Two teams in the same city winning 17th straight games during the course of a long season is hard enough to achieve, but both the Woodland Christian boys and girls basketball teams managed to complete that feat just hours apart Wednesday night.

Follwoing a routine 77-30 win by the girls, the boys, led by star junior Romello Bruhn and his game-high 37 points, crushed Sierra Delta League rivals Golden Sierra 79-28 as they inched closer to an outright league title and start the playoff push.

“Our message from the start of the league has been to stay focused as we are playing for the playoffs and not necessarily for a league title,” said Cardinals head coach Casey Neimeyer. “We have some big goals and things we want to accomplish. Sometimes, us playing against each other in practice prepares us the best for playoffs, so it’s mentally tough to play in this league, but I know all these guys have the unified goal of playing in the section title game at Golden One Center, so that is what is driving us right now.”

The Cardinals (19-5, 10-0 SDL) came into the league matchup in near-perfect form thanks to the aforementioned 17-game wins streak. Recent victories include a 72-44 win over Highlands this past Friday, a 93-50 win over Lindhurst on Jan. 29, a 92-54 win over Vacaville Christian on Jan. 27, a 71-25 win over Mesa Verde on Jan. 24, and an 85-44 win over Rio Vista on Jan. 21.

During that stretch of games, Bruhn continued his ascension up the school’s scoring charts, reaching the 2,000-point milestone during an 84-32 win against San Juan on Friday, Jan. 17. Since then, he seems to be on a mission to reach 3,000 as soon as possible, pouring in 22, 28, 38, 38 and 38 points in the previous five games before Wednesdays’ 37 point outburst.

“We fully anticipated him to get 2,000 after reaching 1,000 so early on,” Neimeyer said. “It doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s an incredible landmark for a high school kid to reach that. It doesn’t happen every day, and sometimes we take it for granted since he’s so good night in and night out. To have a chance at 3,000 total career points is incredible.”

The Cardinals raced out to a 40-14 first-half lead and never looked back.

Senior Tanner Thomas kicked off the scoring in the second half with a 3-pointer, followed by a basket from Cole Haines to make it 45-16.

Bruhn then poured in six straight points on baskets and free throws to extend the Cardinals lead to 51-16. Thomas then added three points on a foul and free throw before Noah Hinkle stole the ball from a Golden Sierra player and raced down the court for an easy break away lay up to go up 60-19.

After three straight points from sophomore guard Malakai Baker, the Cardinals cruised into the fourth quarter up 63-24.

Bruhn kicked off the fourth quarter with two free throws, followed by a drive from Thomas that made it 67-28. Bruhn then ripped off another 6-0 run himself to go up 73-28. As the game died down, Hinkle threw up a 3-pointer and hit it, ending the game at 79-28.

Hinkle finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Along with his 37 points, Bruhn added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Thomas finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

Up next for the Cardinals will be a road trip to San Juan this Friday set for 7:30 p.m. They will then enjoy the weekend before a final push against Rio Vista and Mesa Verde at home, set for Jan. 11 and 13, respectively. After that, they will patiently await their seeding in the CIF Sac-Joquin Section playoffs.

“We feel very confident where we are at right now,” Neimeyer said. “We feel there is a good chance we get the No. 1 seed for the D5 playoffs. We know we will have a target on our back and need to be prepared for everyone’s best. I really want to get these guys ready, and because we know that we hold that top spot, guys will come for us. Playoffs are the level at which we want to compete.”