Cohen Felber is no stranger to big moments. On Friday night under the lights of McSweeney Field, the senior once more etched his name into the Hilmar High School history books.

Nearly two years after his memorable game-clinching interception in the 2024 section playoffs against Livingston, Felber again found himself with the ball in his hands in the waning seconds of one of the most highly-anticipated Hilmar football games in recent memory.

Down 32-29 at the team’s own 35-yard line with 2:22 left to play against Trans-Valley League rival Escalon in the fourth annual Vaca Bowl and the 78th overall meeting between the two small-town powerhouses, Felber took matters into his own hands (and legs).

The dual-threat quarterback carried the ball three times on the five-play drive. The final snap at the 12-yard line was a designed run that had Felber run towards the right-side hash mark towards the home sideline. After evading defenders at the line of scrimmage, he waltzed the final five yards before diving into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with just 31 seconds remaining.

Felber began the drive with a 15-yard rush, then handed the ball to junior Adam Branco two straight times for another nine yards. A designed rush for Felber ate up another 28 yards before his final heroics.

The Cougars, who had entered Friday winning the last three meetings and have held the coveted silver milk can trophy for all three years of its existence, could not respond. At midfield, sophomore quarterback Archer Sanders’ deep ball towards the red zone was picked off by Nathan Ayala with six seconds left on the clock.

The 36-32 victory kept Hilmar undefeated through the first six weeks of the season and two games into TVL play. Escalon’s lead in the all-time series closed to 39-38-1.

“We just knew what we had to do,” Felber said amid a crowd of Hilmar fans who rushed on the field to celebrate. “We had to get down there and score. We had no other choice.”

Felber let out a celebratory roar until he was red in the face as teammates rushed to celebrate with him in the corner of the end zone.

“I am so pumped and so proud of everybody on this team, from the offense to the defense to the special teams, and of course of this amazing community,” Felber said. “This is an amazing feeling.”

Felber rushed for 137 yards and two scores on 15 carries while throwing for an additional 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts.

“It’s why we put the ball in his hands,” said first-year head coach Mark Santos of his star senior. “We're just kind of letting him take over. We feel he’ll make the right choices, and he did right there on that last drive.”

Despite having already allowed 296 rushing yards, including 215 to junior running back Dylan Ball, the Hilmar defense was key down the stretch.

With the three-point advantage and just under seven minutes of game time remaining, the Cougars had driven 50 yards down to the Hilmar 22-yard line. But on third-and-one, Ayala came crashing in from his safety position to tackle Ball for a loss of one yard. The Cougars, still confident in the run game, then attempted to convert on fourth-and-2, but the snap was botched and recovered by the Yellowjackets to set the stage for the winning drive.

“We were blitzing both our linebackers because we knew they were going to run straight up the middle,” Ayala said of the preparation before the third-down attempt. “I just knew I had to fly up and make the tackle. Our linebackers took on the blocks, and I was just there to make the play.”

In addition to his clinching interception and critical third-down tackle, Ayala tallied another three tackles for loss on the night.

Friday’s game was a shootout from the very beginning.

The Cougars took a 7-0 lead on just the third play from scrimmage as Ball went nearly untouched 67 yards for the score. Felber and Ayala then hooked up on a screen pass that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Following an Escalon three-and-out, Hilmar began the second quarter by taking a 13-7 lead off a 3-yard touchdown rush from Branco. Seven plays and less than two minutes later, Jake Ferreira gave the Cougars the lead right back with a 17-yard touchdown rush.

Escalon’s 14-13 lead was also short-lived, as Felber carried the ball three times on five plays, capping the drive by evading multiple defenders en route to a 20-yard score. After Escalon turned the ball over on downs near midfield, kicker Blake Vitorino extended the Hilmar lead to 23-14 with a 37-yard field goal.

The Cougars came out firing out of halftime, with Ball again breaking loose for a 45-yard touchdown run. Ball carried the momentum to his defensive position at cornerback, as he picked off Felber 20 seconds later. Nearly the rest of the time in the third quarter was milked by a 14-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in Ferreira making an 11-yard touchdown catch. Sanders then found Ian Trejo for a successful 2-point conversion. Another empty possession by Hilmar set up an Escalon field goal to make it a 32-23 ballgame with just under 10 minutes remaining. Branco’s 10-yard rushing touchdown made it 32-29 ahead of the clutch defensive stand.

“After losing to these guys the last couple years, I just knew something had to change,” said senior offensive tackle and Fresno State commit Justin Ortiz. “We had a different mindset. When we were down at half, I just had that feeling in my mind that we were going to win no matter what. I was going to do it for my dad, do it for myself and do it for my team. And we won. We won, baby!”

Ortiz was again playing with a heavy heart after losing his father, Anthony Ortiz, last Friday ahead of Hilmar’s 28-14, TVL-opening win at Ripon.

“My dad always loved football, and I love football,” Ortiz said. “I came out here like I did last Friday knowing that even though something tragic happened, I have to keep playing for him and I have to keep playing for myself. That’s what I was thinking. I just had to play.”

Santos, amid celebration and even tears from some players and fans, sported a bright smile as he accepted the milk can trophy from Escalon representatives for the first time.

“This feels good,” Santos said. “Escalon is a great program. (Head coach) Andrew Beam always has them ready, no matter what their record is. I have a lot of respect for them.

“I'm an emotional guy. Normally, I'm not a big talker, but when you see me on the sideline, I'm yelling and screaming. This is important to me. It's important to all of us. We put a lot of time into it, and you can see by how we celebrate.”

Santos said his 6-0 Yellowjackets will cherish the win for the night, while also acknowledging that the focus quickly needs to turn to taking on two-time CIF State champion Sonora on the road next week. The Wildcats are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in TVL play after defeating Ripon Christian by a 28-7 score on Friday.

Hilmar and Sonora will enter the week engaged in a three-way tie atop the TVL standing alongside Hughson, while Escalon is alone in fourth at 1-1.

“We celebrate by moving on to Sonora next,” Santos said. “This league doesn't get any easier, so we need to shift our focus quickly.”