By: Krissy Hetherington
After two years at Mt. Whitney, Redwood brought the Cowhide back home in a 49-19 victory on Friday night in the 65th annual Cowhide game.
Nine different players were able to score in 11 touchdown drives between the two teams, and both teams substituted regularly. Six separate players from Redwood found the end zone either on a run or pass.
Mt. Whitney, who struggled to maintain a full healthy team throughout the season, decided to combine their JV and Varsity programs for their last two games.
“ …A bright sport was that everyone got to play, we got eighty guys in there tonight and that was incredible,” said Redwood Head Coach, Kevin Scharton. “We really got our passing game involved getting the receivers some touches and get Ryan working going into playoffs…everything worked perfect for us.”
Redwood succeeded in all spheres of the game and had a nearly flawless end to their regular season. Starting quarterback, Ryan Rios, only played half the game. But he performed well, completing eight out of nine passes for 168 yards, four of which were touchdown scores.
Defense succeeded with five total interceptions between linebacker Marcus Correia, linebacker Kaleb Wright, cornerback Isaiah Aguilar, safety Dominick McCormack, and tight end, Demetrius Russell.
“The kids came out and we were firing on all cylinders, offense, defense, special teams, and to bring it home after not having it for two years was amazing. I was very happy for our school and community,” Sharton said.
In the first quarter alone, Rios found Sam Olson on a 2-yard pass in the endzone, Christian Roldan on a 59 yard catch and run, and 17 yard pass to Olson in the endzone after Kaleb Wright recovered a Mt. Whitney fumble.
In the second, Redwood’s Isaiah Aguilar caught an interception, which was followed by a 26-yard long ball from Rios to Brian Brown in the endzone a few plays later. Reid Terry’s extra kick was good as the score stood at 28-0 with about 8 minutes left in the first half.
Just a few plays later on Mt. Whitney’s drive, Dominick McCormack picked off another pass followed by Diamond Davis’ 11-yard run through the middle.
As Redwood’s second string offense entered onto the field after halftime, the team showed no sign of letting up.
Caden Shafer, the fifth new player to score, found a split through the middle and scored on a 7 yard run with eight minutes left of the third quarter. Then, Redwood’s Karson Everrett capped off a scoring drive with a 30 yard run for his first Varsity touchdown.
As new players entered the field again, Mt. Whitney seized the moment to at least close the gap in the fourth quarter with a long touchdown pass and interception both ran back for touchdowns. But their final surge wasn’t enough as a 30 point deficit set Redwood on top.
For Redwood and first year Rangers head coach, Scharton brought home the Cowhide, led the team to a successful 9-1 season, and WYL runner-up to 10-0, Hanford.
The team will prepare to host Atascadero on Friday, November 8th in the first round of DII Playoffs. Redwood crushed the Greyhounds 51-6 earlier this season.