Sequoia rolls past rival Woodside in football season opener

The product on the field? Now that looked like a season opener. Both teams struggled at times, but Sequoia beat Woodside in the big play department as the Ravens took a 34-15 decision in Friday’s season opener.

Sequoia’s Jack Elgaaen opened his senior year with a bang, scoring three touchdowns, including a pair of punt returns for scores. Ravens’ quarterback John Larios, who missed all but two games last season, started his senior campaign on a strong note, completing 12 of 14 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.

The Woodside offense, meanwhile, struggled through the first half and most of the third quarter. But the Wildcats found a groove late in the third and carried it into the fourth. Rotating quarterbacks, both Joey Artale and Kyle Cortes tossed a scoring pass. Artale was 10 for 16 for 157 yards, while Cortes connected on 2 of 4 for 68 yards.

Woodside receiver Andrew Nordgren, who was held catchless in the first half, came alive over the final two quarters. In the second half he caught seven passes for 131 yards, including a 53-yard score.

Neither team accomplished much in the running game. Woodside held Sequoia to 121 yards, while the Ravens limited the Wildcats to just 21 yards on 22 carries.

But when it came down to it, Sequoia took advantage of its opportunities. The Ravens converted a pair Woodside turnovers into short-field scores and used the big special teams plays to take control of the game.

The longest drive of the first half came on the opening drive of the game. Sequoia took the opening kick and, starting from its own 20, marched down to the Woodside 17.

Yet the Ravens came away empty. On second and 10, Larios was sacked by Woodside’s Leo Esteban Gramajoa, who shot right up the middle and overwhelmed Larios.

That stalled the drive and the Wildcats would take over on downs at their own 23.

Woodside, on its first drive, went backward, losing yardage on its first two plays and then committing a false-start penalty, ultimately being forced to punt.

That’s when Elgaaen took over. Fielding the punt at the Woodside 40, Elgaaen cut to the right and motored down the right sideline untouched for a 40-yard score and a 7-0 Sequoia lead with four minutes left in the opening quarter.

The two teams could not muster much offense after that. Both turned the ball over on the downs on their ensuing possessions, and then they traded punts.

Woodside took over at its own 22 with 7:07 left in the second quarter and picked up its initial first down following an Artale 16-yard pass on fourth-and-2. On the next play, Artale misfired on a pass to a wide open Nordgren which proved to be prophetic. On the next play, Sequoia’s Tony Veimau hauled down a Woodside ball carrier, stripped the ball and then recovered the fumble to give Sequoia the ball in the Woodside end of the field.

Starting from the Wildcats’ 45, the Ravens used six plays to cover the distance, converting a fourth-and-1 along the way. Logan Kern capped the drive with a 3-yard score to give Sequoia a 14-0 lead at halftime.

The Ravens increased their lead to 21-0 minutes into the second half. Sequoia held Woodside to a three-and-out to start the third quarter, forcing a punt. This time, Elgaaen fielded the ball at his own 40, but then it was a carbon copy of his first touchdown: he cut to his right, blasted down the right sideline, into the end zone for a 60-yard score, and then continued his sprint through the end zone, sprint the Sequoia bench before eventually posing in front of the Sequoia fans to celebrate the score.

It seemed Elgaaen had his third return score as Woodside punted on its next possession and Elgaaen zoomed up the middle for the apparent score.

But it was called back because of a block in the back. No matter. Sequoia started the drive at the Woodside 44 and six plays later, Larios hit Elgaaen on a quick out for a 2-yard score and a 27-0 lead with 4:45 left in the third.

After that, the Woodside offense came alive. Facing fourth-and-4 at his own 32, Cortes dropped back to pass and with a nice touch, found Oliver Lyssand open over the middle. Lyssand rose up for the catch and then broke loose, racing the final 50 yards, weaving into the end zone for a 68-yard scoring strike.

The Wildcats forced Sequoia to punt on its next possession, but the Ravens got the ball right back on a Luke Rowell interception. Luke Ulrich then capped a eight-play drive with 3-yard scoring run to put Sequoia up 34-7.

But Woodside did not go down without a fight. Starting at their own 12, the Wildcats moved the ball to their 47 before Artale hit Nordgren on a crossing pattern that he turned into a 53-yard score, closing the gap to 34-15.