Escalon Football Historical Highlights

Small school powerhouse Escalon appears to have won more games than any other school in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section except one. Photo: Mark Tennis.

Up next in this series: St. Bonaventure (Ventura). For more on the Cal-Hi Sports football archives project and on how we can help your school, CLICK HERE.

If one were to make a list of the state’s best small towns for high school football, Escalon would be thought of rather quickly.

Dos Palos of the CIF Central Section has the most wins of any small-town team, but Escalon has only had one winless season since its first season in 1929 and has been a dominating presence in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, especially since 1989 when current head coach Mark Loureiro began.

The excitement of Escalon’s 2010 CIF state title probably will get some renewed attention this season due to five-year anniversary. Photo: escalonfire.com.

The pinnacle of Loureiro’s career so far came in the 2010 CIF Division III state bowl game when the underdog Cougars knocked off Madison of San Diego 30-14. Executing the Wing-T offense Loureiro is known for across the nation, junior Josh Miguel rushed for 93 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns while senior Adrian Cortes had 106 yards on 21 carries.

Escalon might have been even better in 2011, extending its win streak to 25 games, but it became the upset victim instead in the SJS Division IV championship game to Hilmar, a school it played for the 58th time last season.

The history of Escalon football also includes Bob Loureiro as the head coach for many years. He is the father of Mark and coached baseball at Escalon for even longer.

With the Loureiros along with head coach Lloyd Engel, which is whom the school’s football stadium is named for and who coached there for nearly 25 years, Escalon’s football tradition has always been more than strong.

Not counting forfeits, a total of 534 varsity wins has been counted up for Escalon since the first game in 1929, an 18-12 victory over the Tracy JVs. With Sacramento High’s total unreported, the only other school in the SJS with more wins than the Cougars is Vallejo, which hasn’t been in the SJS for most of its history.

Besides coaching stability, another factor in Escalon collecting so many wins has been its success against other small-town teams in the region for many years. The most lopsided records in those games have come against Riverbank (38-6) and Hughson (60-18-3). The only school Escalon has played more times than Hughson (81) is Patterson (82).

Here are some other Escalon football records that the school now has in its possession courtesy of this archive initiative:

WIN-LOSS RECORDS FOR EACH DECADE

1920s: 4-1-0

1930s: 35-37-8*

1940s: 31-34-7

1950s: 55-21-8

1960s: 42-37-11

1970s: 47-41-4

1980s: 52-35-4

1990s: 101-16*

2000s: 104-19-1

2010s: 53-14

REPORTED ALL-TIME RECORD HEADING INTO 2015 SEASON:

524 WINS, 255 LOSSES, 43 TIES*

*Does not include forfeit wins. There were two in 1930s and there was one in 1990s. There have been no forfeit losses. Including forfeits, add two wins and reduce two losses for 1930s and add one win and reduce one loss for 1990s. All-time record also would be 527-254-43.

66.4% WINNING PERCENTAGE
(Based on half-win, half-loss for ties and using 524-255-43 totals)

Best Records For Single Season
13-0 – 1996
12-0 – 1993
9-0 – 1950
12-0-1 – 2002
14-1 – 2010

Worst Records For Single Season
0-7-1 – 1936
1-7 – 1944
1-6-2 – 1962

Most Points Scored (Single Game)
73 – VS. Riverbank, 2011
69 – VS. Modesto Christian, 2011
68 – VS. Orestimba (Newman), 2010
67 – VS. Capital Christian (Sacramento), 2004
67 – VS. Dixon, 2011
65 – VS. Ripon, 1951

Most Lopsided Wins
73-0 – VS. Riverbank, 2011
67-0 – VS. Dixon, 2011
65-0 – VS. Ripon, 1951
63-0 – VS. Lindhurst (Olivehurst), 2002
63-0 – VS. Ripon Christian, 2009
63-0 – VS. Riverbank, 2010

Most Points Allowed (Single Game)
55 – VS. Ceres, 1936
52 – VS. Central Catholic (Modesto), 2012
50 – VS. East Union (Manteca), 1976
49 – VS. Calaveras (San Andreas), 1967

Most Lopsided Losses
55-0 – VS. Ceres, 1936
46-0 – VS. Los Banos, 1962
49-6 – VS. Calaveras (San Andreas), 1967
48-6 – VS. Los Banos, 1949
52-10 – VS. Central Catholic (Modesto), 2012

Records Against Notable Opponents
38-6 – VS. Riverbank*
60-18-3 – VS. Hughson
30-12-5 – VS. Linden
40-24-4 – VS. Ripon
46-27-9 – VS. Patterson
29-28-1 – VS. Hilmar
6-12-0 – VS. Central Catholic (Modesto)
*Riverbank’s last win against Escalon came in 1985. Current losing streak to Cougars at 0-28.

Longest Winning Streaks
25 – 2010-2011 (won last 12, then first 13, including 2010 CIF D3 state bowl game)
21 – 1996-97 (13-0 for 1996 season, then first eight in 97)
18 – 2002-03 (won, tie and then 12 wins, followed by 7-0 start)*
17 – 1949-1951 (won last four, then 9-0 season, won first four)
*Part of 19-0-1 unbeaten streak.

Longest Losing Streaks
0-9 – 1944-1945 (lost last six, then first three)*
0-6 – 1936 (lost last six)**
*Part of 0-10-1 winless streak.
**Part of 0-10-1 winless streak.
Note: There is only one additional losing streak in school history of five games in length or longer.

Remember, any school in the state can have this research finished in a customized fashion in return for a reasonable fee. For details, CLICK HERE.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports