Athlete of the Week: Sequoia’s John Larios

While this is Larios’s third varsity season, it’s his first full year under center, having served as a backup quarterback as a sophomore during the shortened COVID spring season, then missing most of his junior season due to a shoulder injury.

“I’m more getting used to quarterback because this is pretty much my first varsity year,” Larios said.

Larios — the Daily Journal Athlete of the Week — showed off his arm throughout regulation Friday night as Sequoia and Overfelt traded touchdowns throughout the second half. Tied 14-14 at halftime, the game saw two lead changes in the third quarter before Larios connected with senior receiver Jack Elgaaen on fourth-and-5 for a 30-yard touchdown strike, staking Sequoia to a 36-28 lead.

As it turns out, though, the football gods were just getting warmed up. After Overfelt answered back to tie it 36-36 — then forcing overtime when they blocked a Sequoia field-goal attempt on the last play of regulation — the two teams went on to combine for the most points a Sequoia game has seen in the 14 years head coach Rob Poulos has been at the helm.

The final score, 51-50, of course has other connotations, not least of which is the title of a beloved Van Halen album.

“Or just to address the insanity of the game,” Poulos said.

The catalyst of the “insanity” was Larios. More specifically, it was the senior’s patience as a passing quarterback, a patience he has developed over the course of the season.

Larios has gained a reputation for using his legs to scramble out of the pocket. Despite the Ravens having zero plays in their playbook designed for quarterback runs, Larios has rushed 71 times this season for 493 yards and six touchdowns.

“A lot of times when a quarterback scrambles, he drops his eyes and now you’re a running quarterback,” Poulos said.

If Larios is still learning the ropes at the quarterback position, it’s for good reason. Sure, he played Pop Warner football with the Menlo-Atherton Vikings prior to attending Sequoia, but mainly as a tight end and linebacker — never as a quarterback. It wasn’t until his freshman year of high school that Elgaaen volunteered Larios for the QB position, as the two had played Little League baseball together, and Elgaaen knew Larios, as a middle infielder, had a strong arm.

It's taken some time for Larios to establish that arm, however. Heading into the final week of the regular season, the senior hadn’t cracked 1,000 yards passing. Two big weeks took care of that though. In the Ravens’ 28-23 win over Carlmont in the regular-season finale Nov. 4, Larios threw for a career-high 317 yards and four touchdowns. Then against Overfelt, he was 23-of-30 passing for 302 yards and three TD throws.

Poulos said the best learning tool was scouting film they watched heading into Sequoia’s Week 10 matchup with Carlmont. The patience of Scots quarterback Jack Wiessinger after rolling out of the pocket, but still looking downfield for a passing target, was something Poulos asked Larios to implement.

“They got a lot of good plays because of that,” Poulos said. “And we had been talking about that. That’s something to emulate. … And that happened Friday night. He got early pressure off the edge, managed to avoid it, and was able to single out Jack Elgaaen … and that went from a potential sack to 6 points.”

Elgaaen had a big night, totaling 10 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. But he was one of six different Ravens to record catches in the game.

“I definitely learned … to take what the defense gives me,” Larios said. “If they’re going to double team our top guy, I have to look other places and have faith in our top receivers.”

But with the game on the line, it was Larios’s legs that saved the day. In overtime — with each team given four downs to score from the opponent’s 10-yard line — Overfelt was given the ball first. Not only did the Royals promptly score. They upped the ante by punching in a 2-point conversion to take a 44-36 lead.

The Ravens answered with a touchdown run by Luke Ulrich, the junior running back’s second score of the night. Then, with Sequoia trailing by 2, Johnny Legs went to work. The Ravens got pushed back to the 7-yard line on a penalty, but Larios covered the ground scrambling out of the pocket and diving into the end zone to force double overtime.

This time, Overfelt opened the round with a touchdown. But Sequoia’s defense denied the 2-point conversion, setting up the game-winning sequence. Sophomore running back Jordan Crockett delivered the tying score for Sequoia with a 5-yard touchdown. Then, junior placekicker Brody McKenna converted his fifth point-after attempt in five tries to win it.

“It was like a surreal moment,” Larios said. “We were all hugging each other and sprinting out there and celebrating with Brody our kicker.”

Sequoia, the No. 1 seed in the Division IV bracket, now advances to host No. 4 Santa Teresa in Friday’s semifinals.

The Ravens are the last Peninsula Athletic League team still alive in the CCS postseason. After starting the year with an eight-game winning streak, they have now won two in a row by virtue of Larios’s newfound passing brilliance. Just the start of another winning streak for a team that opened the year with a proverbial chip on its shoulder.

“I knew we were going to be good this season because all the preseason rankings were putting us last in our division,” Larios said. “So, I thought a lot of people were sleeping on us.”