The quest for an offensive score will continue for the Giants after losing 27-7 to Rancho Cotate this Saturday. The Giants’ only points in the afternoon? A pick-six thrown by the opposing team’s punter.
With expected starting quarterback junior Cash Ward out for the first four games due to transfer rules, and other quarterbacks dealing with injuries to begin the year, it’s been chaotic offensively. The Giants only mustered two points from a safety in their opener loss to San Leandro, and the offensive woes continued against the Cougars.
It was a punt-off for most of the first half; the Giants had several three-and-outs, but the Cougars would shortly boot the ball back as the Redwood front contained the run well. The only offensive spark came from a 10-yard rip from senior Ben Harp, but it ended with an interception across the middle of the field from junior quarterback Hunter Stein.
The Cougars started to find a rhythm on offense by the mid-second quarter, as senior wide receiver Luke Morie hauled in a 34-yard pass down the sideline. Later in the drive, senior quarterback Wyatt Gregori found an open receiver for a 19-yard touchdown. While Rancho Cotate’s run game was mostly shut down, their passing attack consistently exposed the Giants’ secondary.
The Cougars quickly got back on offense as senior William Suko punted for the fourth time in the first half. Senior Dante Davis made a crucial third-down sack, giving the Giants one more offensive chance before halftime — their best starting field position of the game after junior Wes Fitzpatrick blocked a punt near midfield. Even with a first-down completion to senior Ben Vaughn to start the drive, the Giants were forced to punt again.
The Giants took themselves out of the game with a rough start to the third quarter. Rancho Cotate picked up momentum with a third down conversion to open the half, then stormed down the field with a few more completions. Gregori finished the drive by rifling a slant to Morie in stride for another Cougars touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, a high floater bounced off a Redwood leg and Rancho Cotate retained possession. Gregori quickly threw his third touchdown of the afternoon with a deep fade down the sideline to receiver senior Liam Griffith, making the score 20-0.
“There were a lot of mental mistakes. No matter the scoreboard, we just gotta keep our chins up and lift our teammates up. [There was] too much yelling at each other and [we were] not playing with confidence,” senior captain linebacker Cooper Canon said.
One of those mental mistakes came after the Giants offense reached Cougar territory via a kickoff out of bounds, a defensive penalty, and a third-down completion to Vaughn. However, Stein threw a quick pass right into the arms of the Rancho Cotate outside linebacker, abruptly ending their potential scoring drive with his second interception thrown of the game.
The Giants defense didn’t give up despite the miscues, forcing a three-and-out with the Cougars on their own 30-yard line. But instead of a punt, the flock of Redwood parents finally got something to cheer for — five-star Rancho senior punter Hunter Probst mishandled the snap, rolled right to evade pressure and lobbed a pass that was intercepted by senior linebacker Thomas Harvey and returned down the sideline for the first Giants touchdown of the season. Canon emphasized the importance of players filling in and contributing as Redwood has faced several injuries thus far.
“[Harvey] was at the bottom of the depth chart last week. He stepped up, filled his role and got a couple plays on defense. He scored that nice touchdown and showed some great speed on the sideline,” Canon said.
The eruption of the Redwood crowd at the end of the third quarter carried into the fourth, as the Redwood defense forced another punt with strong tackles from Canon and junior cornerback Olen Johnson. Junior Pablo Rodriguez had several impressive runs to jump start the drive, then Stein scrambled right and found him for a 23-yard gain. With five minutes left in the game, the Giants reached the Cougars’ 21-yard line. The offense had been sloppy, but it looked like they were finally putting some pieces together, and they had a chance to make it a one-score game. On third-and-five, Stein rolled out to the right of his collapsing pocket and tried to force a pass into double coverage as the Rancho Cotate defensive line corralled him. It was intercepted, effectively ending the Giants’ hopes of a miraculous comeback. Rancho Cotate added one more touchdown with the help of a pass interference call making the final score 27-7.
Despite the frustrating loss, the senior captain remained optimistic of the team’s future, pointing to bright spots aside from the team’s lone touchdown.
“We saw a couple positives in the run game — Pablo [Rodriquez] came out and had a great game, ran the ball hard, and Ben Harp stepped up as well,” Canon said.
The Giants will hope to learn from their early season struggles and pick up their first win when they play Maria Carrillo at 7 p.m. next Friday, Sept. 12.
