Proving that the lineup is much more indeed than the incredibly versatile Isaiah Burse, a showdown of 8-0 teams in Modesto on Friday night was taken by host Modesto Christian, 21-16, over Escalon.

While Burse was the best playmaker on the field, junior tight end Raymond Nelson was a force as well, senior running back Kevin Roya had some clutch runs (10 carries, 55 yards) and senior running back Aaron Brown had a touchdown run for the Crusaders.

Modesto Christian improved to 9-0 and will stay atop the CIF North Small School bowl game rankings. Head coach Mike Parsons' team couldn't hold onto that ranking a year ago after losing to Escalon.

 

For the Cougars, their season has come to a skidding stop. They had shut out four opponents in a row and were averaging 43.5 points per game. Look for Escalon to fall from the No. 5 position it held in the CIF North Division III bowl game rankings.

"We felt in control the whole game," said Burse, who could be the ideal Wildcat formation quarterback at the next level. "We were hungry for this one and we knew we had more speed. We used some trickery to get ahead early and our defense did the rest."

The 5-11, 180-pound senior lined up as a quarterback, receiver and played on defense throughout the contest. He finished with 216 yards passing on seven completions in 11 attempts for one touchdown. Burse also rushed 20 times for 78 yards while on defense he stopped a two-point conversion with a tackle and came up with a sack.

Nelson, whose older brother, Reeves, is becoming a powerful freshman for the UCLA basketball team, was on the receiving end of a 45-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Hayes in the first quarter to get the night off to a strong start for Modesto Christian. Nelson (6-5, 220) then caught a 24-yard TD pass from Burse later in the first half and finished with five catches for 134 yards. He also had a sack in the second half when Escalon was trying to convert a fourth down.

After falling behind 21-3 early in the third quarter on Brown's eight-yard touchdown run, Escalon began to build some momentum in the second half. After a short punt, the Cougars reached the end zone for the first time on a 24-yard run by sophomore Josh Miguel. 

The next series for the Escalon offense began in the fourth quarter after the Cougars stopped the Crusaders on downs. They moved quickly downfield, but once getting to the one-yard line it took four downs until Steven Silva finally bulled his way into the end zone. Burse then stopped a two-point conversion run so the score stood at 21-16.

Disaster then struck for Modesto Christian on the ensuing kickoff when the ball popped loose from Burse and was recovered by Escalon's Steven Martinez at the Crusaders' 21-yard line.

But instead of allowing a go-ahead score, the Modesto Christian defense didn't even give up positive yardage. Nelson's sack of quarterback Spencer Franceschetti (7 of 14, 99 yards) pushed the ball back to the 32-yard line. The Crusaders' offense then ran out the clock with the help of a fake punt on fourth down in which Burse completed a 27-yard pass to Hayes.

"Our defense was just amazing," Parsons said. "To hold that juggernaut to two scores was great. In my mind, I thought 21 might do it, but for us to win with 21 I knew it would come down to the defense."

Escalon was led by Jason Diniz with 13 carries for 76 yards plus he made one field goal and two PATs as a kicker. Diniz, however, went for 46 yards on his first carry and after that was held to 30 yards on 12 carries. Silva was held to 56 yards on 14 carries while Miguel only had 39 yards on nine attempts.

As impressive as the win was for Modesto Christian, however, the prevailing thought among most prep football followers in the region is that it is still going to be very difficult for the team to get past Central Catholic of Modesto in the upcoming Sac-Joaquin Section Div. IV playoffs. It's hard to know exactly which divisions all teams will be placed in those playoffs, but for the Crusaders to win a section title and actually become eligible for the CIF bowl will still be a long shot. 

Even if Modesto Christian could get past Central Catholic or a potential rematch with Escalon, also in the way potentially could be even one more school with a CIF Division III or CIF Division II enrollment such as Placer of Auburn or Lincoln of Lincoln.

While watching Burse dance around and make plays on both sides of the ball, it really would be a great matchup if the current CIF South Small Schools bowl leader, Francis Parker of San Diego, could play Modesto Christian. With Parker's Deon Randall doing his thing, that one would be stellar.

It's just too bad the CIF and its sections have such a convoluted system of rules, enrollment priorities and other obstacles that will likely prevent such a matchup from happening. The brightest stages should be for the brightest stars and while Randall and his team don't have to beat schools two or three times bigger to get eligible for the bowl game, that's unfortunately not the case for Burse and his team. 

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