With three minutes to play in Friday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5 playoff opener at McSweeney Field, it seemed as if all was going wrong for Hilmar. Up 14-7, the No. 6 Yellowjackets (4-6 overall, 2-4 Trans-Valley League) punted away to former league foe, No. 11 Livingston (5-5 overall, 4-3 Western Athletic Conference), and pinned them at their own 28. But after 17 plays and seven defensive penalties, the Wolves were in business at the Hilmar 10-yard line with just 30 seconds on the clock. But they were saved by a sophomore.
That sophomore was Cohen Felber, a 5-foot-8, 185-pounder that Hilmar’s football faithful may know as the program’s junior varsity quarterback and linebacker. After being elevated to the varsity team this week for their playoff run, Felber was slotted in the secondary. On second-and-goal with the clock ticking, Felber cut off a throw to the end zone from Livingston quarterback Zack Duran, intercepting it to seal the win and send the Yellowjackets to the section quarterfinals.
“I knew we needed a stop,” Felber said some five minutes after the game, still trying to catch his breath. “I saw that ball coming, and it was all mine. I knew I was going to take it right then and there, when I saw it in the air. This feels awesome.”
The pick was Felber’s second of the game. He first intercepted Duran in the waning seconds of the first half as the Wolves were driving past midfield in what was a 7-7 game at the time.
“We brought up a lot of the JV guys this week, and we saw (Felber) at practice, and he was just doing really well,” said head coach Frank Marques. “Coach (Kris) Mendoza decided to start him because he really worked his ass off in practice. What a call that was. With those two interceptions, he was huge for us tonight.”
“Getting called up this week, I knew I had to step it up, try to get that starting position,” Felber added. “I just put in the work.”
Putting in a different type of work throughout the season for the ‘Jackets has been reigning TVL Offensive Player of the Year Caden Bailey. The senior has dealt with a hamstring injury since track season earlier this year, and against Summerville on Oct. 18, seriously injured his ankle. At the time of the injury, the Yellowjackets had already clinched a playoff berth with four wins. He used the past two weeks to heal and undergo physical therapy to ensure his availability in the playoff opener. And in his first action back, Bailey made an immediate impact, rushing for 115 yards and both of the team’s touchdowns on 16 carries.
After Livingston sophomore running back Jose Lozada scored an 11-yard touchdown late in the first quarter to give his team a 7-0 lead, the Wolves intercepted Hilmar senior gunslinger Merek Ellerd. On the very next play, the Yellowjackets got the ball right back after forcing a fumble and recovering on the Livingston 15. Bailey capped off the two-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown rush. Midway through the third quarter, with the game still knotted at 7, Bailey broke four tackles on his way to a 23-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-7 lead.
The speedster said that he planned on returning for Friday’s game nearly 14 days ago. “As soon as the doctor said it wasn’t broken, I knew I’d be back,” he said.
The last time Livingston defeated Hilmar was in 1991.
“When we saw that matchup, we knew it was going to be a great game,” Marques said of Livingston, who was in the TVL up until conference realignment this offseason. “Every time we play, it’s a battle, and they showed up tonight.”
Now, the Yellowjackets will travel to play No. 3 Lathrop, who earned their first-round bye with a 9-1 record in the regular season, including a 7-0 campaign in the WAC. Of course, one of those league wins came against Livingston. In the Oct. 18 meeting, the Spartans won by a 28-10 score.
