’s always a treat anytime you get to play an extra week this time of the year,” Marques said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I like our chances in any game.”
