Michelle Griffith - The Spectrum Magazine

Sequoia Ends Historic Season With Win Over Scots
The Terremere Trophy is back with the Sequoia High football team.
A year after getting whipped by their rivals, the Cherokees turned the
tables in impressive fashion, coming away with a 26-10 victory under the
portable lights at Carlmont High.
Sequoia’s wild postgame celebration showed just how much this game
meant to the players, coaching staff and fans.
“It means a lot,” said Cherokees running back Josh Lauese, who rushed
for a game-high 189 yards on 21 carries. “We waited the whole year for this
game. All the other games were a warm-up for this one. The trophy is ours
and it’s going to stay with us next year, too.”
With players like Lauese returning in 2010, Sequoia (7-3) has good reason
to feel confident. The Cherokees dusted Carlmont (3-7) with a bruising,
power running game after falling behind early. The Scots, who ended the
season on a six-game losing streak, scored on their first two possessions to
grab a quick 10-0 lead just three and a half minutes into the game.
“We waited the whole year for this game. All the other
games were a warm-up for this one. The trophy is ours
and it’s going to stay with us next year, too.”
Mike Rosenberg put Carlmont up 3-0 with an impressive 52-yard field goal,
and after Sequoia fumbled the ball on its first play from scrimmage, the Scots
capitalized six plays later on Dylan Mendiola’s 16-yard touchdown run with 8
minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
However, it was all Sequoia after that.
Carlmont never scored again, a combination of the Cherokees controlling
the clock with their run game and their ball-hawking defense suffocating the
Scots time and again. More than any team in the Peninsula Athletic League
and perhaps all of the Central Coast Section, the Cherokees say, Here’s what
we’re going to do and we dare you to stop it.
What the Cherokees do is line up in the Wildcat formation, with Lauese,
Isaias Flores or Frank Mems taking the direct snap. Then the trio — behind a
massive and physical offensive line that opens up huge running lanes — go to
work, bulldozing defenders for extra yardage time and again.
Here’s all you need to know about Sequoia’s dominance. The Cherokees
held the ball for 18:43 out of a possible 24 minutes in the second half, a good
portion of which came when they started a series with 7:45 left in the third
quarter.
Amazingly, the Scots didn’t get the ball back until the fourth quarter, a
result of Sequoia going on a 14-play, 80-yard drive culminating with a 24-
yard field goal from Alan Narvaez that gave the Cherokees a 19-10 lead
seconds into the fourth quarter.
“If we take care of the ball, we’re hard to stop,” Sequoia coach Rob Poulos
said. “At times this year we were our own worst enemy. We averaged three
turnovers a game, and you can beat some teams doing that, but the good
teams will whack you if you make that many mistakes. When we didn’t turn
it over, rarely did teams stop us.”
Sequoia scored its first points on a Narvaez 32-yard field goal, then
tied things up early in the second on Mems’ sneak from a yard out. The
Cherokees took the lead for good on another Mems’ sneak — this time from
2 yards out — with 4:40 left until halftime.
Then came one of the critical moments of the game. On the ensuing series,
Carlmont marched down the field to set up a first down at the Sequoia 14-yard
line. But three runs went for 1, 1 and a loss of a yard, setting up a fourthand-7
from the 13. Scots quarterback Nick Passanisi was sacked, and the
hosts never came close to scoring again.
Sequoia, meanwhile, put an exclamation point on the win when Lauese
ran around left end for a 47-yard TD to account for the final margin with
1:38 remaining. The play capped an eight-play drive that came after Lauese
intercepted a Passanisi pass at his own 35.
Lauese was so excited afterwards that he abruptly ended an interview
with a reporter to do some more celebrating with his friends and teammates.
Flores was another catalyst to the Cherokees’ attack, finishing with 135 yards
on 18 carries before departing the game with an injury late.
Sequoia averaged 6.9 yards per carry while limiting Carlmont to only 217
yards of total offense, including a minuscule 83 in the second half. Tenshow
Streets led the Scots with seven receptions for 108 yards, and Passanisi
completed 10 of 24 passes for 139 yards. But Sequoia’s defense was simply
too tough, led by Lauese and mammoth tackle Vini Makasini (6-foot-3, 400
pounds), who batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage.
The Cherokees have shown progress the last couple of years and this
season was their breakthrough. Their seven wins represent the most in at
least a decade. Now Poulos and Co. are already thinking about next year and
the tantalizing possibilities that await.
“I wish we had the playoffs but this is a good substitute,” Poulos said. “The
guys are already thinking about next year. I love these guys because they
made it a wonderful year.”
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Daily Journal newspaper.
Sequoia’s Josh Lauese is one of the main reasons the Terremere Trophy is back in
Redwood City. The sophomore rushed for 189 yards, including a 47-yard scoring run,
during the Cherokees’ 26-10 win over Carlmont.
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