By: Seth Lopez
Photos by Aidan Hatch and Abby Miller
Kick-off began at 7:30 at Mineral King Bowl, where your Rangers played the visiting Tulare Western in a hard-to-swallow Homecoming 35-27 defeat.
The Rangers won the coin toss and choose to defer. The Rangers kicked off to the visiting Mustangs, where they returned the ball to the 24-yard line, but didn’t have much luck with our Ranger defense, and went 4 and out.
Redwood’s game plan was to get the run game going, so later in the game they could open up their passing game.
Western punted the ball and gave the Rangers good field position, starting at the 48-yard line. Francisco Alvarez ‘23 tried getting things going in their opening drive by throwing a quick pass to Ashton Ibarra ‘22, gaining a first down. It didn’t amount to much, as the Rangers fumbled the ball, and the Mustangs scooped it up.
The Ranger defense put a lot of pressure on Western’s quarterback, Carmine Ficher ‘23 and forced the Mustangs to punt the ball and gave the Rangers great field placement yet again starting at the 49-yard line.
The Rangers started hot, with a 14-yard carry for a first down by Karson Everett ‘22 but didn’t lead to much, as their momentum was stopped with a penalty pushing them back, and eventually punting the ball to Western.
Western came into the game trying to run the ball and then quickly changed their game plan to throw the ball more. The drive by the Mustangs was led by their quarterback throwing passes to his receivers to get the ball down the field, and eventually throwing a touchdown pass, making the score 7-0 Mustangs.
The Rangers got the kickoff and started at the 32-yard line, and had a hard time getting things flowing, until Ibarra got a quick five yard pass that he would take to the other 30-yard line dragging Western players behind trying to tackle him.
Ibarra was undoubtedly a big force in the Redwood offense Friday night. Ibarra said, “I was just trying to move the chains upfield and keep momentum going.”
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 7-0 Mustangs with the Rangers at the 30-yard line at the start of the second quarter.
Redwood’s momentum did not go into the second quarter. On the very next play an interception was thrown. Western fed off this interception with an 80-yard drive that led to a Mustang touchdown, expanding their lead over the Rangers, 14-0.
This did not faze the Rangers, when Western kicked the ball off to Moses Burk ‘24. He responded to the call with a career first, as well as a season first, 86-yard kick return for a touchdown. This gave the fans and the players the type of energy they needed and were waiting for. The return made the score 14-7 Mustangs.
The return did not change Western’s plans at all, as on the very next drive, they kept the chains moving and eventually scored on that drive, making the score 21-7.
The Rangers tried to get things going on the next drive, picking up a few first downs and got momentum going, but it was stopped with a 10-yard penalty and some lost yards, forcing them to punt the ball away on a 4th and 20.
The Mustangs started at the 10-yard line on the next drive, trying to score one more time before the half ended, but were unsuccessful against the strong Ranger defense.
Westen punted the ball away, but it was dropped by the Rangers, and then it was recovered by Western, giving them a huge break and another try at scoring, which they took advantage of. Western quarterback Ficher threw a 35-yard touchdown pass, making the score 28-7.
The Rangers were ready to fight, and had a good drive led by Everett with a couple of big carries, getting them to the 36-yard line, but ran out of time. The first half came to a close, with the score being 28-7 Mustangs.
The Rangers received the kickoff to start the third quarter. Redwood came out hungry, and looked like a whole new team led by Everett who contributed two big runs. Redwood quarterback Alvarez tossed a 20-yard pass to Burk, but was ultimately stopped by the Mustangs in their 4th down attempt.
The Mustangs didn’t get far in the next drive, thanks to the lock-down defense led by Gavin House ‘22 with a huge interception to change the momentum of the game.
The Redwood offense got the ball at the 41-yard line, and followed that up with a few passes by Alvarez, and a couple of runs by Everett got them to the 1-yard line to end the third quarter with the score still being 28-7.
The offense kept the momentum going into the 4th quarter with a touchdown ran in by Marcus Correia ‘22 but the extra point attempt was blocked by the Mustangs, and the Rangers only ended up scoring 6, putting the score at 28-13.
The Ranger defense kept the momentum that the offense left for them and then held the Mustangs in check by making them punt the ball away.
Alvarez wanted the ball and was ready for the first play of their drive. It was a pass to tight end Kolby Howard ‘22 which he ran in for a big touchdown, helping the Rangers close in on the Mustangs lead. The score changed to 28-20.
The Ranger defense tried their best to keep the score as is but couldn’t. Western’s quarterback Ficher threw a deep pass to his receiver, and then he ran the ball into the end zone for another touchdown, making the score 35-20 Mustangs.
The Rangers tried to work quickly knowing their time was quickly running out. Alvarez threw a touchdown pass to receiver Christian Daniel ‘22, which was followed by a successful 2 point conversion, making the score 35-27.
Redwood tried an onside kick attempt but came up short, as the Mustangs recovered the ball successfully. The Ranger defense shut down the Mustangs, making them punt the ball after their short possession.
The Rangers got the ball, and there was a glimmer of hope, but hope quickly ran out after a hail mary pass to Redwood receivers was picked off by Western’s defense.
Western got the ball and then kneeled it down to run the time out and end the game in a close 35-27 Ranger loss.
When asked about the tough loss, Evan Gonzalez ‘23 said “My heart goes out to the Seniors and I was upset with myself for not being able to get the win for them”
For the Rangers, who are just getting back after a full week of not practicing and getting all of their players back from COVID protocol, they played well.
You can’t expect a perfect game from a team that has been unable to practice for a week. A couple of players are still trying to get back into the swing of things after getting sick.
Redwood’s next game is Friday, September 17th at Clovis North. Kickoff starts at 6:30 pm.
Tags: rangers, Redwood, rhs, rhs football, Seth Lopez