Giants bulldoze state No. 5 Monterey Peninsula to remain tied atop Valley Conference

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Gavin Silene didn't mince words following College of the Sequoias' 37-point dismantling of the state's No. 5-ranked football team.

"This was a statement game," the sophomore linebacker from Gilbert, Ariz., said.

It sure was.

The No. 13 Giants got rolling quickly with a touchdown on their fifth offensive play, and the Payton Faker-led offense never let off the gas while bulldozing Monterey Peninsula 63-26 on Oct. 18 at Sequoias Stadium in a Valley Conference game that snapped the Lobos' 17-game winning streak.

"We wanted to leave no doubt," Sequoias coach Matt Mendonca said. "Not only to prove to ourselves that we can play really good football, but for anybody out there watching to know we're a top team. We want to compete for the top. Obviously Monterey is a really good team, they came in undefeated and (fifth) in the state, so I think the guys did a good job of not leaving any doubt."

The Giants (6-1, 2-0) are due a significant rise up the JC Athletic Bureau's state poll after beating a top-five ranked team for the second time in four weeks. Sequoias defeated then No. 2 Butte 42-38 at home Sept. 27 and followed that with a 24-20 win at then No. 22 Sacramento City to open Valley Conference play Oct. 11.

A statement game was needed because the Giants only moved up the coaches poll from No. 16 to No. 12 following their win over Butte (while the Roadrunners slipped from No. 2 to No. 8). Sequoias dropped to No. 13 in the next poll while Butte rose to No. 7 after both teams won conference openers. Butte edged unranked American River 31-29 in double overtime, the same team the Giants beat 21-13 to open the season Aug. 30.

"We came off a win and we dropped in the rankings," said Silene, who finished with two tackles, including one of nine that the Giants made for losses. "We have a 6-0 opponent and beat them so we showed we should be up there in the rankings."

Faker (Burien, Wash.) and Gage Armbruster (Corcoran HS) got the Giants off to a blazing start when they connected on a 44-yard touchdown five plays after Sequoias stuffed Monterey Peninsula's game-opening drive.

"We had a double move set up and we executed it perfectly," said Armbruster, a preseason All-American who finished with five receptions for 86 yards and three touchdowns. "We beat him off the double move and got a touchdown. We like to start fast and physical, and that's exactly what we did and went down and scored."

The Giants went on to score on their first five possessions while opening a 35-7 halftime lead. It was the most points they've scored in the first half this season.

Jahkylle Smith (Merced) put Sequoias ahead 14-0 with a 4-yard scoring run with 6 minutes and 4 seconds to play in the first quarter.

After Monterey Peninsula (6-1, 1-1) sliced the deficit to 14-7 on a 26-yard scoring pass from Manuel Simon Lopez to Karendus Poe with 3:21 to play in the first, Sequoias seized complete control behind Faker, the state's leading passer.

Faker delivered three touchdown passes in the second quarter, strikes of 8 and 18 yards to Armbruster sandwiched around a 13-yarder to Alec Haun (Clovis East).

"It had to click at some point and I think today it clicked," said Faker, who completed 20 of 31 passes for 312 yards in three quarters of play, raising his state-leading total to 2,225 yards on the season. "We have a lot of great players, and as long as we execute, we expect games like this all the time."

The Giants essentially put the score out of reach when they opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Faker's 10-yard touchdown pass to Henoc Dje-Bi (La Queue-en-Brie, France).

The Lobos scored on consecutive possessions -- a 78-yard pass from Simon Lopez to Rogdryk Guillor and an 8-yard run by Zion Black -- to make it 42-20.

But Sequoias pulled away for good as Smith added a 1-yard touchdown run, Armbruster returned a kickoff 46-yards for a score and backup quarterback Caden Dawes (Tucson, Ariz.) connected with Donyell Booker (Clovis East) for a 26-yard score.

The Giants scored on nine of 15 possessions, two of which came at the end of the half and game when they were trying to run out the clock.

The 63 points were the most Sequoias has scored in a game since beating West Hills 69-20 in 2012.

"We've been playing great on offense all season long, we've just been self sabotaging with the penalties," Mendonca said. "Today we didn't have some of those procedure things. When we're not playing behind the sticks and we can effectively run the football, we feel that in all three phases we have a really elite team. It was nice to see our offense play to their capability for sure."

Marshel Sanders (Clovis West) was Faker's top target, finishing with six receptions for a season-high 132 yards. Armbruster had a 57-yard touchdown catch called back by a holding penalty.

Running behind the offensive line of left tackle Khairee Harris (Hanford), left guard Eric Refsdal (Bloomington, Minn.), center Xavier Bradley (West Jordan, Utah), right guard Chad Haughton (Bronx, N.Y.) and right tackle Izear Dampier (Seattle), Smith led the ground game with 93 yards on 16 carries.

The Giants' defense also played much better than the final score -- and total yards allowed -- would indicate.

Take away pass plays of 78 and 75 yards on busted coverages -- one against reserves -- and Sequoias only allowed 189 yards.

And one of Monterey Peninsula's touchdowns was set up by a blocked punt that was recovered at the Giants' 8-yard line.

The Giants had three takeaways -- two interceptions by Cassidy Bolong-Banks (Tacoma, Wash.) and one by Wendell Ware (Edison HS) -- and four sacks, with Josiah Harris (Denver), Sergio Gonzalez (Delano) and Kingsten Maiava (Seattle) getting one each and Moses Saulsbury (Redwood HS) and Paki Crawford (Seattle) sharing one. They finished with nine total tackles for losses, getting 1 1/2 from Saulsburg and one each from Mark Pullman (Santa Maria), Faheym Bostic (Valrico, Fla.), Malachi Young (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Silene.

Sequoias was particularly good against the run, limiting Monterey Peninsula to -6 yards on the ground on 27 attempts.

"We prepared so hard for this team," Silene said. "You know, 6-0, you gotta respect that. But we wanted it more. Their running backs were sliding because they didn't want to get hit. We set the tone."

Sequoias has won five straight overall and sits tied with No. 14 Modesto atop the Valley Conference, which advances its champion to the state championship playoffs.

Next up for the Giants is a conference game at regional rival Reedley, scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 25. The Tigers are unranked at 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.

"We know that there is really nothing that's been accomplished yet," Mendonca said. "You can lose the conference the first game but you can't win it. Our toughest road is still ahead. And we're not looking ahead, we're just looking to our next opponent. We're going to celebrate this one for 24 hours then we're going to get right back in and get ready for Reedley. It's a huge game for us. It doesn't matter what the records are, those guys are going to be ready to play."

After Reedley, Sequoias closes the season with conference games at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 against No. 24 Fresno City (3-4, 1-1) and at home Nov. 8 against Modesto (5-2).

If the Giants run the table, they would secure a spot in the Northern California Regional semifinals.

"Our focus is on winning a state championship, but we're taking it week by week," Armbruster said. "We got Reedley next week so we got the 24-hour rule on this game and it's on to Reedley."