‘Perfect storm’ for Sequoia in CCS football semifinals

It was a confluence of events Sequoia head coach Frank Mems referred to as — the perfect storm.

The purple-clad Ravens — who have long since adopted the Prince classic “Purple Rain” as their victory cry “Purple Reign” — rode the perfect storm to a 21-6 win over the defending CCS Division V South City Warriors. No. 4 Sequoia (7-5) now advances to the CCS finals for the first time since 2010.

“I’m feeling great,” Sequoia senior Jordan Crockett said. “I’m feeling blessed. This was God’s doing. Our coach said this is the perfect storm to play in.”

Crockett had a big hand in the win. Not only did Sequoia’s top running back star on offense — gaining 180 total yards and scoring two touchdowns — but he made his first start of the year at defensive end as well. It was a move necessitated by an all-hands-on-deck crisis after last week’s 33-6 win over No. 5 Gunn-Palo Alto, when the Ravens lost starting defensive ends Chapel Meza Thorborne and Aedan Macias, and starting defensive tackle Nicco Veimau to injury.

“We’re a product of our team,” Mems said. “One person goes down, the next person has to step up and play to that same caliber. And we’re really excited of the people that really stepped up into those roles.”

Crockett and the new cast of linemen — including junior Solomon Stout and sophomore Luke Ostrander — helped contain South City’s deep offense to 56 positive yards, 36 total yards, and just on first-down in the game.

“We had a lot of guys step up,” Crockett said. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity. So, that’s how we capitalized.”

Neither team moved the ball well in the stormy conditions at the outset. But Sequoia caught a break on the final play of the first quarter when on fourth-and-1 from the Warriors’ 47, quarterback Shawn Royer scooped up a fumble on a handoff exchange and scampered for just enough to pick up a first down.

On the next play, Crockett veered right to take a shuffle pass from Royer and gallop 46 yards for a touchdown.

Crockett finished with two receptions for 55 yards, and still shouldered 26 carries for 125 yards on the ground. Senior running back Marco Baisch added 12 carries for 59 yards.

South City (9-3) had a chance to draw even in the third quarter. While the Warriors couldn’t muster much offense, the special teams broke through. With the dangerous senior Darren Miller dropped back to receive a punt, Sequoia short kick found up-blocker Cisco Lutu, who fielded the line drive at South City’s 45 and broke free for a 55-yard touchdown.

“I’m usually blocking for my bro, Darren,” Lutu said. “But I seen the ball coming straight to me and I seen a lane, and I seen my corner blocking. I seen an open lane and I cut up. There was no one to my right, I cut back and scored.”

Despite not being able to move the ball effectively, the Warriors opted to try for the lead with a two-point conversion. But Sequoia senior James Lundell and a host of Ravens stopped a draw play short of the goal line, keeping Sequoia lead intact at 7-6.

Then the Ravens went on a critical march. Returning the ensuing kickoff to their own 48, the Ravens burst into the red zone with a big chunk by Crockett. Taking the carry from South City’s 42, the senior seemed to get dragged down at the line of scrimmage, but popping our of a pile of bodies and exploded for a 41-yard run.

“The whole time I’m screaming: ‘Hold on to the ball!’” Mems said. “But that’s a testament to that kid. That’s his heart. That’s probably — I don’t know what’s going to happen next week — but that’s probably one of my favorite plays from him this year. Because all the work he’s put in, and the leader that he’s become; I’ve been working with the kid for four years. That’s a hell of a run, and that’s him. That’s all heart.”

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty put Sequoia at the Warriors’ 16-yard line. The Ravens soon found themselves facing another fourth-down. On third-down conversions, Sequoia was a mere 4 of 11 in the game. On fourth-down tries, however, they were 3 of 6, and on fourth-and-10, Royer connected with sophomore Trinidad Frias for a 16-yard gain to move the stick.

“We practiced with a wet ball all week,” Mems said. “We didn’t want to get into a shootout where we were just dropping back and things, but he knew he had to hit a few passes just to keep them honest. So, once they really started stacking the box and had no safety back there, we talked about it: ‘Hey, Shawn, we just have to hit one or two.’ And he hit three.”

Two platys later, Crockett pounded it in to put Sequoia up 14-6.

The Warriors possessed the ball twice more. The only first-down came on the first one with a 25-yard pass completion from Thomas Miller to Darren Miller. But the Warriors ultimately turned it over on downs. South City got the ball back at its own 35 with 2:26 to play, but on fourth-and-13, junior cornerback Randy Nunez intercepted a pass and returned it 65 yards for a pick-6 touchdown to put the game on ice.

South City senior Elijah Fields was out of action. Fields is the Warriors’ answer to Crockett, and played a similar game early in the season against Carlmont when the Warriors’ two-way standout moved into action at defensive end. Fields’ bread-and-butter, however, is as an explosive running back.

“I think it would have been a big impact, a big difference with him out there on the field,” Lutu said. “We have a lot of threats on offense, and we just could have moved the ball a lot better. But we came up short.”

Sequoia will now face No. 3 Leland-San Jose, as the Chargers knocked off No. 2 Alisal 35-14 in the bracket’s other semifinal. The CCS Division V championship game is slated for Saturday, Nov. 30, at MacDonald High School in San Jose. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.