Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal A host of Sequoia defenders bring down Hillsdale’s Gustavo Torres during the Cherokees’ 26-20 win.

The Cherokees’ offense started awaking two weeks ago in a 9-6 loss to El Camino and they got a little more comfortable last week in a 35-26 loss to Mills.

Against Hillsdale Friday afternoon, the Cherokees put it all together in a 26-20 win over the Knights, giving Sequoia its first win of the season.

“For me, I’m real glad. This is my rival here,” said Sequoia co-coach Sam Lopez, who graduated from Aragon. “The one thing that was killing us were the mental mistakes. Physically, we’re OK.”

Sequoia (1-2 Ocean Division A, 1-5 overall) had their biggest offensive output of the season, yardage-wise, churning out 348 yards of total offense, including 237 yards on the ground.

Cherokee running back Jose Ramirez, at 5-foot-6, has the biggest impact and was mainly responsible for the win. The senior rushed for 154 yards on 19 carries and had 55 yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Ramirez’s size doesn’t hinder his running style. He’s equally comfortable running inside and outside. His yards were almost equally divided between sweeps and counters between the tackles. His 8.1 yards per carry highlights an offensive line that consistently pushed the Hillsdale defense around all game long.

“He’s a slippery guy. He’s hard to see,” Lopez said. “If we can pop it to the outside, he can go. … To be able to run inside is huge.”

The Hillsdale (0-3, 1-5) defense’s inability to stop Sequoia for large stretches of time turned out to be the difference in the game. The Knights’ defense simply could not get off the field to give the offense a chance to rally.

“Physically, we were getting pushed back. At other times, we were over-pursuing,” said Hillsdale coach Brad Zucker, referring to his defense. “[Sequoia] sustained their drives. Credit to them.”

Hillsdale had a chance to take an early lead after the Knights forced a three-and-out on the Cherokees’ first drive of the game. Hillsdale took possession at the Cherokees’ 28 following a 7-yard punt. Quarterback Alec Espin hooked up with John Warburton for a 13-yard play on the first play from scrimmage but the drive eventually bogged down at the Sequoia 9 and Espin’s 22-yard field goal attempt failed.

Sequoia took over at its own 20 and proceeded to put a strong scoring drive together. The Cherokees went 80 yards on 10 plays, capping it off with a 3-yard scoring pass from Bobby De La Cruz to Moises Avila for a 6-0 lead.

The Sequoia-Hillsdale game usually features some fireworks and the first explosion came on the ensuing kickoff. Hillsdale’s Jovan Carter fielded the ball at his own 15 and slowly moved upfield as his blocking wedge took a long time to develop. He looked like he was boxed in at his 20 but he bounced out to his left and went down the left sideline for an 85-yard kickoff return. Espin’s extra point gave Hillsdale a 7-6 advantage.

Once again, Sequoia used a long, time-consuming drive to take the lead back. Starting from their own 29, the Cherokees methodically moved down the field before Ramirez went into the end zone from 11 yards out. A Wes Holland run for two points gave Sequoia a 14-7 lead on the final play of the first quarter.

The Cherokees made it 20-7 on their next possession. After stopping Hillsdale on downs, the Cherokees put together their shortest scoring drive of the game. They needed just three plays before De La Cruz hooked up with Ramirez down the right sideline for a 37-yard.

The two teams exchanged punts before Hillsdale erupted again. Starting from his own 26, Espin hit Dean Tayara on a short slant route. The route was perfectly run and the pass was delivered in the perfect spot. Tayara shrugged off the tackle and raced 74 yards for the score to cut Hillsdale’s deficit to 20-13 with 3:24 before halftime.

In the third quarter, the Cherokees responded with their arguably their best drive of the season. Starting from their own 33, the Cherokees marched down the field. By the time Sifa Lauese bulled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out, the Cherokees had taken over eight minutes off the clock as the score capped a 14-play, 67-yard drive.

With just under nine minutes left to play, Hillsdale embarked on its best drive of the game, if not the season. The Knights drove 85 yards on 11 plays before Espin hit John Warburton for a 7-yard scoring toss.

“I was happy to see us sustain a drive,” Zucker said. “But we have to be more consistent.”

There was just over four minutes left on the clock when the Cherokees got the ball again. They didn’t give it back. They picked up three first downs to ice the win.

“We had a couple collapses in the third quarter but they picked it up,” Lopez said. “I’m just hoping we build on this ‘W.’”