After what happened last season, the Sequoia Cherokees weren’t about to let their cross-town rivals slip past them again as they continue to roll in the PAL Ocean Division, beating the Woodside Wildcats, 32-7, Friday night. The host Cherokees improved to 6-1 overall (2-1 PAL-Ocean) while Woodside dropped to 2-5 (0-3).
Last year, Woodside snatched away Sequoia’s chance for a victory in the final seconds after an interception and last-minute touchdown drive gave the Wildcats a seven-point win. With the Wildcats coming to Cherokee territory this year, revenge seemed to be in the air. The packed stands would not be disappointed.
“There is definitely some redemption,” Sequoia coach Rob Poulos said. “Last year I felt like we were going for that win and it just got snatched away. So, a year later, to be in this position and to get a very solid victory over that same team, that feels good. It feels like we’re moving in the right direction.”
Mikey Taylor ran it into the end zone with 30 seconds left in the half to put Sequoia up 19-7 heading into the locker room. But knowing that comebacks are always a possibility, the Cherokees knew that they had to keep firing to come out on top.
And fire they did.
Sequoia went on to score twice more in the game. On a 44-yard pass play, Taylor connected with senior Jerod Woo in the third quarter and Taylor ran it 30 yards to pass the pylon in the fourth.
“I think last week’s bare win was the best thing that could have happened,” said Poulos, referring to Sequoia's surprisingly close 14-7 win at Jefferson. “It told us that if we don’t get serious, anything could happen. Guys made sure that didn’t happen this week. There was no letdown. Once we got up, guys kept applying the pressure and doing the same thing over and over again.”
Senior offensive lineman and captain Julian Bertero agrees that victory this week is sweet, not just because of beating the rival team but also to keep propelling his team towards the playoffs.
“Going into this game everyone was nervous, but by the end of it everyone was just having a good time,” Bertero said. “This is the first time [Coach Poulos] has said ‘enjoy yourself’ after the game, so that’s pretty great for us.”
Woodside looks to move on from this game as it travels to Jefferson Friday night (7 pm). The Cherokees will pay a visit to Menlo (Friday, 3 pm), giving Sequoia little time to linger on this win before beginning to solely focus on the Knights.
“We still make too many mistakes,” Poulos said. “We got closer this week. If we can clean that up a little bit more than we can be competitive. But they’re a heck of a team. If we’re not firing on all cylinders, it’s going to be a hard night.”
