In the annual rivalry game Friday night, the Scots couldn’t convert a crucial touchdown late in the fourth quarter, leading to a 23-28 loss against the Ravens on Terremere field.
Following tradition, Sequoia will take the Terremere trophy home as the winner. The trophy represents the rivalry between Carlmont and Sequoia, and Sequoia was determined to take it back on Nov. 4.
“It feels good to recapture the trophy; I’ve been here for 14 years, and I think I’m 10-4. So losing it for two years in a row, even with one of the years being COVID, was driving me nuts,” said Sequoia Head Coach Robert Poulos.
The Ravens jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Sequoia senior quarterback John Larios connected with Sequoia senior Jack Elgaaen for a 78-yard touchdown just thirty-five seconds into the first quarter.
Sequoia seemed destined to win back the Terremere trophy after scoring their third touchdown to end the first half. They built a 21-10 lead, and their offensive scheme had Carlmont’s defense on edge.
“We saw there was going to be a lot of tight coverage. So we felt like if we were patient, we could win some mismatches… if you can protect the quarterback long enough, you have a chance of catching a route over the middle, and that’s what we did three times,” Poulos said.
Meanwhile, Carlmont’s offense was having trouble moving the ball downfield, scoring just one touchdown and turning the ball over three times in the first half.
All Sequoia had to do was keep Carlmont at bay. However, Carlmont came out strong to start the second half. Senior kicker Conner Cook hit both field goal attempts in the third quarter, cutting Sequoia’s lead down to just five points.
“Our game plan coming into the second half was to be balanced on offense, continue spreading it out, and toning it down,” Carlmont Head Coach Eric Rado said.
Carlmont exceeded expectations in the second half, outscoring Sequoia 13-7 in the final two quarters.
To begin the fourth quarter, Sequoia responded with a touchdown drive of their own, with Larios throwing for his fourth touchdown of the night, making the score 28-16 Ravens.
Down 12 points, Carlmont was in desperate need of a touchdown. The Scots strung together a series of passes and runs to move downfield, and senior running back John Hanna punched it in to bring Carlmont back into the game.
It looked like Sequoia’s main goal was to run down the clock when they retained possession of the ball. The Ravens achieved a couple of first downs but, more importantly, wasted the remainder of Carlmont’s timeouts.
Even though it was looking grim for Carlmont, no one ever gave up. The student section yelled encouragement, and the players continued to battle on the field. Fueled by the desire to win, Carlmont’s defense got a clutch stop, forcing a punt from Sequoia with a little over three minutes left in the game and their season.
Carlmont’s offense came together in their final drive, moving downfield fast. Carlmont senior quarterback Jack Wiessinger attempted many deep passes into the endzone. Unfortunately, the Scots were unable to score and turned the ball over on downs.
With thirty-five seconds left, Sequoia took a knee to seal the game.
This was a heartbreaking loss for Carlmont and an even harder loss for seniors. Ending both the season and their high school careers, many were teary-eyed, saying their last goodbyes.Â
Sequoia will compete in the CCS playoffs, which begin next week, while Carlmont looks forward to making even more improvements next season.
“All the seniors fought hard, and although it sucks to end our season on a loss, I’m happy to see what we have accomplished this year, and the juniors will be back at it next year,” said senior Aldo Aguirre Jr.
