Hughson shakes rough start, rolls past Hilmar for first win over Yellowjackets since 2014

The Hughson football team entered Friday’s game against Hilmar with a shot at making history.

The Huskies had the chance to put a cap on their first Trans-Valley League title since 1998 while also beating the Yellowjackets for the first time in 10 seasons. A win would also mark the first victory for nearly everyone on the Huskies’ sideline, from head coach Shaun King to the youngest player on the field.

“It’s been well said on social media,” King said. “In the past, we’ve had the teams, I was just outcoached. We had a good week and we were focused.”

Both offenses started slowly — Hughson had a pair of early turnovers, Hilmar had one, and the teams finished the first quarter tied 7-7. But Hughson’s high-powered offense found its groove, outscoring Hilmar 21-7 for the rest of the half en route to a 41-24 victory.

The monkey was off their backs, King got his second postgame water-cooler shower in three contests as the Hughson fans screaming all game somehow mustered the energy to scream louder as the Huskies walked through the handshake line.

The win keeps Hughson’s undefeated season intact with just one game remaining.

“We’ve come up short all my years, I mean this is my first time beating Hilmar,” Hughson quarterback Robert McDaniel said. “That was the steppingstone to get a TVL (title). … It just feels really great to get back on top.”

Said King: “This was the big game. This was the game we’ve had on our calendar for a whole year. It’s pretty exciting.”

Hughson overcame a shaky start

The Huskies sealed the game with a seven-minute drive in the fourth quarter.

They drove 98 yards and capped an offensive explosion with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Colt Foss. After a penalty, it went back to the rushing attack, running the ball 12 times on the 15-play drive. Hughson was in complete control.

“Honestly, the last couple of years, we haven’t been able to run the ball against Hilmar,” King said. “This year, we wanted to take time off the clock, we wanted to have a long drive, we wanted to finish.”

That last scoring drive was a direct contradiction to how the game started for the Huskies.

The Yellowjackets flustered the Huskies, forcing six incompletions and two interceptions with one pick-six on McDaniel and forced the team into three penalties on the first three drives.

“They had a great game plan,” King said. “Once we adjusted and made a couple of tweaks, we found a way to be successful.”

But after the opening frame, the offense settled in, producing at a rate the Husky faithful came to know over the past few seasons with McDaniel at the helm. Hughson scored on five straight drives in the second, third and fourth quarters combined. Robert bounced back from the two early picks, completing 21 of 40 passes for 326 yards and three TD. Two touchdowns went to his younger brother, Bryce, who caught six passes for 105 yards. Eli Wilbanks rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Lincoln Sousa also caught a touchdown pass.

“It shows there’s a lot of guys that can step up,” McDaniel said.

An unlikely hero emerged on that fourth-quarter drive in linebacker/fullback Colt Foss.

The senior had to wait his turn behind veteran linebackers and experienced rushers last season, but he’s filled the big vacant shoes.

Foss was the hero in the Huskies’ big win over Sonora, batting down the two-point conversion with seconds remaining. He played his role on defense perfectly two games ago, Friday night, he was rewarded with extra offensive opportunities.

He entered Friday night’s game with seven carries on the season. He nearly matched that on Hughson’s big drive, recording six. In total, he carried the ball 12 times for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“It’s amazing, man, it’s so cool to just carry the ball,” Foss said. “It’s a pleasure. I think the most carries I’ve had in a game was three, and I probably had 12 today. It’s so much fun to run the ball. I love middle linebacker, but it’s so much fun to run the ball.”

Hilmar’s coach is proud

Hilmar head coach Frank Marques said postgame that he was proud of the Yellowjakets team that battled to the end despite being young and riddled with injuries.

Hilmar went into the game without leading rusher Caden Bailey due to injury and the team lost a starting lineman early in the contest. The Yellowjackets have just one senior lineman on the team and have three starting linemen who are sophomores.

The Hilmar defense got to the Huskies like no one had done all season. Marques said they brought pressure on McDaniel and played man on the receivers. He said the goal was to “bring five or six every time and keep them uncomfortable.”

In the first quarter, they knocked down multiple passes at the line and scored a defensive touchdown when Colton Johnston intercepted a batted pass at the Hughson three yard line and returned it the short distance for a pick-six.

“We just came after them,” Marques said. “We knew we couldn’t sit back and wait for them, so we just gambled and came after them. Our kids did a really good job of executing our game plan, and we had nothing to lose. We knew they were a really good football team, and we’re a little outmatched, but I’m really super proud of the kids and the effort they gave tonight.”

Hilmar quarterback Merek Ellerd completed five of 13 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown and carried the ball 12 times for 59 yards.

Sophomore Nathan Ayala caught the touchdown pass from Ellerd and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

“They battled and competed for being shorthanded, our offense moved the ball at times really well,” Marques said. “We made a couple mistakes that we couldn’t finish drives, but the big scope of things, I’m super proud of our kids. The adversities we’ve had this year, it could have been easy for our team to hold and quit, and they didn’t. At the end of the day, I’m probably as proud as these kids I have ever been any other group of kids I’ve had. The kids have competed really well.”

One final league game

Both teams finish the regular season next week with their final TVL games.

Hughson is looking to finish off its first undefeated season in the King era against Modesto Christian. They will likely earn a bye in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs as they are projected to be the No. 1 seed in Division V by rankings site CalPreps.com.

Hilmar is the No. 6 team in D-V after the loss and though it may not be slated for a first-round bye, they can still have postseason success if they can get healthy. The Yellowjackets host Ripon in the regular season finale next week.