REDWOOD CITY – The Sequoia-Gunn football playoff matchup Friday night was one for the history books.
Not because anything extraordinary happened during Sequoia’s 33-6 victory over the previously undefeated Titans in a Central Coast Section Division V first-round contest, but because these two schools are trying their best to alter the course of recent history.
Two years after going winless, Gunn went 10-0 for its first perfect regular-season since 1971. Back then, you win the league – the South Peninsula Athletic League in this case – and you sit back and relax. The job was done. No playoffs. This year, 10-1 will have to suffice.
For Sequoia (6-5), the semifinal appearance will be its second in three seasons and third since 2012. But the program, which won 33 straight games in the pre-playoff years of 1958-63, never has won a CCS title, though the Ravens are eyeing one closely.
“We’re just trying to climb over that mountain,” said first-year head coach Frank Mems.
Could this be the squad to do it? It will be tougher after losing three key players to injury. Team captain Chapel Meza Thorborne, a defensive end, went out with an apparent broken wrist in the second quarter and two other starting defensive linemen – Aeden Macias and Nicco Veimau – who double in the offensive line rotation, were lost on the same fourth-quarter defensive play to leg injuries.
Sequoia’s Randy Nunez #22 catches a touchdown pass against Gunn’s Jett Creighton in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Sequoia’s Randy Nunez #22 scores a first quarter touchdown against Gunn in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Sequoia prides itself on outstanding line play and that certainly was the case Friday when Gunn failed to gain a positive yard in the first quarter on three possessions. But despite its defensive stands, Sequoia was unable to shake the Titans.
Shawn Royer threw the first of his three touchdown passes to Randy Nunez on a short screen for 12 yards in the first quarter, and connected with Nunez in the third quarter for 35 yards and another score. Royer’s final TD toss covered 40, this time to Alejandro Bringuel, who celebrated with a back flip in the end zone, drawing a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Sequoia quarterback Shawn Royer #7 throws a first quarter touchdown against Gunn in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
On a night when Sequoia made a gameplan to stick to the run, Royer went 8-for-12 for 183 yards while more than doubling Gunn’s season points-allowed total, which had stood at 31.
“We wanted to pound the rock,” Royer said. “But when they load the box and go Cover Zero, we’ve got to throw the ball and make something happen in the air.”
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Sequoia’s 6-0 second-quarter lead seemed far from insurmountable, especially when Gunn lined up for a 19-yard field goal attempt to cut the deficit in half. But the kick was blocked and returned by Justin Schernig 50 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Jordan Crockett V for a 13-0 lead. Crockett finished with 84 yards on 17 carries.
A 64-yard pick six by Mario Fausto broke open the game at the end of the third quarter, giving Sequoia a 33-0 lead.
Gunn managed a late touchdown on a 1-yard run by Tyler Zarganis and, as the clock ran out, Titan fans stood to cheer their team, with an appreciation for such a dramatic turnaround. Not only did Gunn go 0-10 in 2022 under first-year coach Dethrick Slocum, but players were missing practice to go to the robotics club. Slocum says things are better now, but he’s still trying to change the culture.
“It’s a unique situation at Gunn,” Slocum said. “We’re just trying to figure out how to be consistent.”
Facing the seniors who stood by him those three years, Slocum fought back tears as he addressed his team after the game.
“You guys here have no reason to hang your head,” he told them. “No reason to feel sorry for yourself. Giving your best effort all the way through, that’s what matters.
“I’m proud of you guys, man.”
Across the field, Sequoia players shouted and celebrated. While one team closed a historic season, the other team’s history remains to be written.
Sequoia’s Alejandro Bringuel #25 scores a touchdown in the third quarter against Gunn in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Sequoia’s Alejandro Bringuel #25 does a flip in the end zone after scoring a touchdown against Gunn in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Gunn quarterback Jaden Liu passes against Sequoia in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Sequoia’s Mario Fausto #33 celebrates running back an interception for a touchdow against Gunn in the quarter of a Central Coast Section Division V playoff, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)