By: Seth Lopez
On Friday, August 20, your Redwood Rangers took the field at Centennial ready to play, but came up short in a tough loss by the final score of 35 to 21.
The game got pushed back to 8:30 due to air quality concerns, but that didn’t stop the Rangers. They came out hungry, scoring the first touchdown of the game, on their opening drive.
The charge was led by Karson Everett, ‘22 running in the first touchdown of the season. When asked about the whole experience leading up to the game, and after the first play, he said he felt a little nervous, but after that first play, he was ready.
Everett delivered, scoring all three of the touchdowns that night as well as averaging over 10 yards per carry.
Centennial ran a no-huddle offense, trying to speed up the game on the Rangers, but they were not fooled one bit.
After the first quarter, the defense, led by Marcus Correia, ‘22 stopped the Centennial offense, giving the Rangers a 7-0 lead going into the second quarter.
When asked about Centennial’s no-huddle offense, Correia said he knew what they were running, and was prepared. Correia said, “Our plan was to respond quickly and be ready before they were.” He said he and the team had been working on fighting against the no-huddle offense all week.
“It was exhilarating. Suiting up and being in the locker room with the team made it all set in. Running on the field, I was a little nervous and had the jitters, but after the first play it went away.”
– Karson Everett, ’22
Centennial had the ball to start the second quarter, and did not hesitate to answer. Centennial quarterback Levi Manning threw a pass that went right past Redwood defenders to a Centennial receiver, giving them a tie game at 7 apiece.
The Rangers were not worried, as they scored on the next drive off a huge 46-yard carry by Karson Everett. This gave the Rangers a 14-7 lead.
The defense shut the door on Centennial next drive, making them punt the ball back to Redwood. Unfortunately, Francisco Alvarez, ‘23 threw an interception with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Centennial took advantage of the interception by tossing a long ball, getting them to the 2-yard line, and they eventually ran the ball in, tying the game at 14-14.
The Rangers got the football, but didn’t do much, and the first half came to a close, with the score tied at 14-14.
Starting the second half, the Rangers kicked off to Centennial, starting at Centennial’s own 22-yard line.
Centennial was able to get their passing game started with a huge pass down the field to put them at the 17-yard line, then eventually scoring a touchdown, making the score 21-14.
When the Rangers got the ball, they experienced hope in a potential scoring drive after moving the chains twice to bring them to the 50-yard line, but their momentum was stopped by a fumble recovered by Centennial.
Centennial took advantage of Redwood’s star defender Marcus Correia being out for the whole second half battling cramps, with another touchdown, making the score 28-14. The third quarter would soon end.
Starting the fourth quarter, Centennial had the ball, and the Redwood defense showed promise, as they were able to get past Centennial’s O-line, getting to Centennial quarterback Levi Manning, but couldn’t quite bring him down.
Centennial runs into the end zone to make it 35-14. This would be the end of Centennial’s scoring.
Now Redwood needed to capitalize.
The Rangers started on their own 20 yard line, and Francisco Alvarez threw a 47-yard pass to Kolby Howard, ‘22. That was the first long pass the rangers had thrown the whole game.
Alvarez wasn’t done throwing. Later in the drive, he threw another pass to Howard for a first down. Then Everett finished the job, by running the ball in, making the score 35-21.
Alvarez said he feels that he learned a lot, and is ready for the next game. Alvarez said, “I felt better than I did before entering the game, because now I have a good feel for what lies ahead”
Centennial got the ball, and then ran out the clock to seal the score at 35-21.
Even though the Rangers lost this game, there is a lot of potential in this football team. This is going to be a fun team to watch when they get their kinks out and a force to be reckoned with in the future.
The Rangers have their next football game on this Friday against Clovis West at home at 7:00 pm with limited fan attendance.
Seth Lopez
Seth Lopez (´23) is a Senior second year writing for the Gigantea. Seth works for the sports section of the Gigantea . Seth is a part of the school's baseball team as well as the international dance team.
Tags: football, friday night, rhs
What a story. Great coverage and detail. Feels like I was there. Keep it up.