This time around there was no late letdown.
On Saturday afternoon, the College of the Redwoods football team traveled to play American River in its conference opener and got back to winning ways in thrilling fashion.
Sophomore kicker Brandon Sailer nailed a 30-yard field with just 31 seconds remaining to give the visitors their first lead of the day, and with a much-improved performance by the offense and defense in the second half that was just enough to give them a 30-27 victory.
There were multiple storylines in this one, including the resilience the players showed in overcoming a 17-point deficit in what was a tale of two halves for the team, but the bounce-back performance by Sailer was the story of the day.
After missing three field goal attempts and a late PAT in a one-point loss to Monterey Peninsula in the team’s last game two weeks ago, Sailer was the hero this time around, nailing the pressure-filled game-winning kick to give his a team an important victory in what will be an extremely tough NorCal Conference.
“He had a rough week after the last game,” CR head coach Jason White said. “And today he got the game-winning field goal. We told him we believe in you and he came through for us. I’m really proud of him.
“He was very focused the last two weeks, and that’s where we need him to be.”
In fairness to the sophomore kicker, the field goals he missed against Monterey Peninsula were all longer attempts and they were far from the only reasons CR lost that day after a sloppy performance in all phases of the game.
But the missed PAT lingered, and it didn’t help that he also missed on a PAT that would have given Redwoods a one-point lead earlier in the fourth quarter against American River.
But he came through when it mattered the most, as did his teammates on a weekend where they faced more adversity than at any other point this season.
On Saturday night, White found out his starting center, Cameron Caspino, was unable to play because of illness, and he had to switch multiple players around on the line, moving left tackle Kaike Salvador to center, right guard Kieran Flynn to left tackle and Johnathon Mitchell to right guard.
And while it took them a while to find their feet on Saturday, the unit came through with a big performance in the second half, which played a huge role in the comeback.
“We showed some resilience,” White said. “We were definitely not emotionally where we needed to be in the first half.”
While the defense struggled to contain the Beavers offense, which scored three touchdowns in the opening two quarters, the CR offense struggled to get much going before halftime.
But the Redwoods players would grow into the game on both sides of the ball — as well as Sailer and the special teams — and they mounted a big comeback, scoring 23 points in the second half, while holding the Beavers to just three.
Receiver Quinton Buckland also played a key role in the comeback.
After having two TDs called back on penalty calls against Monterey Peninsula, Buckland had three big receptions on a late scoring drive that resulted in the first of his two second-half TD catches from quarterback Kasen Covert.
Covert would add a TD on a QB draw with just under four minutes remaining in the game to pull Redwoods level at 27-27.
However, the missed PAT moments later would leave the two sides deadlocked.
The Beavers offense went back to work, but the CR defense forced a quick punt, and a good return set CR up inside American River territory with two minutes remaining.
A couple of first downs moved Redwoods to the Beavers’ 13-yard-line, and after Sailer nailed his big kick the CR defense held on over the final 30 seconds to secure the win.
“That was a barnburner,” said White, who added, “Our defense held them to three points in the second half. That’s an incredible turnaround from the first half, and that gave us an opportunity on offense.
“(Defensive coordinator Damaro) Wheeler made some adjustments at halftime to contain their quarterback — he had a fabulous first half — and it worked.”
CR’s only score of the opening half came on a 69-yard TD pass from Covert to Uriah Carlston.
Aaeden McCullum and Ja’Ere Alexander combined to block an American River field goal attempt in the second quarter, another play that kept the visitors in the game.
No final game stats were immediately available, but we’ll have more on the big performance early next week.
