Flawless Escalon too much for Falcons

ESCALON – After seven consecutive weeks of playing near flawless football the Colfax Falcons found out here Friday night that sometimes the deepest wounds aren't the most self-inflicted."I really, really thought that we didn't play that bad," said Colfax football coach Tony Martello. "Escalon was just that good. We met our match tonight."Martello's comments couldn't soothe the scoreboard at Engle Field that showed the hosts overwhelming the Falcons 41-6 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV B final.Escalon (12-1) moves on to play Calaveras next Friday night at Lincoln High in Stockton for the section title. Colfax ends its season at 10-3.Martello's summary of his Falcons' performance wasn't far off. Colfax committed only two penalties and only turned over the ball once, a tipped pass interception late in the fourth quarter.Colfax also rolled up more than 300 yards of offense, including a 20-of-35 night through the air for 235 yards by quarterback Austin Young.But a decent statistical game by Colfax wasn't going to be enough to come close to slowing the Cougars on this night.Led by all-purpose running back Josh Miguel (15 carries for 121 yards) and effective quarterback play from Gino Franschetti (8 for 8 for 138 yards), Escalon scored on four consecutive possessions to end the first half and take a comfortable 27-0 lead."We couldn't slow them down when we needed to," said Martello. "They ran their offense very well and made big plays."Colfax controlled most of the first eight minutes but had nothing to show for it after missing a 26-yard field goal, then Escalon started to click.Keyed by a 19-yard pass from Franschetti to Brandon Shaw, Miguel scored at the 3:01 mark of the opening quarter on a 46-yard scoot around end, where he broke three tackles along the way.On their next possession, the Cougars hurt the Falcons through the air as Franschetti hit three passes totaling 40 yards, including 16-yard scoring toss to Shaw for a 13-0 lead.Colfax showed a spark of life on the Cougars' ensuing kickoff when Josh Moreno took a reverse and motored 58 yards to the Escalon 35, but on fourth and one, Young threw incomplete.The Cougars then went for the kill as a 22-yard run by Miguel set up a nifty 35-yard bootleg keeper by Franschetti on a play where no Colfax defender was within 15 yards of him when he reached the end zone.Colfax's steady run game was bogged down much of the evening as Escalon keyed on Pioneer Valley League MVP Tom Baldoni and limited the senior to 61 yards on 19 carries.Chase Mosier was Colfax's top receiver with nine catches for 115 yards. Baldoni had four receptions for 23 yards.Colfax's lone touchdown came in the third quarter on Conner Brown's 21-yard pass reception from Young. Young, only a junior, finished the season with 2,390 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.Despite the lopsided loss more than 100 miles from home, Martello didn't mince words when he looked back on the Falcons' season."I want our kids to know that this game tonight isn't going to take away from the great season they had," he said. "A league championship, 10 wins and a deep playoff run; that's stuff they'll remember the rest of their lives."