HILMAR — Without the services of a handful of key players, taking down defending Trans-Valley League and Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 champion Escalon was too tall an order for Hilmar, as the Yellowjackets fell 42-17 on Friday night at McSweeney Field.
Hilmar was without the services of senior defensive end/tight end John Labno, senior OL/DL Matthew Avila, sophomore wingback/cornerback Nathan Ayala, all while star Caden Bailey was battling a stomach virus that forced him to throw up on the sidelines after a number of plays.
“I only suited up 27 players tonight,” said Yellowjackets head coach Frank Marques, now in his 22nd season guiding Hilmar. “It’s been a challenge. But no excuses. They were missing some players, too. They were just the better team tonight.”
The Cougars were playing without two key starters — quarterback Logan Huebner and running back Sam Jimenez, who rushed for 1,000 yards in 2023 — and faced the prospect of slipping 0-2 in the rough-and-tumble TVL after a 35-14 thumping at the hands of Sonora last week.
However, the Cougars hardly missed a beat as junior quarterback Donovan Martinez stepped in nicely for Huebner — who was injured last week against Sonora — by completing 11 of 17 passes for 180 yards and four touchdowns.
“I had a full week of practice and I got accustomed to more plays and more comfortable with the offense,” said Martinez, who before last week had not played since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during Week 3 of his freshman campaign. “I just came out here tonight feeling confident and we did our job.”
Of course, it helps when you have four-year varsity starter Ryan Lewis as a target. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior was on the receiving end of five of Martinez’s 11 completions, including one that went for a 20-yard touchdown.
Lewis very nearly had second touchdown when he almost pulled down an 11-yard pass from Martinez near the pylon. Lewis leaped for the ball and pinned it against the back of his defender’s shoulder pads, falling to the ground as he attempted to get a better grip on the ball. As he fell, however, he lost possession of the ball and it rolled off the defender’s shoulder. Just then, Tanner Westmoreland came out of nowhere to grab the ball before it hit the grass, tapping both feet inbounds at the 1 before his momentum carried him out of bounds.
The sideline ref ruled an incomplete pass, but her decision was overruled by the head referee. However, he mistakenly called the play a touchback, and Hilmar took over at the 20.
The Yellowjackets had just cut the deficit to 35-17 on a 33-yard strike from quarterback Merek Ellerd to receiver Hunter Barnes, and Westmoreland’s acrobatic play gave Hilmar a chance to cut it to a two-score deficit.
However, after moving out near midfield, the Yellowjackets fumbled the ball and Escalon recovered, taking over on Hilmar’s 46.
The Cougars cashed in three plays later when Martinez and Chase Cummings hooked up on a 24-yard scoring strike that made it 42-17 with 2:19 to play in the third quarter.
“I don’t want to say it was a have-to-have or a season-breaker, but it was. We were backed into a corner,” said Escalon head coach Andrew Beam. “I’ve been driving No. 1 (Huebner) and No. 5 (Jimenez) around in my golf cart all week, and it makes you sick. And it makes you sick to see their guys injured. The amount of injuries that have been sustained by the TVL’s top players is upsetting, because you’re not seeing everybody at their best.”
Hilmar took a 7-6 lead in the first quarter when Ellerd ran it in from 36 yards out. After falling behind 14-7, the Yellowjackets cut the margin to four points when Jacob Sward booted a 24-yard field goal with 3:21 remaining in the first half.
Hilmar had first-and-goal at the 4-yard-line, but got pushed back and had to settle for three.
“Our guys battled and never quit,” said Marques. “Is it not good that we lost? Absolutely, but you got to be proud of the kids.”
