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'No reason to hang their heads': Escalon football season ends shy of CIF State Finals

shannon mia belt, the stockton record
·3 min read

LAFAYETTE, CA – "We’re going to be fine."

Those words echoed in every player's, coach's and fan’s brains on the Escalon football sidelines as the season started slipping away. The Cougars lost 49-14.

Escalon traveled over an hour to take on Acalanes for the CIF State Division 3-AA Regionals and in a matter of minutes they found themselves down 14-0. They had made a miraculous comeback last week but the tale wouldn’t end the same this go round.

Acalanes dominated Escalon to end the Cougars season just a game short of a back-to-back state championship appearance.

Escalon's Nate Krieger, left, comforts teammate Carson Medina after the team lost the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14,
Escalon's Nate Krieger, left, comforts teammate Carson Medina after the team lost the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14,

“We knew it was gonna come to an end,” said Donovan Rozevink, Escalon’s senior quarterback. “We didn’t know how it was going to end, I mean we lost this game my sophomore year and it hurt, but it just hurts more cause this will be the last game we play together.”

Backs against the wall

With both the Cougars and Dons having explosive offenses, the pressure was on for each team’s defense. The Dons answered the call. Senior two-way player Trevor Rogers busted the game open with a 50-yard pick six putting Acalanes up 7-0.

Acalanes caught Rozevink slipping once more as linebacker Deonte Littlejohn snagged an interception and took it straight to the endzone. Along with pick-sixes, Escalon had red zone woes whether it be from penalties or turnovers on downs in scoring position.

“Those mistakes on those first couple drives of ours came back to haunt us and every mistake is magnified in the playoffs,” said Andrew Beam, Escalon football’s head coach. “We went from second and short to fourth and long multiple times and we didn’t convert on those. We had to be perfect on that end and unfortunately, we were not.”

Escalon's Donovan Rozevink, left, throws a pass under pressure from Acalanes' Brady Morrow during the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14.
Escalon's Donovan Rozevink, left, throws a pass under pressure from Acalanes' Brady Morrow during the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14.

Offensive struggles put the Cougars' defense in desperation mode. The Dons built up a 21-7 lead by halftime and there was no slowing them down. Their senior quarterback Sully Bailey ended the game throwing for close to 200 yards and rushing for 30 yards to find the endzone four times in total.

When it wasn’t Bailey lighting the Cougars up it was Rogers and junior wide receiver Niko White who both scored for Acalanes.

“We got a good senior class and they’ve been playing really well,” said Floyd Burnsed, Acalanes football head coach. “This is a huge win because here at Acalances it hadn’t been a football school. Last week’s North Coast Section Championship win was the first one in the school’s history since the 40s.”

More: Niendorf: Escalon claims Sac-Joaquin Section Div. IV title with last-second, one-point win

More: 'Big heart for football': Michael Gonzales named 2023 Record's Fan Favorite Defensive POY

Escalon keeping its head up

By the start of the fourth quarter, the game was pretty much decided with the Dons holding a commanding 42-14 lead. That didn’t stop Escalon’s fan section from cheering the Cougars on until the clock winded down to zero.

Their cheers weren’t in vain because their prep football team was the only San Joaquin County team to make it this far. The Cougars are also the only area team to end their season with a Sac-Joaquin Section blue banner on the Division 4 level. Escalon ends the season with an overall record of 12-2 and a perfect 5-0 Trans Valley League record.

Escalon's Joshua Graham, right, is tackled by Acalanes' Gavin Bender during the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14.
Escalon's Joshua Graham, right, is tackled by Acalanes' Gavin Bender during the 2023 CIF Div. 3-AA State Football Championship semifinal game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette in Dec. 1, 2023. Acalanes won 49-14.

The Cougars will graduate 19 seniors including Rozevink and its running back tandem of Joshua Graham, Jamin Miller, Talan Reider and Nate Krieger.

“When we get over this loss there’s going to be a lot of positive to reflect on,” Beam said. “These guys have been through an unbelievable year. I mean this group of seniors had 44 starts on the varsity level over three years, three section champions, and a state championship last season. They’ve got no reason to hang their heads.”

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Escalon football ends season with loss to Acalanes in State Regionals