The Woodland Christian High School boys varsity basketball team are the last playoff team standing in the City of Trees — and the Cardinals are not done yet.

In the quarterfinals of the 2023 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Boys Basketball Playoffs on Friday night in Sacramento, Woodland Christian (25-5) pulled off the road upset to earn its 22nd consecutive win. The No. 5 Cardinals defeated No. 4 Bradshaw Christian 63-52 to advance to the final four of the D5 bracket.

“We ain’t done yet!” Senior Wyatt Rumfelt said to his team following the victory.

The win Friday was extra sweet as Woodland Christian avenged a 74-58 home loss against the Pride from this season on Dec. 13. The Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals with a 76-54 win against Mariposa County on Wednesday night. Bradshaw Christian defeated No. 13 Futures by a score of 67-37 in the first round.

The Pride started strong Friday, knocking down three 3-pointers in the first quarter to earn an early 14-8 lead. Woodland Christian freshman Isaiah Hunt nailed a midrange jumper as time expired to end the first period. Bradshaw Christian led 18-14 after eight minutes of action.

Senior Jordan Sacramento gave his team the boost it needed to begin the second quarter, scoring eight straight points for Woodland Christian. Sacramento scored 10-of-17 Cardinals points in the second period. The Pride led 34-31 at halftime.

“I feel like while they were still in the game, it was because we weren’t rebounding at a high level,” said Woodland Christian head coach Casey Neimeyer. “We were giving up some pretty easy second-chance shots inside. We kinda locked down on the rebounding, we didn’t change a whole lot offensively. We just kept defending our butts off which is what we’ve been preaching all season long is keep the ball in front of us and the guys stepped up and did it.”

Just like they did Wednesday in the first round, the Cardinals took over the game Friday in the second half.

Freshman Romello Bruhn nearly outscored Bradshaw Christian in the third quarter with seven points, including an and-one layup that got the Woodland Christian fans in attendance loud and on their feet. The Cardinals won the third period 13-9 and led 44-43 with one quarter remaining.

The crowd of hundreds Friday in Sacramento was about 40% Woodland Christian fans. However, it didn’t sound like that in the fourth quarter. Cardinals fans became thunderous as the Pride crowd got quieter with each second that ticked off the clock. Woodland Christian may have been inspired by their fans chanting “DE-FENSE” because the Cardinals played some stout defense in the fourth period that forced multiple airballs by the Pride.

Woodland Christian and Bradshaw Christian were separated by one or two points for most of the game until there was 5:16 remaining. Sacramento scored a left-handed layup and drew the foul, making the crowd erupt so loud that you’d think it was a Cardinals home game. Sacramento swished the free throw to complete the and-one opportunity and give his team a 49-45 lead.

Rumfelt scored the game’s next basket on a midrange jumper following an offensive rebound. Sacramento put the game away with 3:38 left, scoring a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Woodland Christian fans in attendance went wild and started chanting “Go, Cardinals, Go!” during the ensuing timeout.

Some upset Pride fans told Cardinals fans to “Go home!” which led to one Woodlander replying, “Yeah, we’ll go home with the win!”

Bradshaw Christian played the foul-game over the final five minutes to no avail. Rumfelt displayed his leadership skills late in the fourth when Hunt stepped to the charity stripe after being intentionally fouled. Rumfelt put his arm around the freshman, said something in his ear and pointed at the scoreboard. Whatever he may have said worked because Hunt calmly swished back-to-back free throws with the game on the line.

Woodland Christian outscored the Pride 19-9 in the fourth and ultimately pulled off the upset, 63-52.

“That’s what we’ve been waiting for all season,” Neimeyer said with a chuckle. “We’ve been preparing for this. It’s no secret, our league wasn’t the strongest. Our whole motto this season was prepare for playoffs. This is a game that we had in mind.”

Six Cardinals scored on Friday, and four of them were in double-digits. Sacramento led the way with a team-high 16 points. The freshmen duo of Hunt and Bruhn scored 14 a piece. Rumfelt added 12 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

“As a team we played amazingly,” Rumfelt said. “In our league we haven’t had that many close games but I feel like for the close game at this type of level, we did amazingly, I’m so proud of my teammates. Mello showed out, Isaiah showed out, Jordan showed out.

“We honestly knew it was going to be a dog fight. Bradshaw is no joke. So that’s why I was really proud of us and I think we executed late-game really well.”

Six Pride players scored as well but only three were in double-figures. Senior Isaac Johnson recorded a game-high 18 points. Junior Josh O’Neal racked up 16 and senior Jace Vega tallied 10.

Woodland Christian will now face its toughest test to date in the semifinals at No. 1 seed Fortune Early College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“I’m confident with our team and the way we’re playing,” Rumfelt explained. “We’ve been peaking honestly and this is the best time to peak. We’re ready, not overconfident but we’re confident in ourselves.”