Sequoia can't keep pace with Rams

Not that the Rams got lucky, or relied on fluky plays. Willow Glen was simply better and Sequoia coach Rob Poulos acknowledged as much.

"On this day, Willow Glen was going to win this game,” Poulos said. "They clicked on all cylinders and sometimes it’s just your year. Tip your hat (to Willow Glen), it’s your year.”

Coming into the game, everyone was thinking it was Sequoia’s year. The Cherokees, who spent much of the last decade among the downtrodden in the Peninsula Athletic League, was one of the few remaining teams in the state to sport an unbeaten record. The Cherokees went into Saturday afternoon’s game at San Jose City College with a chance to make history: To become the first Sequoia football team to go undefeated since 1967 and to win the school’s first football CCS championship.

In the end, however, Sequoia could not find a way to slow down Willow Glen’s vaunted passing attack. Rams’ quarterback Mitchell Ravizza –who will be in the running for several Player of the Year awards from various media outlets – was on fire, completing 21 of 32 passes for 285 yards and throwing for four touchdowns.

But that wasn’t all. He also rushed for a score and caught a touchdown pass when he pitched the ball to Joe Gotelli for a sweep right, only for Gotelli to pull up and loft a pass toward Ravizza on the opposite sideline. Ravizza then weaved his way through the Sequoia defense for a 35-yard score.

All in all, the Rams finished with 320 yards passing – to seven different receivers – and finished with 427 total yards.

"They were as (good as) advertised. We saw, like, six films (of the Rams). They looked really scary on film,” Poulos said. "[Ravizza] runs that show. How many times did he make a play?”

Answer: All game long. The Sequoia defense did a good job of pressuring Ravizza – Poulos believes his front seven got to Ravizza more than any other defense this season -- including three sacks from Nick Zmay. The Cherokees also did a good job containing Ravizza, who is usually more of threat running but was held to negative-4 yards rushing.

But Ravizza did an outstanding job of buying time and finding receivers downfield after the pocket had collapsed.

"[We] did a good job of containing him,” Poulos said. "But their guys made plays.”

Sequoia, on the other hand, simply could not keep up in the big-play department. After watching Willow Glen go 71 yards on three plays to take a 7-0 after the first drive of the game, Sequoia came right back and tied the score at 7. Starting from their own 44, the Cherokees marched 56 yards on eight plays, culminating with a 6-yard scoring strike from James Beekley to Abhineet Ram.

The Rams went up 13-7 on their next possession, overcoming a third-and-long by completing a 25-yard pass and then scoring on a 26-yard pass from Ravizza to James Aliason down to left sideline. Willow Glen went up 19-7 when the Rams recovered a Sequoia fumble on its next series and scored a third time in as many drives when Gotelli hooked up with Ravizza for the 35-yard score, two plays after recovering the fumble.

Sequoia stayed in the game by going 65 yards on nine plays. Beekley completed two passes for 29 yards on the drive, but it was Isaias Flores who capped it by bulling his way into the end zone from 5 yards out to close the Willow Glen lead to 19-14.

It also wrapped up the scoring for the first quarter and would be the Cherokees’ last score of the game.

Willow Glen scored once late in the second quarter to take a 26-14 lead at halftime and didn’t take its foot off the gas in the second half, scoring three more touchdowns.

It was the Rams who made the better defensive adjustments in the second half as they held the Cherokees scoreless over the final 24 minutes and only 105 yards of offense.

"I think they did a good job of disrupting our rhythm,” Poulos said.