Escalon flag football carrying on Cougar traditions as one of California’s best teams
Steve Largent doesn’t believe in revenge.
The history teacher stays busy, doubling as freshman basketball coach and tripling as Escalon’s first girls flag football coach. When he needs something else to fill his week, he serves as the Friday night football PA announcer.
Largent and the Escalon flag football team started the program’s inaugural season winning nine of their first 10 games from late August to early September. The lone loss was to Lodi, which was, at the time, the top team in the section.
On Wednesday, Sept. 6, they got their chance to play the Flames again. But they weren’t looking for revenge.
To prepare for a rematch against the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top flag football team, Largent did what any history teacher turned football coach would do: consult Confucianism.
“I told them a little philosophy: Revenge leads to an early grave. We’re not going after revenge, we’re seeing how we have come along,” Largent said. “How have we grown since losing 12-7?
“‘Before seeking revenge, start digging two graves’ is what he (Confucius) says.”
The Cougars took down the Flames, who at the time were the top team in the Sac-Joaquin Section and in the nation, 13-0. The game ended on a defensive stand with Lodi threatening to score. The win showed that the team had improved in a week and a half.
“We lost to them in the championship of a previous tournament, so we were hungry, we wanted that win,” senior Hanna Wampler said. “We humbled ourselves … we showed up, we put in our new plays and showed them that we were better.”
Largent shared the same pride as the running back/linebacker: “To go down there and win 13-0 was really big. It was a testament to the girls for coming out to practice in the heat after school and working hard and sweating and fighting through it and getting better.”
The flag football team has followed the same blueprint as the tackle football team: Play the best and beat the best.
The Cougars have beaten Lodi, Tokay and St. Mary’s – all top 20 teams in the section, according to MaxPreps. Since beating Lodi, they beat Tracy and Central Catholic in non-league contests and bested Los Banos 12-6 in their first Western Athletic Conference game. They are the No. 2 team in the section and a top 10 team in California as of Sept. 18, with a 14-2 record.
“Honestly, it’s been incredible,” Wampler said of the team’s success this season. “It feels really good and it gives us a sense of pride. It shows all the hard work we’ve been doing at practice.
“I didn’t think that we were going to do this well in the season and then it just kind of blossomed into something that I didn’t expect.”
Largent realized the team could be good after it went 4-1 in an early season tournament. “We talked as a staff and said, I think we got something, I think that we have something special here.” he said.
Football success is nothing new to Escalon.
The tackle football team, led by head coach Andrew Beam, has won three straight section championships and last season claimed a state title. In a community as football-obsessed as Escalon, was there any pressure on the flag team to be successful immediately?
“There’s pressure, you want to be successful in this town,” Largent said. “But what’s cool is all of us coaches played on that field. A lot of the girls’ brothers, dads, uncles, grandfathers played here, so they were excited to get to do something that was a part of that Escalon football tradition.”
The accolades of other girls sports on campus can’t be overlooked, either. The volleyball team is the defending three-time section champion, girls basketball advanced to the section semifinals last season, and the softball program has been in the mix for a playoff spot out of the Trans-Valley League.
“It’s an opportunity to do something new that just adds to that strong female athletic presence here at Escalon.” Largent said.
The Cougars are now in the most important part of their schedule as they begin their push for a WAC title. They play Ceres, Lathrop, Mountain House, Orestimba and Pacheco over the next month. The Cougars hope to be one of the 32 teams to advance to the first ever Sac-Joaquin Section flag football postseason.
“We’ve had the great start, but even if we were, let’s say .500, your goal should always be a league championship,” Largent said. “The main goal is league championship, then a playoff berth, then a playoff win, and then you start making your run into October and early November for Section Championships. … It’s a lofty goal, but at the same time, you have to have those.”
