There were plenty of things the Yellowjackets celebrated in beating the Warriors on Friday night, but their worst nightmare also came true. Quinton McCown, the quarterback who led Hilmar to the Division V championship last season, broke his collarbone on the third play of the game to end his senior season. The injury came after what coach Franks Marques said was a clean tackle by an Orestimba player. McCown also had the same injury in 2008, which sidelined him for the first few games before his return. His replacement will be sophomore Andrew Olson, who’s been practicing with the varsity squad all season. Even without their star quarterback in the Western Athletic Conference game, the Yellowjackets (8-1, 3-1 WAC) still won with two touchdowns and a safety in the first quarter before allowing two Rammone Pious touchdown passes before the first half ended. But Hilmar supplied enough offensive output, thanks to a 7-yard TD run from Issac Diaz, a Diaz pass to Ryan White and a Carlos Diaz 4-yard run. And finally, Daniel Mouro kicked in a 39-yard field in the fourth to put the game away.
Friday’s game at Patterson: All eyes will be on McCown’s replacement sophomore quarterback Andrew Olson, who is expected to give the Yellowjackets the same kind of offensive output they’ve had all season against the Tigers (5-4, 3-1).