Giants host Diablo Valley at 11 a.m. Sept. 30 in nonconference football finale
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias' football team rides a two-game winning streak -- and a big jump in the state rankings -- into its nonconference finale.
The Giants are set to host Diablo Valley at 11 a.m. Sept. 30 from the college's now completed campus facility, Sequoias Stadium.
General admission is $10, with seniors (62 and older) and students $5.
Sequoias (2-2 overall) climbed five spots to No. 20 in the JC Athletic Bureau state rankings, while going from No. 30 to No. 25 in the California Community College Sports Information Association's poll following a come-from-behind, 40-37 overtime victory at Shasta on Sept. 23.
Diablo Valley (1-3) is unranked and coming off a 37-20 loss at Reedley last week. The Vikings, who beat Sequoias 50-43 in overtime last season, have played a pair of common opponents, beating Shasta 25-13 and losing to Butte 51-0.
The Giants will look to continue a resurgent rushing attack against a Diablo Valley defense that has allowed 210.8 yards per game on the ground.
After rushing for a combined total of 76 yards in losses to No. 7 Butte (23-20 in overtime) and No. 1 San Mateo (49-21) to open the season, Sequoias has totaled 537 yards rushing in its past two games, highlighted by Jaylen Laudermilk's 25-yard touchdown run in overtime to beat Shasta.
Laudermilk (Ashburn, Va.) raced untouched on a reverse -- taking the ball from John Friend (Pearland, Texas), who took the initial handoff from quarterback Reilly Garcia (Gilbert, Ariz.) -- during the first play of overtime to finish a rally from a 31-14 halftime deficit.
The Giants outscored Shasta 20-3 in the second half as Friend scored on a 25-yard run and Garcia added a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs, the second of which gave Sequoias a 34-31 lead with 4 minutes and 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Knights (1-3) tied the score 34-34 on Cole Crossen's 29-yard field goal with 6:47 remaining in the game, and went ahead 37-34 during the first possession of overtime on Crossen's 32-yard field goal.
Sequoias finished with 184 yards on 41 carries -- an average of 4.1 yards per attempt -- and were led by Dylan Gurule (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
The Giants' second-half rally featured a big play from its special teams, where a muffed punt attempt was downed at the Shasta 1-yard line, a fourth-down defensive stand from the Sequoias' 32, and an interception from Jaylen Brown (Chandler, Ariz.).
Sequoias' defense received quarterback sacks from Rhett Sarvela (Vancouver, Wash.), Caleb Chenault (Hanford) and Jah'Mere La'Sane (Las Vegas) and 14 tackles for losses. Julian Espinoza (Tulare Union) led the Giants with eight tackles. Sarvela had seven, while Chenault, Xavier Hailey (Tulare Union) and Gary Turner Jr. (Atlanta, Ga.) all had six.
After a bye on Oct. 7, the Giants will return to action at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 by hosting Fresno City (1-3) in the Valley Conference opener for both teams.
The Rams, who are unranked by the JCAB and tied for No. 25 by the CCCSIA, are the defending conference champion. Sequoias has not won a conference title since 1998.
