Two rival teams. Two student sections. Both fighting for the win.
On Friday, Jan. 22, varsity boys basketball lost to the Sequoia Cherokees in a difficult game at Sequoia High School.
Prior to this match, all Carlmont teams had won the quad games. However, varsity boys failed to deliver the win that would secure a sweep.
From the beginning of the game, the gym was filled with squeaks from the shoes of the players and screams of students. One side supported purple, the other blue.
In the first quarter, varsity garnered a lot of cheers from the Sequoia student section intended to distract the players, in which they succeeded. The Screamin’ Scots section was less than half the size of that of the Sequoia fans.
“I definitely  think Sequoia had more people [in the stands], but that could be because it’s a home game. They also had more components like their school flag and they were really spirited. Carlmont was too but we could’ve done more,” said junior Maya Paulo.
Despite this, the players continued to play hard and fight for the ball. The first quarter ended 14-9 with Sequoia leading.
Carlmont players struggled to compete with the Cherokees who were able to get past their defense with small and quick movements. As the players moved continuously, defending and covering all the players was made harder for Carlmont.
“A lot of their struggle was from us exploiting brief breakdowns they had on defense in which we were able to come up with some good looks to the basket. Also, it seemed they had trouble getting picks and being able to pick up N’jai, number 22 [on our team],” said Gabriel Bertero, captain of the Cherokees.
Their struggle was seen in the score as Carlmont was still losing by the second quarter, 27-16.
During halftime, the Carlmont cheer team performed various stunts and had a new floor routine. The Sequoia dance team performed next with an entertaining floor routine that made both sides cheer for them.
In the third quarter, Carlmont scrambled to score. Players began to be more aggressive than the first half and many fell to hit the court due to the pushing.
Bertero said, “For us, it meant we were just burning the clock while for them they were simply not letting the lead get any worse. In a moment when you are up eleven in the second half, burning the clock and wearing down the other team is everything.”
Sequoia continued to win the third quarter 43-29.
As the clock ticked down, the game intensified. In the last quarter, varsity coach Pat Smith had a confrontation with the referee as a decision was made against Carlmont even though the Sequoia player slammed a Carlmont player on the ground. Numerous calls made by the referee were disliked by Carlmont, as the school believed the foul was given to the wrong player.
Despite the referee calls, Carlmont was lacking a critical element, energy.
“We really [struggled with] our energy. We weren’t into the game enough and it affected the way we played. Other things that were out of our control, like shots not falling and foul calls by the referees also didn’t help, but it was mainly a lack of energy from most of the team,” said junior Daniel Zorb.
In the final quarter, Carlmont lost the game 56-40.
Even though Carlmont lost, the energy of Screamin’ Scots did not falter. The Screamin’ Scots had a fun time cheering back and forth against Sequoia with chants like “This is our house” from the Cherokees or “AP classes” from the Scots as a taunt aimed at the school with the IB (International Baccalaureate) program.
“It’s always exciting when we play our rivals. Win or lose, it’s a good time and people stay positive despite the tension,” said sophomore Timmy Palthe.
Carlmont will play another away game at Burlingame on Wednesday, Jan. 27.
