Another week of competitive action is in the books for COS athletics. There were both men and women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and even football all highlighting this past weekend’s action in sports.

Sequoia football started their season this past Saturday with an away matchup against Antelope Valley College. Under first-year head coach Travis Burkett, the team was hyped up and ready to play its first game since the 2019 season. The first half didn’t go as planned for COS as the defense had already given up 2 touchdowns and only made 2 field goal attempts, resulting in a 12-6 Antelope Valley lead at halftime.

Unfortunately, the struggles for defense continued in the second half, as they were outscored 21-7, resulting in a 33-13 loss on the road for the Giants. Sequoia’s quarterbacks Tate Robards, freshmen out of Broken Arrow High School, and Nathan Lamb, freshmen out of Tulare Union both combined for 19-46, with 201 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in the loss. These two teams will compete against each other again this Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. in the Mineral King Bowl.

Men’s basketball continued their dominant performance from last week and carried it over to their matchup against Antelope Valley. COS hosted the Marauders Friday evening in what resulted in a close one. The first half was a back and forth competition between the two teams, with Antelope Valley leading in scoring up until the final seconds when COS took the lead 34-31 right before the buzzer rang.

The second half was also a close one for both teams, but in the end, the Giants became victorious with the 79-71 win over Antelope Valley. The next day, COS was headed on the road to compete against the Marauders in Lancaster, Ca with a 3 p.m. game time. It was all Sequoias in the first half doing all the damage against their opponent as they took a 16 point lead at the half.

The second half has already been underway and these men are lights out with the level of performance that they had come into this game. COS swept the weekend against Antelope Valley with an 82-69 win. Ryan Johnson was Player of the weekend with 64 minutes of play, 42 points, 18 rebounds, and 4 assists in each of the two games against the Marauders. The 4-0 COS Giants take on Allan Hancock College Friday and Saturday both starting at 5:30 p.m.

Women’s basketball also continued their dominant performance from last week. With a home and away series against Antelope Valley, the ladies continued to be lights out. It was all COS in the first half dominating in the paint, in field goals, three-pointers, and free-throw shooting. After outscoring the Marauders 50-30 in the second half, the ladies secured their 86-50 victory. The next day, the team traveled to Antelope Valley to compete once again for a 1 p.m. matchup.

The Giants continued their performance from the previous day and stunned the Marauders once again. After leading 29-20 at halftime, the Giants dominated Antelope Valley once again, this time being outscored 40-30 in a 19 point win against the Marauders 69-50. Two freshmen superstars out of Sierra Pacific in Hanford led the team, their victories combining for 113 minutes of play, 69 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists. The women’s basketball team has a home and away series against Allan Hancock this Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m., fighting to stay undefeated.

Men’s soccer started their weekend off with an away match against Antelope Valley. The match started heating up fast with quick turnaround scores from each team. With goals from Sebastian Caballero-Lopez, Osvaldo Ibarra-Sanchez, and Faustino Serrano and goalie Holden Milliorn-Feller was what sealed the deal in a 3-2 Sequoias victory. Going into Saturday’s home match against Antelope Valley, COS was running out with dominance looking to continue from the previous day.

It was a tough day, as the only goal came from Caballero and goalie Milliorn struggled to keep the ball from passing into the net. Men’s soccer ends their weekend 1-1 and is keeping their heads up for Friday and Saturday’s home and away series against Allan Hancock.

Women’s volleyball was lights out during their sets against Antelope Valley. The team traveled to Lancaster Friday morning for their afternoon matchup against the Marauders. Starting off slowly losing the first set, the Giants came back and took control over their opponent, winning the last 3 sets in an incredible performance. Voted by her teammates as “Player of the Match” Ellie Applegate, freshmen out of Mt. Whitney went on a service run to close the gap in the 4th set to secure the Giant’s victory.

Saturday the ladies traveled back home where they faced off against Antelope Valley once again. This time, Marauders didn’t stand a chance. The Giants closed out their matchup 3 sets, beating their opponent 3-0. The player of the match for Saturday was awarded to Gia Rozadilla, a sophomore out of Central East Fresno for her incredible defensive skills. She passed 14 serves with 0 errors and dug 30 times to keep the play resumed. Women’s volleyball went 2-0 this weekend and look forward to continuing their performance against Cerro Coso this Thursday and Friday.

The athletic department had an incredible weekend with the second week of competition. All teams combining for a 7-2 win-loss ratio this past weekend. They are ready to take on their opponents this coming week, in what would be another eventful weekend.

All games would be available for livestream at Cosathletics.com