'One game at a time': Redwood rolls to third straight win with over 400 yards of offense

The Redwood High School football team has found its stride.

The Rangers rolled to a 47-7 win over Monache on Thursday night at Mineral King Bowl. Nearly the entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

Redwood racked up 402 yards of offense in its third straight victory. The Rangers rushed for 248 yards and passed for 154 yards.

Six different players scored at least one touchdown for Redwood. Sophomore running back Jimmie Burk led the way with two touchdown runs and finished with a team-high 123 yards rushing. Burk led a ground attack that averaged 7.2 yards per carry.

Erik Rico, Jalon Wilkerson, Alex Perch, Moses Burk and A.J. Garza also found the end zone. Rico, a quarterback, scored on a nine-yard zone read in the second quarter and Wilkerson caught a 50-yard bomb from quarterback Luke Sanchez to give the Rangers a 26-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Perch caught a short screen pass on third-and-21 and rumbled in for six on a 23-yard catch and run.

Moses Burk, lining up as the Wildcat quarterback, got in on the action when he scored on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. Garza put the exclamation point on the team's outstanding offensive performance with a 42-yard jaunt with 4 minutes and 7 seconds left to play in the game.

More: Tulare County Football: Top games to watch, Week 9 predictions

The Redwood defense nearly pitched its second straight shutout, holding Monache to just 225 total yards on offense — 156 of those came during the running clock in the fourth quarter.

"Tonight was really awesome," Rangers head coach Kevin Scharton said after the game. "Our main focus this week was team unity, playing as a team, one heartbeat, so I think the kids came out and played for each other tonight. I think that showed on the field, and I couldn't be more happier for them."

Although it was the offense that put on a show, it was the defense that set the tone.

The Rangers (5-3, 3-0) forced five punts and also fell on senior defensive end Chase Dempsey's sack-fumble to start the third quarter. Monache turned it over on downs twice, too, and the Mauraders never crossed into the red zone until the game's final seconds.

Monache (1-7, 0-3) only had four plays gain 10 yards or more. Three of them were made by junior running back Ty Baxter. He had a 10-yard scamper in the first quarter and also broke free for a 34-yard gain in the second half. His spectacular 86-yard touchdown run in the fourth period ended Redwood's shutout bid. Baxter led the team with 139 yards rushing.

More: Why CVC's Bryson Donelson picked Fresno State over Boise State, Boston College offers

Through three EYL games, Redwood has allowed only 14 combined points.

"Our defense has been lights out during league," Scharton said. "We went through a tough preseason, so I think they're battle-tested. They have a lot of poise, and first of all, our coaches get them ready every week. I have to tip my hat to David Clements, our D coordinator, and our defensive coaches. They really get these guys ready every week. They keep us in games. I think this was the first game where we went out where offense and defense played well. When we get all of those things working, we get results like this."

Scharton rotated quarterbacks every series on offense. Sanchez started the game and Rico got playing time every other possession.

Sanchez fired 3-of-4 passes for 61 yards. His 50-yard touchdown strike to Wilkerson gave Redwood a 26-0 lead with 46 seconds before halftime.

Rico completed 5-of-8 attempts for 93 yards. He had a 23-yard touchdown to Perch and also found the end zone as a runner on a nine-yard keeper.

"We preach to the kids, 'If you don't worry about who gets the credit, then we'll play a lot better,'" Scharton said. "And tonight, that was very visual. Both of our quarterbacks were poised. They both went in. They weren't competing against each other this week. They were competing for their team, and that's a big difference there. I think they're figuring it out, and the thing is, they both can do the job. It's hard to watch one of them on the bench knowing they can go out and make plays too. They're about neck-and-neck. Each has their own strengths but I feel confident with both of those guys."

Since a 0-2 start, Redwood has won five of their past six games, including three straight to kick off EYL competition.

The Rangers are the defending EYL champions. They travel to play Golden West next Friday at Visalia Community Stadium. Kickoff for that game is 7:30 p.m.

Redwood defeated the Trailblazers last season 23-7.

What's it like to still have the chance to play for a league championship?

"It's awesome," Scharton said. "That's why we're out here. The goal is to get to the last game of the season and win it, which would be the Valley championship, but getting there, obviously, is a league title. We just take it one game at a time. Having our record, we have a target on our back, so we have to be prepared no matter what the other team's record is."

Redwood 47, Monache 7

Monache       0           0            0             7           -              7

Redwood           6             20            7              14           -              47

First quarter

R – Jimmie Burk 15 run (kick failed), 6:32

Second quarter

R – Burk 1 run (Burk run), 3:24

R – Erik Rico 9 run (kick failed), 2:06

R – Jalon Wilkerson 50 pass from Luke Sanchez (pass failed), :45

Third quarter

R – Alex Perch 23 pass from Rico (Dallas Harris kick), 1:41

Fourth quarter

R – Moses Burk 1 run (Harris kick), 11:15

M – Ty Baxter 86 run (Isaac Leal), 9:12

R – A.J. Garza 42 run (Harris kick), 4:07

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Monache: Ty Baxter 10-139, Derrick Ziegler 2-(minus) 4, D.J. Shimer 2-5, Emmett Focke 4-9, Noel Ceballos 3-11, Team 1-(minus) 14. Redwood: Jimmie Burk 14-123, Alex Perch 7-25, Luke Sanchez 2-(minus) 9, Rico 1-9, Isaak Mendoza 1-15, A.J. Garza 6-89, Moses Burk 1-1, Torren Mancour 1-(minus) 4, Javion Richardson 1-(minus) 1.

PASSING – Monache: Focke 4-14-0 79. Redwood: Sanchez 3-4-0 61, Rico 5-8-0 93.

RECEIVING – Monache: Ayden Aguilar 2-10, Ziegler 1-(minus) 1, No. 20 1-70. Redwood: Burk 1-13, Evan Galley 3-25, Jalon Wilkerson 2-73, Ronald Walsh 1-20, Perch 1-23.

Records – Monache 1-7, 0-3; Redwood 5-3, 3-0.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Redwood rolls to third straight win with over 400 yards of offense