Nov. 18, 2024

It’s a testament to how high the bar has been raised at Hughson that a one-sided playoff victory is shrugged off as less than satisfying to some. Fair or not, that’s the level of expectation for the unbeaten Huskies after back-to-back Section championships and a state title two years ago.

Friday’s 28-6 victory over El Dorado of Placerville in the Division 5 playoffs may not have been as emotionally satisfying as the 10 victories that preceded it, but it counts all the same. It also earned the top-seeded Huskies (11-0) another home game this week against No. 4 Union Mine, which used its lethal ground game to overpower Casa Roble 55-41.

Because of a forfeit by Modesto Christian in the final regular-season game and a first-round bye, Hughson hadn’t played since beat Hilmar 41-24 on Oct. 25. It was inevitable that the three-week layoff would have some effect, especially on offense.

“We just weren’t clean,” said Coach Shaun King. “I’m not going to make any excuses. We should have played better, but we still had nearly 400 yards on offense. We had a double bye. Hopefully, this week is different. We earned the one seed so we earned the right to play an eighth seed, but we can’t play that way this week against Union Mine.”

Despite its lack of sharpness offensively, Hughson never was in any serious danger against El Dorado. The Huskies scored the first time they had the ball on a 9-yard run by Eli Wilbanks (13 carries, 130 yards, two TDs).

“The three weeks off did him wonders because he hasn’t been the same since he sprained his right ankle against Escalon (on Oct. 4),” King said. “He had a great game. He’s fast and powerful and he has great vision.”

Wilbanks admitted the layoff affected Hughson, but credited his teammates for meeting the challenge.

“I think we definitely came out more rusty than we wanted to be,” he told the Modesto Bee. “But we have a very good way of coming together and overcoming hardship. I think we were able to overcome it pretty well.”

Hughson increased its lead to 14-0 later in the first quarter thanks to Malakai Sumter, who intercepted a pass on defense and then caught a 56-yard bomb from Robert McDaniel a few plays later.

El Dorado trimmed the margin to 14-6 with a second-quarter TD pass, but Hughson took a 21-6 lead into halftime thanks to a 22-yard pass from McDaniel to Lawson Aviles.

“(El Dorado) came in with a good gameplan, and we just struggled,” McDaniel told the Bee. “Our run game just carried us. That’s kind of our motto has been this year. Our run game is up or our pass game is up, and it’s really fun to watch when both of them are up, especially.”

Wilbanks second touchdown – a 1-run yard run in the third quarter – ended the scoring.

The Huskies’ defense, meanwhile, did not appear to be affected at all by the long break between games.

“Our defense played great. They kept us in the game,” King praised. “On offense, one guy can go the wrong way and it blows up a great play. On defense, 10 guys can go the wrong way, but one guy can make a great play and it works.”

Valente Soria – moved to defensive end from outside linebacker a few games ago – was in the El Dorado backfield all night. He finished with eight tackles – five for losses – and 3½ sacks.

“He gives more speed on outside. He’s tall and lengthy, and he was overpowering his guy,” said King of Soria.

Max Mankins – Hughson’s other defensive end – posted two more sacks. Add in tackles Carlos Guizar and Colton Taylor, and the Huskies’ are tough to push around up front.

“Our defensive line is playing extremely well,” King said.

Union Mine presents a unique test for Hughson’s defense. The Diamondbacks run the wing-T offense and rarely have a wide receiver on the field. Instead, they have two or three running backs behind the quarterback and extra tight ends or linemen up front.

“It’s a juggernaut. They pound the rock,” King said. “There are a lot of variations of the wing-T offense. Oakdale runs it one way, Escalon runs it another way and this team runs it a different way.”

In addition to prepping for Union Mine’s offense, the Huskies will practice Wednesday night to get better acclimated to the change in temperature.

“It was much colder Friday than when we played Hilmar three weeks ago,” King said.

Weather also could be factor this week. Heavy rain is forecast for Friday, something that could be a positive for Hughson.

“Union Mine hasn’t played on grass once this season,” King said. “If our field gets wet, it could be a mud bowl.”

The other Division 5 semifinal this Friday pairs No. 2 Sutter (10-1) against No. 3 Lathrop (10-1). The Section championship game will be played Nov. 30 at Sacramento City College.