Before stepping on the field in Newman, Hilmar High head coach Frank Marques gave his team a simple message: give everything you have on the field.

The message not only served as motivation to a Yellowjackets’ team who was coming off of a 22-21 loss against Sonora last week, but to how Marques wants to conclude his tenure at the helm of the program. Marques’ decision to step down will conclude a more than 20-year career that saw him lead the Yellowjackets to four Sac-Joaquin Section Championships (2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018) and a state championship in 2018.

With his time coming to a near close, Marques said he wants his team to continue to win the small plays which ultimately could make a difference.

“I just want [them to] win the play, not win the day or not win the game. Just try to win every play,” he said. “That’s been our motto is to take care of the little things whenever you play and the big things will take care of themselves.”

That motto resonated with the Yellowjackets’ effort Friday night as Hilmar got back in the win column following a 41-0 shutout on the road against Orestimba High. The Yellowjackets improve to 5-3 overall (2-2).

Hilmar’s Jorden Jacobo had success throwing in the air against the Warriors with three touchdown passes.

In the opening half, the Yellowjackets made it clear that the team was coming out with a sense of urgency.

In Orestimba’s opening drive, Hilmar’s Nathan Ayala made a last second look at the ball intended for Michael Maier and jumped to get an interception, setting up the Yellowjackets midfield.

This later resulted in a play where Jacobo threw a touchdown pass to Leo Nunes to lead, 7-0.

Following an unsuccessful drive from the Warriors, the Yellowjackets drove down to Orestimba’s 10-yard line and extended its lead following a run from Lucas Belo to lead, 14-0. After the extra point kick, Marques greeted his players on the sidelines by saying, “We got to keep smacking them.”

That message resonated with the Yellowjackets’ tone on both sides of the ball. As for Orestimba, the team’s start to the match only got worse after the Warriors muffed a punt return early in the second quarter. This set up the Yellowjackets 20 yards from the endzone.

Adam Branco received a handoff from Jacobo and ran towards the end zone to make it a three-possession game, 21-0, with more than 10 minutes left in the quarter.

As much of its offense dominated, the Yellowjackets’ defense stood out the most as Orestimba's offense struggled to get down the field.

On Hilmar’s following possession, Jacobo found Ayala on a streak route for a 50-yard touchdown pass to lead, 28-0.

While Orestimba later found success going down the field, that was short-lived after John Navarro’s pass was picked off by Hilmar’s Riley Butler. Despite having less than a minute remaining, the Yellowjackets successfully got towards Orestimba’s 10-yard line.

Rather than kicking a field goal, Hilmar decided to gamble on its chances for one final touchdown. That risk ultimately paid off as Jacobo found Vincent Machado near the left corner of the endzone to lead, 41-0. The Yellowjackets missed the extra point attempt.

The Yellowjackets’ halftime lead was more than enough to win the game.

Hilmar will have more time than usual as the team enters its bye week. The Yellowjackets have two games remaining in the regular season, starting with a trip to Hughson High on Oct.24. Kickoff will begin at 7 p.m.

“We always talk about having faith in each other and even though we have those two losses, the team still believed in the mission that we had,” Marques said. “We got tough ones coming up with Hughson and Ripon, they’re both really good football teams and we will have to come out and play an error-free game.”