Prep football: Redwood’s dream season ends in section final

01.12.2024 10:58

Marinij.com

Redwood's Dylan McGrath hauls in a touchdown in front of American Canyon's Cole Gholar during the Giants' 35-28 loss in the 2024 North Coast Section Division 4 Football Championships on Saturday in Napa. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

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NAPA >> There was a moment late in the first half when it felt like the Redwood High football team had all the momentum in its North Coast Section Division IV championship game against American Canyon on Saturday night.

The Giants had just strung together three consecutive scoring drives to go up by 14 points and were set to receive the kickoff to start the third quarter. Redwood just needed to see out the final minute to put itself in good position to win the first section title in program history.

American Canyon kick returner Webster Burks muffed the ensuing kickoff at his own goal line but scooped the ball up quickly, broke past the first line of would-be tacklers, and bolted 100 yards for a game-changing touchdown.

American Canyon scored the next three times it had the football in the second half en route to a 35-28 victory at Memorial Stadium to secure its first section title.

“We were clicking,” Redwood coach Allen Talley said of his team’s play in the first half. “We played well defensively. We were playing well offensively – scored 21 points. We had it going. That kickoff return was a momentum killer for us and it took us too long to recover from that.”

American Canyon’s fourth consecutive touchdown left Redwood (8-5) trailing 35-21 with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left on the clock. Despite the long odds, the Giants kept fighting and converted on a fourth-and-17 play from the 24-yard line on a touchdown pass from quarterback Kody Vasquez to Ashlin Quach to pull within 35-28 with 1:06 to play.

Redwood had no timeouts left and was forced to try an onside kick. American Canyon recovered the ball and it was victory formation from there.

“These kids really fought,” Talley said. “They were down. We still got the fourth down, got the score, and an onside kick to try get the ball back with a minute left. These kids did not give up. I’m so proud of them.”

Redwood controlled the game for about a 12-minute stretch spanning the first and second quarters. Wes Schulz recovered a fumble by American Canyon quarterback Mason Harris to set the Giants up with a short field.

Running back Sean Cunneen scored on a 9-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 late in the first quarter.

Redwood cashes in on a fumble. Cunneen 9 run 7-7. #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/F1iH6wrNAM

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Redwood’s next drive featured a couple of deep shots from Vasquez to Quach for 27 yards and to Ben Vaughn for 20 more yards. Vasquez capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring pass to Dylan McGrath for a 14-7 Redwood lead.

Vaughn’s catch to set up that TD. #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/1mX1v6QAT2

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The Giants defense came up with a key stop on the ensuing drive. American Canyon called a flea flicker on fourth-and-9 on Redwood’s 31-yard line. Harris rolled all the way to the left sideline before reversing field all the way to the right sideline. It appeared that Harris might pick up the first down but Ronan Ralston stopped him a couple of yards short and Redwood took over on downs.

Ralston huge play on fourth. Giants go down and score. 21-7 #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/OWdi3RIKvZ

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Redwood converted a third-and-11 with a 34-yard pass from Vasquez to Cunneen then scored on the next play, a 23-yard connection between Vasquez and McGrath for a 21-7 lead.

Burks made the play of the game on the ensuing kickoff and, even though Redwood still had the lead, the momentum of the game had shifted.

Harris, who had 84 rushing yards in the first half, took over the game in the second half and finished with 18 carries for 187 yards. American Canyon running back Andre Lopez carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards and scored three touchdowns.

“We just took ourselves out of position sometimes,” Talley said. “We made some mental mistakes. That’s what hurt us.”

Redwood still led 21-20 after Harris scored on a 21-yard run as the extra point was blocked. American Canyon scored again on the next drive and Harris called his own number on the two-point try for a 28-21 lead.

Harris 21 run. Pat blocked. Redwood lead cut to 21-20. #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/rg7YcpSwbM

— Marin IJ Sports (@marinij_sports) December 1, 2024

Redwood drove inside the red zone but Cunneen, who has been battling an ankle injury for the past month, limped off the field. The Giants were called for intentional grounding two plays later, forcing them into a second-and-31 situation and a promising drive stalled.

Cunneen returned to the game on Redwood’s last drive and gutted it out until aggravating the injury on Redwood’s penultimate offensive play. Vasquez’s throw to Quach on the last offensive play gave Redwood a lifeline but ultimately the dream season came to an end.

Redwood, which had just one playoff victory in its history prior to this year, won two postseason games this season and came close to winning a third.

“We started out OK,” Talley said of the season. “To have that bad October and the bounce back to even get to this position, I’m proud of these kids. These kids fought, they worked hard, they just played their butts off. I enjoyed this group and they made history at the school of going to the finals and all this. It was just great.”

Cunneen ran for 81 yards and had two catches for 50 yards. Vasquez threw three touchdowns and had 211 yards. Vasquez threw 10 touchdowns in Redwood’s three playoff games this season. Quach had a game-high 56 receiving yards. Ralston had 38 receiving yards, Vaughn added 37, and McGrath had 30. American Canyon ran for 313 yards but did not complete a pass.