Senior Michael Cherry helps Rosemont race past Dixon in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff opener
Rosemont High School defeated Dixon in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoff opener on Friday night, advancing to the second round to face unbeaten and top-seeded Twelve Bridges of Lincoln.
The Wolverines were led by senior running back star Michael Cherry, who was all over the field, scoring six touchdowns to spearhead a 61-27 rout over the Rams.
Cherry caught a touchdown pass, returned a kickoff for a score and rushed for four more scores in showcasing why he is one of the top talents in the region. Despite his big game, Cherry said the glory belonged to his teammates, a group that is now 7-4.
“We really came to work today and blocking was on point,” Cherry said. “Everything was on point, which allowed me to succeed this much and allowed my other players to succeed.”
Rosemont’s offensive line created holes up front for other players to find the end zone on running plays. Other Rosemont players who reached the end zone were junior Wesley Johnson — on a 17-yard run in the second quarter — and sophomores Frankie Cervantes and Alex “Pit” Rodriguez, who both scored in the fourth quarter.
Rosemont coach John Straw said he was pleased for his Sacramento City Unified School District program, the only one in the district that even made the playoffs.
“It’s great to get that first playoff win,” Straw said. “It feels amazing.”
He praised the effort of his coaching staff, specifically his offensive coordinator, Charles Parker.
“He put together a great game plan,” Straw said. “As you can tell we mix things up. We let people share the load. Even though we have a special player (in Cherry), we let other people touch the ball, too.”
Straw had high praise for Cherry and his all-around performance, which also included an interception and, at one point, a pretty decent punt.
“He’s the man,” he said. “Michael Cherry is the man. He’s the face of this organization. He deserves it. He could do anything. If we needed a field goal kicker, he could do it. He could fill in if we needed a right guard. He would be more than happy to hop in beyond being a great running back and catching the ball.”
The coach added: “He has the heart of a lion. That kid will not quit on you. That kid will give you everything you got. I don’t care if you need him to be a water boy for the night. He’ll be the best damn water boy you can see out here.”
Cherry carries a 3.7 GPA and hopes to major in business administration in college with the goal of becoming a fish and wildlife game warden.
But there’s more work to be done. Twelve Bridges coaches scouted the Rosemont game live. They know they will have their hands full with Cherry in a game Straw is encouraging his players to enjoy and to play hard.
“We’re going to go out there and give them everything we got, leave it on the field,” he said. “If they beat us, as long as we give our best effort and we lose, I’m OK with that. But we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”
He said Rosemont has the athletes that can “make some noise” as one of the faster teams in the section.
“We’re going to let them fly and have fun with it,” Straw said.
