■ AGE: 54 ■ TENURE: 22 seasons ■ 2010 RECORD: 14-1 226-40 ■ CAREER RECORD: 8 ES: TITL ■ SECTION RD: 1-0 ■ CIF B OWL RECO NKING: NR RA TE ■ FINAL 2010 STA (2 first-team, small school) 4 RS: ATE -ST ALL 0 ■ 201 VICTORY TO H 2010 PAT Regular season 0 ............................... W 379-3 @Lathrop.................... 35 49W ..... ........................ 9-10 @Linden.................... .............................. L 22-15 ...... ...... ...... on.. ters Pat 7 9-1 ............................ W 45-3 ...... ...... 9-24 @Dixon............ 0 ............................. W 6310-1 @Riverbank................ W 45-13 .... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 10-8 Ripon.................... 14 n............................ W 6810-15 Orestimba-Newma 0 34W . ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 10-22 @Hughson.............. ........ W 31-6 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 10-29 Hilmar......... 15 n-Modesto.............. W 3111-5 @Modesto Christia s yoff Pla Section 25 ek........................... W 6311-12 Amador-Sutter Cre W 28-0 ... ...... ...... ...... sto. ode 11-19 Central Catholic-M 6 ................................. W 4111-26 Colfax .................... 20 22W .... ...... ...... ...... s.... 12-3 Calveras-San Andrea ship CIF Div. III Champion ..................... W 30-14 ...... . go. Die an n-S diso 12-18 Ma
There’s a scene in the movie “Hoosiers” where the bus carrying the Hickory High basketball team is being followed by a caravan of cars as the small-town community follows its team to the big game. Maybe it didn’t look quite look like that when the Escalon High (enrollment: 963) football team traveled south to Carson to play in the CIF Division III bowl championship game last December. But make no mistake, just about the entire town came along. Seeing that support as he took the field will remain one of coach Mark Loureiro’s lasting memories from a season which was full of them. “When I looked up and saw how much of the community was there to support us, it was pretty special,” Loureiro said. “This was more than one season. This was a cumulation of something we’ve been working on for several years, and there were many people involved. This wasn’t just about the school of Escalon. It was about the town of Escalon. It meant something to everyone.” So it goes without saying that Escalon’s 30-14 win over Madison-San Diego started a party back home that has yet to truly fizzle out. And for Loureiro, the win was another feather in
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“I was on the committee that founded the (bowl games) when it started, and never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that I’d be there with my own team.” Mark Loureiro what has become an extremely decorated hat during his 22-years as coach of the Cougars. The bowl game victory was his 226th career win at the school, which came one game after he won his eighth section title. But even a championship season such as this didn’t come without bumps. On the third game of the season, Escalon suffered a 22-15 loss to Patterson. But it wasn’t that they lost to the larger program, it was how they lost. “Usually we’re a little more physical than our oppo-
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nent,” Loureiro said. “But on that night we got pushed around a bit. And when that happened, it woke us all up.” That game would stand as the team’s only loss. The Cougars went on to win 12 straight to finish the season. Loureiro’s team entered the championship bowl game as a heavy underdog against a Madison team that was averaging more than 38 points per game. Escalon, which hadn’t played a game in two weeks, never blinked. The Cougars built a 23-7 lead by the end of the first half and never let the high-powered Madison offense gain any traction on the rain-soddened field at the Home Depot Center. “I was on the committee that founded the (bowl games) when it started, and never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that I’d be there with my own team,” Loureiro said. “It was hard to beat the feeling afterward while standing on the awards podium with the kids all around us. I remember how good it felt to look into their faces and see the sense of satisfaction they felt as a result of all their hard work and dedication during the season.” And meanwhile, the town of Escalon beamed on. — Chace Bryson February 10, 2011
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