Prep football: Redwood rallies for another impressive win
It might be a bit premature to tag the Redwood High football team as the newest version of the Cardiac Kids. But the Giants certainly do seem to have a flair for the dramatic.
For the third time in four games, Redwood (4-0) came from behind to score the winning points late in the fourth quarter, this time rallying to defeat visiting Enterprise (Redding) 24-21 on a pristine early fall afternoon Saturday in Larkspur.
“I don’t care how we win,” Redwood coach Allen Talley said. “A win’s a win.”
In the back-and-forth battle, Redwood trailed 21-17 with six minutes remaining after elusive Enterprise quarterback J.J. Johnson dodged a half-dozen tackles en route to a scrambling 22-yard touchdown run — his third rushing score of the game.
The ensuing short kickoff was fielded by Van Hampton and returned 16 yards, setting the table for the winning drive, which started at Redwood’s own 48-yard-line.
Running back Sean Cunneen set the Giants in motion by ripping off a 16-yard gain on first down. Four plays later, quarterback Kody Vasquez found Jackson Walker a step behind the defender in the far corner of the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning 20-yard touchdown.
Vasquez, who completed 15 of 33 passes for 198 yards, endured a hot-and-cold outing. His first pass of the game was intercepted. His second pass resulted in a 62-yard touchdown to Marshall Thomas.
In the end, however, the hot won out over the cold as Vasquez accounted for all three Redwood touchdowns.
“We’ve had our share of adversity already this season,” Talley said. “But the team keeps fighting through adversity and finding a way to win.”
Saturday’s biggest adversary turned out to be Johnson. For the second consecutive home game, the Giants ran into a speedy, dual-threat quarterback.
Two weeks ago, Redwood overcame Rancho Cotate’s fleet-footed quarterback Jacob Pruitt and his 267-yard, four-touchdown performance.
Johnson’s numbers were not quite as gaudy – 148 yards on 18 carries – but still he was a thorn in Redwood’s side all afternoon.
“We did a good job of adjusting on defense at halftime,” Talley said. “Mostly, the defense came off the field with three-and-outs in the second half. Except for that one touchdown run in the fourth quarter, we did a good job of containing (Johnson) in the second half.”
The Redwood defense played best when it mattered most.
After the Giants took the lead in the fourth quarter, Johnson and the Hornets had the ball at their own 24-yard-line, and more than three minutes remaining on the clock.
But on a fourth-and three, cornerback Wilson Schwartz sealed Redwood’s triumph with an interception.
“They had been using that little curl pass a lot during the game,” Schwartz said. “I saw the quarterback wind up to throw and I jumped the route.”
The Giants picked off four passes in the game and held Johnson to nine completions and 54 yards.
About Redwood’s penchant to pull out close games, Schwartz said it is mostly just a team-wide attitude.
“We’re out there fighting, just pulling through when we really need to,” Schwartz said. “I thought we executed a lot better in the second half on both offense and defense by making adjustments throughout the game.”
Redwood 24, Enterprise 21
Non-league
Enterprise 7 7 0 7 – 21
Redwood 7 3 0 14 – 24
SCORING SUMMARY
R – Thomas 62 pass from Vasquez (Schwartz kick)
E – Johnson 4 run (Hernandez kick)
E – Johnson 33 run (Hernandez kick)
R – Schwartz 29 FG
R – Hampton 14 pass from Vasquez (Schwartz kick)
E – Johnson 22 run (Hernandez kick)
R – Walker 20 pass from Vasquez (Hernandez kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Enterprise, Bobo 25-71, Johnson 18-148, Goss 1-(minus-1), Jones 1-10. Totals: 45-228. Redwood, Cunneen 12-37.
PASSING–Enterprise, Johnson 9-20-4 54. Redwood, Vasquez 15-33-1 198.
RECEIVING–Enterprise, Jones 2-15, Hernandez 4-27, Goss 2-7, Fischer 1-5. Totals: 9-54. Redwood, Thomas 2-61, Walker 4-35, Cunneen 3-21, Bowman 2-33, Hampton 4-48. Totals: 15-198.
Records–Enterprise 4-1, Redwood 4-0.