TheLounge
10-17-2007, 05:16 PM
When I wrote the preview for the Hillsdale-Sequoia football game Friday night, I said Sequoia’s Miguel Flores and Hillsdale’s Marcus Dunlap would both need to have big games to give their team a chance to win.
How right I was. Flores and Dunlap had huge games: Flores rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, threw a 28-yard touchdown pass on a halfback pass and returned a kickoff 75 yards for another score. Dunlap returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, one for 95 yards and the other for 79. He also caught one pass for 70 yards and another score.
In the most amazing game I’ve seen to date, the Cherokees and Knights combined to score 102 points in the Cherokees’ 60-42 win.
Let’s say, for sake of argument, that the performances from Flores and Dunlap were a wash. Just accounting for their points, Sequoia held a 24-18 lead. What was the difference in the game? It was the play of two Cherokees not normally in the spotlight —*Jose Ramirez and Bobby De La Cruz. If not for the play of those two, the result might have been different.
It would be easy to miss Ramirez. When I asked assistant coach Fine Lauese how tall Ramirez was, he joked, “5-1.”
While Ramirez may get lost among the big boys, it’s easy to find him. Just look for his bright yellow cleats. His teammates call him “Hot Wheels” because of the shoes but it turns out he’s a pretty good player. He handles the Cherokees’ kick duties and the fact he connected on five of six extra points makes him valuable. (He did have one blocked, which wasn’t his fault, and didn’t get to attempt one following Sequoia’s last score because time had expired.)
It was during his performance at running back that his nickname is apt. Ramirez rushed 127 yards on 16 carries — including five carries of 13 yards or more. He scored the Cherokees’ second and third touchdowns of the game on runs of 19 and 13 yards. He also caught one pass for 36 yards.
“He had an excellent game,” said Sequoia coach Sam Lopez Friday night. “We worked on our counter-trey in practice and it worked.
“That’s his best game.”
The same could be said for De La Cruz, the team’s junior backup quarterback. He made the start Friday after starter Gustavo Moreno missed three days of practice last week with an illness. All he did was guide the Cherokees to two touchdowns. On Sequoia’s second series of the game, he led the Cherokees on a 72-yard drive, one that culminated in a 11-yard scoring strike from De La Cruz to Ruben Ramirez, who made a great diving catch in the end zone. Moreno replaced De La Cruz in the second quarter but on more than one occasion, De La Cruz was seen warming up on the sideline after a couple of lackluster drives. De La Cruz returned late in the fourth quarter and capped a six-play, 36-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge for another score.
“Bobby De La Cruz did a hell of a job in his first varsity start,” Lopez said. “I’m really proud of Bobby.”
***
While the Cherokees executed more often than not Friday, it was the lack of execution on the part of Cal and the Oakland Raiders that cost both teams a chance to win big games Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
First, Cal: Say what you want about redshirt-freshman quarterback Kevin Riley. Yes, he did have a good game and yes it was his play at the end that cost Cal a shot at the No. 1 ranking in the country.
If you missed it Saturday night, Riley tried to scramble —*somewhere — with Cal in field goal range, with no timeouts and less than 20 seconds to play. As the pocket broke down, he took off running, was tackled and the clock ran out with Oregon State holding on for a 31-28 win. All Riley had to do was throw the ball away. As the quarterback, he has to know the situation. The position is known as being the field general, for him not to throw the ball away is inexcusable. Sorry. I know he’s a young guy making his first collegiate start and I know one play doesn’t make the difference —*the fact the Golden Bears failed to score from the 1-yard line earlier in the game hurt a lot, too —*but when you quarterback the No. 2 ranked team in the country and you lose to an inferior opponent, you have to expect some media repercussions.
The same could be said for Raider quarterback Daunte Culpepper. While the Raiders suffered a 28-14 loss to San Diego with an offense that resembled the 49ers, Culpepper had a chance to make it a different game after a lousy first half.
A Thomas Howard interception for a score got the Raiders on the scoreboard and late in the first half, Culpepper drove the Raiders to the Chargers’ 1-yard line. Did the Raiders score? No, because Culpepper took back-to-back sacks and fumbled the ball away. Again, he has to know to throw the ball away. In fact, Raiders coach Lane Kiffin should have benched Culpepper in the second half after making those bone-headed mistakes.
