Redwood rallies behind backup quarterback
Trailing late in the fourth quarter to rival Tam and in desperate need of a spark, Redwood got exactly what it needed out of sophomore backup quarterback Brady Weingart.
Filling in for starter Clayton Grace, who left Saturday’s Mt. Tam Game just before halftime with a right leg injury, Weingart stepped up in a big way in his first varsity football game. His
13-yard pass that floated into the arms of Sam Davis in the backleft corner of Tam’s end zone with just over a minute left at Tam High proved to be the difference in Redwood’s 22-19 season-opening win.
“That’s about one of the most impressive things you could see,” said Redwood senior running back Thomas Johnson. “… He did a really good job of just calling the offense, being the captain of the offense and just going out there and getting the job done.”
Weingart finished 10-for-15 passing for 83 yards and a score.
His touchdown pass to Davis capped a late comeback by the Giants (1-0), who needed nearly every second of the game to beat the Red-tailed Hawks (0-1). Tam senior Jack Ehlermann, who had a touchdown pass in the first half, scored touchdowns on runs of 15 and 34 yards, respectively, on consecutive carries in the second half to rally his team from 16-6 down and give them a 1916 advantage down the stretch.
But after Weingart’s goahead score, Redwood’s defense clamped down and forced a three-and-out to put the game
away.
“I think we did a lot of things well, and what killed us was just some little things here and there,” said Tam head coach Matthew LemMon. “Especially when it’s three points, that three-point effort, that’s on me. … I thought we locked them up pretty well until that last drive when they kind of stroked slowly down the field. That kind of hurt us and I think that was just partially conditioning and guys getting back into game shape.”
The Mt. Tam Game trophy, which has only been around since 2018, remains in possession of Redwood, which has now won the last six meetings between the two schools.
“Every time I play those guys, other than last year, it’s like this,” LemMon said. “This is the third time we’ve lost within a score since I’ve been here. I just want to get over the hump one time.”
For a period in the second half, it seemed like Tam would finally down its rivals once again. After being in control for most of the first half, Redwood began to lose steam and Tam pounced at the opening.
The momentum began to shift after a long Redwood drive ended on a lost fumble by Weingart at the Hawks’ 2-yard line. Redwood recovered quickly and got a safety on Tam’s first play of the ensuing drive to extend its lead to 16-6 but then the lethargy set in. After starting its next possession deep in Tam territory after the safety, Redwood turned the ball over on downs, a drive that ended on an eight-yard sack.
From there, Tam quarterback Rory Cronander hit Josh Cushner for a 42-yard bomb and Ehlermann ended the drive in emphatic fashion, breaking about five tackles to scamper into the end zone from 15 yards out.
Redwood then went three-and-out on its ensuing possession and Tam once again took advantage.
A 21-yard run from Danny Jenkins set the stage for a 34-yard touchdown run for Ehlermann, putting Tam back in the driver’s seat at 19-16 with just under ten minutes to go in the fourth.
After the teams traded empty possessions, Redwood put together a 10play, 60-yard drive over the following five minutes that ended with Weingart finding Davis in Tam’s end zone.
Redwood held a 14-6 at the half thanks in large part to a strong start from Grace, a transfer from Marin Catholic making his first appearance for the Giants. He was 6-of-9 passing for 73 yards and a score before he exited the game just prior to the half.
“We had some key injuries today, we’ll see what’s going on tomorrow but we had some sophomores that stepped up,” said Redwood head coach Allen Talley. “Brady Weingart at quarterback, kinda struggled, fumbled, messed up, but came back, throws that corner ball in the end zone, prettiest thing ever.”