Prep football: Redwood shut out by Casa Grande

The next time the Redwood High football team plays a game starting before noon, maybe it should knock down a bunch of energy drinks beforehand.

In a game switched to a late morning start because of the excessive heat, the Giants sleep-walked their way to a 34-0 setback against powerful Casa Grande in a Redwood Empire Valley contest Saturday in Larkspur.

“We played poorly – it was just a bad day from the start,” Redwood coach Allen Talley said. “No excuses – we just came out and played badly from the gate.”

The Giants (3-3, 1-1 Valley) were almost equally inept on both sides of the ball but the offense was held to 55 yards and notched a mere four first downs – one of which came via penalty.

“It wasn’t just one person. The whole team didn’t play well,” Redwood quarterback Kody Vasquez said. “They were more physical than us and they beat us.”

Vasquez, who had been trending upward after a bit of a slow start to the season, was unable to fend off a ferocious Casa Grande pass rush from the outset.

“(Casa Grande) had a good game plan,” Vasquez said. “Their linebackers blitzed a lot.”

Somehow Vasquez suffered only two sacks but he was limited to 52 yards with two interceptions on 4 of 20 passing.

Seven of Redwood’s offensive possessions went three-and-out and lasted less than two minutes. Two others ended with interceptions.

The Giants crossed midfield just twice, once on a 24-yard catch-and-run by running back Sean Cunneen on a swing pass out of the backfield and the other time on a fumble recovery by defensive back Ashlin Quach.

The Gauchos (4-2, 2-0), on the other hand, scored the first and last time they touched the ball and three times in between.

Casa Grande quarterback Danny Mercado torched the Redwood defense often, completing 23-of-32 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns.

The Gauchos amassed 423 yards of offense including 176 yards on the ground.

The other thorn in the side of the Giants was Casa Grande running back Ronan Curly, who led all rushers with 89 yards on 11 carries and caught six passes for an additional 51 yards.

The Giants return to league action when they play host to rival Tam on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“Now we’re going to see what kind of team we are next week and for the rest of the season,” Talley said. “Now we’re going to see how we respond.”

Casa Grande 34, Redwood 0

Redwood Empire Valley

Casa Grande  6  7  14  7  –  34

Redwood  0  0  0  0  –  0

SCORING SUMMARY

CG – Mercado 4 run (pass failed)

CG – Curly 13 pass from Mercado (Hernandez kick)

CG – Pieri 15 pass from Mercado (Hernandez kick)

CG – Duff 2 pass from Mercado (Hernandez kick)

CG – Cilia 39 pass from Mercado (Hernandez kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – CG, Curly 11-89, Mercado 12-33, Cerda 10-51, Hernandez 4-3. Totals: 37-176. Red, Cunneen 7-7, Harp 2-1, K. Vasquez 4-(minus-6), T. Vasquez 1-0, Ulin 1-2. Totals: 16-3.

PASSING – CG, Mercado 23-32-0 224, Cerda 2-5-0 23. Totals: 25-37-0 247. Red, K. Vasquez 4-20-2 52, T. Vasquez 0-1-0 0. Totals: 4-21-2 52.

RECEIVING – CG, Cilia 3-47, Curly 6-51, Pieri 2-24, Gonzalez 2-6, Metzler 2-15, Bushey 2-8, Duff 4-53, Laubscher 2-30, Ivory 1-7, Navarro 1-6. Totals: 25-247. Red, Cunneen 2-23, Ralston 1-20, Mcgrath 1-9. Totals: 4-52.

Records: Casa Grande 4-2, 2-0. Redwood 3-3, 1-1.