In the regular season finale, the Redwood Rangers and Mt. Whitney Pioneers battle it out for the historic Cowhide.

By Jacob Serrato and Luis Flores

We have made it to the end of the road; the regular season comes to an end, and the playoffs are just around the corner. 

Before we get to that, the oldest rivalry in Visalia is happening this Friday night, October 30th; the Redwood Rangers and Mt. Whitney Pioneers battle it out in the 71st Cowhide game.

Both teams enter after some much-needed wins; in the past three games, both teams went 1-2, struggling in the process, but wins in Week 9 bring the energy back into these football teams ahead of the Cowhide.

Mt. Whitney is finishing their first year under new head coach Tim Adebayo. Under Adebayo, the Pioneers have gone 4-5 and sit at the No. 5 seed in the West Yosemite League.

Against Porterville last week, it was the run game that set the tone for the Pioneers. In the game, 4 of the 5 touchdowns scored were on the ground. Kayden Silvas led with 97 rushing yards and 2 of those touchdowns. Combined, Whitney had 151 rushing yards and 289 passing yards.

Mt. Whitney’s offense is led by Levi Young. In his second year under center, the Junior has put up impressive numbers: 1,538 passing yards with 170.9 passing yards a game, .559% completion percentage, 8 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and a passer rating of 80.1. 

But the offense has been less productive as a whole, only averaging 19 points a game, 172.7 passing yards a game, 109.6 rushing yards a game, and 354.0 all-purpose yards a game.

Whitney’s defense has only given up 23.1 points a game, with a team total of 9.0 sacks and 9 interceptions. 

The defense has held its part up, keeping the Pioneers in the game, but the offense can’t find the answer; on average, these games end with Whitney losing by only 1 or 2 possessions.

For Whitney to be successful against Redwood, the offense is going to need to be able to play consistently and take advantage of the opportunities their defense gives them, but the defense is gonna have to stop the Redwood offense.

In Curtis Allen’s sophomore campaign as the Redwood head coach, his squad has gone 7-2 and is No. 4 in the East Yosemite League.

Redwood comes off a home win against Golden West; similarly to Whitney, it was the run game that stole the show. Qur’An Goodman led the charge with 190 yards and 3 touchdowns; Nash McElree tags along with 192 passing yards, 85 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns on the ground and 1 through the air, and Chase Luna tags along with 1 more touchdown.

In his first year and only year under center for the Rangers, Nash McElree has put up some amazing numbers: 1,749 passing yards, 194.3 passing yards a game, 0.652% completion percentage, 16 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and a passer rating of 107.3, with 220 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns.

With that, the offense has been phenomenal: 34.5 points a game, 233.8 passing yards a game, 140.7 rushing yards a game, 236.6 receiving yards a game, and 406.8 all-purpose yards a game. 

Only twice has the Redwood offense scored only 20 points or less: Week 2 vs Kingsburg and Week 8 at Hanford.

The defense is the story, only giving up 21 points a game, a combined 31.0 sacks, and 8 interceptions.

Before Week 6, the Redwood defense only gave up 10.8 points. After Week 6, they have given up 34.75 points, a big increase in the past four games, during which they went 2-2 in that span. 

What is expected to be another great matchup to add to the history books: The Redwood Rangers and Mt. Whitney Pioneers; the 71st Cowhide is on.

Luis Flores
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Luis Flores is a freshman that is apart of Redwood Gigantea, he loves to write about sports topics and can't wait to write plenty of stories and cover every sport of Redwood.

Jacob Serrato
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Jacob Serrato is a senior and first year sports writer for the Redwood Gigantea, he is beyond thrilled to be apart of the Gigantea and to cover Redwood sports all year long.

 

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