By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Hilmar falls to TVL rival Escalon
Hilmar football 1
Hilmar senior Mattheu Brum takes down Escalon's Carter Yates-Perreira with a flying tackle (SAMANTHA SCHMIDT/The Journal).

ESCALON — Quarterback Logan Huebner ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and threw for touchdown as Escalon High continued its recent run of dominance over Hilmar with a 27-9 Trans-Valley League football victory on Friday night at Lloyd Engel Field.

Escalon has now won six of its last seven matchups against Hilmar, dating back to 2018, when the Yellowjackets beat the Cougars twice in the same season en route to capturing the CIF 6-AA state championship.

With the victory, the Cougars improve to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the TVL, while the Yellowjackets dip to 4-2 and 1-1.

Hilmar football 2
Hilmar’s Nathan Ayala fights through an Escalon defender to reel in a pass (SAMANTHA SCHMIDT/The Journal).

With Hughson’s 21-14 loss to Ripon Christian, there’s now a four-team tie for second-place behind undefeated Sonora.

Huebner’s first score of the game was a 60-yard reception from running back Dylan Ball, who took a direct snap from center and found Huebner racing up the home sideline for a 7-0 lead with 9:25 remaining in the second quarter.

On the Cougars’ next possession, Huebner capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive with a 9-yard scamper for a 14-0 lead at the intermission.

Hilmar took the second half kickoff and put together an impressive nine-play march inside Escalon’s 10. But Jorden Jacobo was sacked for a loss of 9 and the Yellowjackets had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from junior Blake Vitorino, cutting the deficit to 14-3.

“That was big there,” said head coach Frank Marques. “That was a big drive to start the second half. If we could have scored a touchdown on that drive, it puts right back in the game.

Four plays later, on the ensuing drive, Huebner found Chase Cummings open in the middle of the field for a 62-yard scoring strike to make it 20-3 with 5:09 to play in the first quarter.

“That one took the wind completely out of our sails,” said Marques. “We just didn’t match up well with them tonight.”

Both teams added fourth-quarter scores. 

Escalon made it 27-3 when Huebner found Carter Yates-Perreira on a 40-yarder, and Hilmar cut it to 27-9 when quarterback Cohen Felber hit Nathan Ayala on a 22-yarder.

The Yellowjackets recovered the onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs with 18 seconds to play.