The Scots eased the heartbreaking loss in overtime they obtained from Sequoia last year as the varsity football team took them down 14-7. This brought the Terremere trophy back to Carlmont after seven years.
Not only was it also a rivalry game for the Scots, but it was the last regular season game some Scots will ever play in a Carlmont uniform, too. By those measures, this was no ordinary Friday night.
“This means the world to me. This is what the team has been working for all offseason of December last year. Honestly, I’m about to cry right now, like this is just crazy. All this hard work really paid off and I’m just proud of the whole team,” said senior Ralphie Holmes.
On Friday, Nov. 2, Carlmont and Sequoia met for the 65th time. The first time dates all the way back to 1953, but this meeting had a prize to be obtained.
The Terremere trophy is named after legendary Sequoia coach Al Terremere, who won many championships for Sequoia football and other sports. The trophy has come to symbolize the rivalry between the two schools, as the winner brings the trophy to their school. The Terremere trophy had been sitting at the Sequoia trophy case since 2011. Until now.
“It means a lot to the school and I think what I appreciate most is all the hard work they put in. They worked hard in the offseason, the weight room, on the field, they worked hard for the entire year to get to this point. I think hard work pays off and I am so happy and proud of them for their accomplishments,” said Carlmont Principal Ralph Crame.
The Scots started off the game hot, advancing down the field on their first drive. A couple of rushes by senior running back Julian Morin and junior Jonaven Kuhn set the Scots up at the 50-yard line with a first down. Sophomore quarterback Siupeli Netane handed the ball off to Morin who darted passed the Cherokee defense for a 42 yard run to Sequoia’s 8-yard line. Miles Taye, a senior, finished off the drive with a one-yard score to put the Scots up 7-0 early in the game.
Sequoia seemed close to answering back with a score of their own when Sequoia running back Robert Marticorena sprung out for a 45-yard rush, setting the Cherokee up at the Scots 29-yard line. The Carlmont defense held strong, however, forcing a fumble that was picked up by Holmes on the Scots own 18-yard line for the Scots.
“We stayed focused and stayed with our keys. We just had to keep pounding them and keep em on their toes. That’s what we did and that’s why I felt like they had so many turnovers,” said safety Simon Tara, a senior.
The Scots seemed in danger of giving the ball back to Sequoia when faced with an early third and five. However, Netane connected with Kuhn for a 10-yard pass extending their drive which would end up with a seven-yard touchdown score from Kuhn. After a successful point after attempt, the Scots extended their lead to 14-0.
The Scots defense held up the Sequoia offense well, and after a tackle for loss by sophomore outside linebacker, Atela Tengei, the Cherokees were forced to punt, setting the ball up at the Scots own 20-yard line.
The Scots offense started the drive off great again, starting with an 8-yard rush from Morin. The Scots shared the rock well, a four-yard rush from Taye as well as a reverse run from Tara for 14 yards and another 8-yard rush from Morin set up the Scots in good field position at the Sequoia 45-yard line. However, the Sequoia defense started to gain some momentum, forcing a third and eight at the 37-yard line. Sequoia elected to take a timeout to discuss the upcoming play. The timeout proved to be worth it for the Cherokees; the very next play, Netane’s pass was intercepted by the Sequoia defense.
“[Sequoia] did a great job attacking us at the line of scrimmage, it was a little bit of a struggle to get some plays out due to them being to break our line,” said Netane.
However the Scots defense came to play, and after a deflected pass by Tara, Sequoia faced a fourth and 12 and was forced to punt. It didn’t get any better for Sequoia, for a high snap on the punt caused it to be dropped by the punter, and in a desperate attempt to net positive yards threw an interception to Holmes. With barely any time to play in the first half, Scots just ran out the clock to end the first half 14-0 in their favor.
The Scots defense showed no signs of stopping after the break, forcing multiple turnovers in the rest of the game.
Sequoia started off with the ball to start the second half of the game and tried to gain some momentum by airing the ball out. Sequoia quarterback Sione Tuiaki was hurried out of the pocket by a surge of Scots defenders and threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Carlmont’s Holmes again and was returned to Sequoia’s 34-yard line.
The Scots could not capitalize on the great field position, however, and turned the ball over on downs when Taye’s run was stuffed at the line. Things started to get a little hectic as both teams appeared to be hit with the turnover bug.
A promising drive by Sequoia after a converted fourth and four and good runs by senior running Andrew Williams, which brought the Cherokees to the Scots’ 29-yard line, was squandered when a forced fumble by the Scots was recovered by Morin.
In the fourth quarter, a promising drive from the Scots was also compromised when Netane completed a pass to Tara but did not get a full grasp on the ball as it squirt out of his hands when tackled. Sequoia picked it up at their own 32-yard line.
The very next play, Sequoia fumbled the ball and was recovered by the Scots’ Sam Vaea at the 25-yard line in Sequoia territory.
The Scots offense couldn’t get anything going either for they turned the ball over on downs after a loss of three yards on a rush by Kuhn.
The Scots defense did not disappoint, though, forcing yet another turnover on downs after another promising drive from Sequoia that saw them march all the way to the Scots 18-yard line only to be shut down by the Scots suffocating pass rush.
Sequoia’s defense wasn’t done yet, and once again helped their team get back into the game with Netane’s pass being intercepted by Sequoia’s Keith Knecht and was brought down at the Scots own 13-yard line.
Even with the type of field position that all coaches dream of, the Scots defense was unwavering, forcing a huge fourth down and six with four minutes to play in the entire game. Sequoia elected to take a timeout and discuss what was undoubtedly the biggest play of the game. For maybe the first time in the game, the Scots defense showed weakness, and Sequoia capitalized on it when Tuiaki found his wide receiver Albert Tuakalau for the score to tighten the game up at 14-7 with a little less than four minutes to play.
Sequoia needed nothing short of a miracle to execute an onside kick to get the ball back and they did just that, getting a lucky pass that fell into the hands of Sequoia’s Marticorena, who immediately dropped down at Carlmont’s 46-yard line.
Again, the defense was called upon to close the game out for the Scots. This time the Scots defense did give them anything forcing a critical fourth and 14 on the 50-yard line with only two minutes and 31 seconds left in the game. The game lived up to the hype of a rivalry, for Sequoia’s quarterback converted again on fourth down with a pass to Jordan Barnes for 26 yards to set up the Cherokees at the 24-yard line with only two minutes left in the game. Scots’ defense held strong yet again, forcing Sequia to another fourth down and 12 with 55 seconds left in the game. Knowing this very play would decide the fate of the game, Sequoia took a timeout to discuss their play.
“The game was crazy for the entire night. It was super nerve-racking when Sequoia scored and it was a one-score game. We just had to pull through as a defense and finish our job,” said Tengei.
When both teams broke the huddle, one could hear the cascading roar of the fans as everyone stood up to his or her feet to witness the play that would decide the fate of the Terremere trophy location for the whole year.
And this time, the Scots defense came out on top on fourth down, forcing a turnover on downs, and a celebration.
When asked about the mistake-riddled game, Scots head coach Jake Messina said, “We would have liked the game to be a little cleaner, but it’s a rivalry game and they fought and they battled just like we did last year and that’s just the way it goes. You get through it, you win, and you move on.”
Scots quarterback Netane took a series of knees to confirm the score of the game 14-7, with a Scots victory and the Terremere trophy.
“Just the fact that it was a rivalry game meant a lot to us. The trophy puts an even greater amount of importance into this game against them because we have gotten so close but never really gotten it in a while. But this year, we finally took it from them,” said Tengei.
