Royalty and college football rule for Homecoming

By all accounts, Escalon High School’s fall 2024 homecoming was a huge success.

The election of senior Lisa Murga as homecoming queen, along with a princess chosen at each of the three junior levels of freshman, sophomore and junior classes, the downtown parade, a high school rally and a big win the gridiron for the Cougars university football united for an unforgettable week.

Murga, daughter of Eunice Galvez and Roberto Murga, was crowned the new Homecoming Queen on Friday evening, October 18, during halftime of the varsity football game. Escalon defeated new Trans Valley League opponent Ripon Christian 43-20 in the competition.

For Murga it was the highlight of a fun and exciting week.

“Honestly it feels like a dream, the inner child inside me is screaming, I’m so excited. “I didn’t think I would be chosen Homecoming Queen, so it’s really an honor and I’m really, really grateful to have this experience,” Murga said, adding that the whole week has been a week, that she witnessed. The entire student body on campus enjoyed it. “It was so much fun, I had so much fun dressing up, experiencing it with the girls, it was such a dream.”

Fellow candidates for queen included Charlotte Shaddix, Riley Ogilvie, Darla Garcia Sandoval and Carolina Sandoval.

Junior Skylar Anderson, sophomore Aniston Hunt and freshman Maci Alvarado were selected as homecoming princesses, announced at Thursday’s rally.

This year, juniors Gianna Wilson and Natalie Ruiz served as homecoming commissioners, welcoming the large crowd at Engel Field on Friday evening and taking care of the introductions of all queen candidates during the halftime ceremonies.

In addition to playing volleyball all four years at Escalon High, Murga is also involved in the peer interaction team. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, babysitting, and spending time with her friends. She cited math as her favorite subject and said she plans to continue playing volleyball in college as she pursues a business degree.

“It went by so quickly; I mean, it really goes by in the blink of an eye,” Murga said, summing up her high school years at EHS. “I’m just so grateful that I got to experience so many things during high school.”

Earlier Friday, people flocked to Main Street, lining both sides, as the Homecoming Parade kicked off at 2:30 p.m

With the Escalon American Legion Post 263 Colorguard in the lead, Ray and Cathy Scott followed them on a float surrounded by other family members, waving to the crowd as they were recognized as the Homecoming Grand Marshals.

There were floats from many area schools, as well as the Youth Cougars football and cheer teams, Escalon High School sports teams, a number of high school clubs and organizations, the marching band and more.

Class floats were also featured, each focusing on one of the week’s film themes. The junior class with their Top Gun-themed car was named the winner of the car competition.

In the game itself, all players were committed as Escalon built a big lead, and it was a satisfying win for the varsity team, which has struggled with the loss of several players due to injuries this season.

It was a particularly good night for senior captain Carson Medina; he scored three touchdowns for Escalon; one rushing, one on a pass reception and one on an interception return.

“I think I just knew we needed our energy back. I knew we had to get back on our feet and I knew we had it in us,” Medina said of being back in the win column. “I can’t take too much credit because we had wonderful blocking from the O-line; All of our wings did their job, all of our tight ends, it was a good game overall.”

He also said that the big win was an important way for the team to send a message to everyone watching.

“We are still a prominent TVL team,” Medina said.

Team co-captain, senior Ryan Murphy, was in the trenches all night, battling on the offensive line to create gaps for the running backs and keep the Ripon Christian defense in check.

“It’s a good feeling, especially because we’ve always been that kind of team,” said Murphy about the good performance and the win on home court. “It’s been a struggle this year to find our identity, but that’s what Escalon football is all about: being a more physical team; and I feel like we’re back on track tonight for what Escalon football is all about. We played a difficult game; We played a good game.”

Ryan Lewis, a senior captain, said the team is definitely looking forward to the opportunity to play against Ripon Christian, which was added to the TVL this season.

“Winning our homecoming is one thing, but we’ve wanted to play RC for a long time; “They always said we were too scared to play against them and they would beat us,” Lewis stressed. “I’m so happy for Homecoming that all these fans came out here to watch us play…it was nice to get a win, we’re rejuvenated.”

After being injured in the Trans-Valley League home opener a few weeks ago, junior quarterback Logan Huebner returned to the homecoming game and said the opportunity to connect with his receivers and get the win was a satisfying end to the season busy week.

“It feels great to be back. I’ve been waiting for about four weeks now and I’m glad we won. Maybe we can start a winning streak,” said Hubener.

He also said his knee feels strong and he thanked coaches Bob McCune and Travis Bartelink for helping him rehab and get back on the football field.

“I think we proved that we were just unlucky in the games we lost,” Huebner added, adding that he suffered some very close losses to Vacaville, Hughson and Oakdale this season, with The Cougars now have a record of 3-5 and still need one more win to reach the postseason.

“I kind of wanted to show that I’m back now,” said the junior, who was a center on offense and also played most of the game on the defensive side of the ball. “I’ve been waiting for this… I’ve dreamed of this since I was a kid, so it’s just nice to be back.”