Sequoia kept playoff hopes alive by beating the Jefferson Indians 14-7 on a chilly Daly City night on Friday.
“That was a tenacious group,” Sequoia coach Rob Poulos said. “They were playing their hearts out. It took all four quarters to get there. We made too many silly mistakes too many times. We’re lucky that it didn’t cost us in the big picture.”
The game was a defensive battle. As soon as one offense seemed to get rolling, a fumble or an interception might end their drive. Sequoia’s Tommy Lopiparo was responsible for three of those interceptions, giving the Cherokees the ball and ending the Indians' drives multiple times throughout the game.
After the Indians (1-5, 0-1 PAL-Ocean) scored their first touchdown two minutes into the third quarter on a 44-yard run to tie the game 7-7, Cherokee fans held their collective breath when Sequoia quarterback Mikey Taylor went down on the following drive, holding what appeared to be his knee.
Luckily for Sequoia, though, its leading rusher and passer returned in the next series to lead the Cherokees (5-1, 1-1) home. Taylor’s touchdown in the fourth quarter with four minutes to go put Sequoia up by seven to give the purple sideline some relief.
Ben Sehl’s onside kick was then recovered by Sequoia’s Adam Kellogg to end Indian hopes of a comeback.
“That onside kick recovery by Adam Kellogg took away any chance for them to have a last-minute recovery,” Poulos said. “That put us in the (mindset of) move the sticks and move the game, move the sticks and move the game.”
After successfully mastering this latest challenge, the Cherokees move on to what may be the biggest and most highly anticipated game of the season. Rival Woodside now invades Terremere Field, bringing loads of emotion with it.
“It’s not about Woodside; it’s about the playoffs," Poulos said. "That’s what I just told them. It’s the issue of if you make it all about Woodside you lose the big picture, the playoffs."