I give Riley a little slack. It’s understandable if he got caught up in the hype —*a freshman making his first collegiate start. Culpepper, however, proved that he is over-the-hill and doesn’t deserve to be a starter in the NFL anymore.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
How right I was. Flores and Dunlap had huge games: Flores rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, threw a 28-yard touchdown pass on a halfback pass and returned a kickoff 75 yards for another score. Dunlap returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, one for 95 yards and the other for 79. He also caught one pass for 70 yards and another score.
In the most amazing game I’ve seen to date, the Cherokees and Knights combined to score 102 points in the Cherokees’ 60-42 win.
Let’s say, for sake of argument, that the performances from Flores and Dunlap were a wash. Just accounting for their points, Sequoia held a 24-18 lead. What was the difference in the game? It was the play of two Cherokees not normally in the spotlight —*Jose Ramirez and Bobby De La Cruz. If not for the play of those two, the result might have been different.
It would be easy to miss Ramirez. When I asked assistant coach Fine Lauese how tall Ramirez was, he joked, “5-1.”
While Ramirez may get lost among the big boys, it’s easy to find him. Just look for his bright yellow cleats. His teammates call him “Hot Wheels” because of the shoes but it turns out he’s a pretty good player. He handles the Cherokees’ kick duties and the fact he connected on five of six extra points makes him valuable. (He did have one blocked, which wasn’t his fault, and didn’t get to attempt one following Sequoia’s last score because time had expired.)
It was during his performance at running back that his nickname is apt. Ramirez rushed 127 yards on 16 carries — including five carries of 13 yards or more. He scored the Cherokees’ second and third touchdowns of the game on runs of 19 and 13 yards. He also caught one pass for 36 yards.
“He had an excellent game,” said Sequoia coach Sam Lopez Friday night. “We worked on our counter-trey in practice and it worked.
“That’s his best game.”
The same could be said for De La Cruz, the team’s junior backup quarterback. He made the start Friday after starter Gustavo Moreno missed three days of practice last week with an illness. All he did was guide the Cherokees to two touchdowns. On Sequoia’s second series of the game, he led the Cherokees on a 72-yard drive, one that culminated in a 11-yard scoring strike from De La Cruz to Ruben Ramirez, who made a great diving catch in the end zone. Moreno replaced De La Cruz in the second quarter but on more than one occasion, De La Cruz was seen warming up on the sideline after a couple of lackluster drives. De La Cruz returned late in the fourth quarter and capped a six-play, 36-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge for another score.
“Bobby De La Cruz did a hell of a job in his first varsity start,” Lopez said. “I’m really proud of Bobby.”
***
While the Cherokees executed more often than not Friday, it was the lack of execution on the part of Cal and the Oakland Raiders that cost both teams a chance to win big games Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
First, Cal: Say what you want about redshirt-freshman quarterback Kevin Riley. Yes, he did have a good game and yes it was his play at the end that cost Cal a shot at the No. 1 ranking in the country.
If you missed it Saturday night, Riley tried to scramble —*somewhere — with Cal in field goal range, with no timeouts and less than 20 seconds to play. As the pocket broke down, he took off running, was tackled and the clock ran out with Oregon State holding on for a 31-28 win. All Riley had to do was throw the ball away. As the quarterback, he has to know the situation. The position is known as being the field general, for him not to throw the ball away is inexcusable. Sorry. I know he’s a young guy making his first collegiate start and I know one play doesn’t make the difference —*the fact the Golden Bears failed to score from the 1-yard line earlier in the game hurt a lot, too —*but when you quarterback the No. 2 ranked team in the country and you lose to an inferior opponent, you have to expect some media repercussions.
The same could be said for Raider quarterback Daunte Culpepper. While the Raiders suffered a 28-14 loss to San Diego with an offense that resembled the 49ers, Culpepper had a chance to make it a different game after a lousy first half.
A Thomas Howard interception for a score got the Raiders on the scoreboard and late in the first half, Culpepper drove the Raiders to the Chargers’ 1-yard line. Did the Raiders score? No, because Culpepper took back-to-back sacks and fumbled the ball away. Again, he has to know to throw the ball away. In fact, Raiders coach Lane Kiffin should have benched Culpepper in the second half after making those bone-headed mistakes.
I give Riley a little slack. It’s understandable if he got caught up in the hype —*a freshman making his first collegiate start. Culpepper, however, proved that he is over-the-hill and doesn’t deserve to be a starter in the NFL anymore.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.