Update: Sonora Football Heading To The Championship Game
Update November 19, 6:25 pm: Sonora will play Escalon for the Division V Championship Game in the Sac-Joaquin playoffs at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton at 6 pm on Saturday, November 26th.
Saturday’s Summary of the Friday Game:
Written by: Nick Stuart
Sonora secured their place in the Sac-Joaquin Division V Section Championship game with a 34-49 victory over the visiting Dixon Rams. The game was a high-scoring offensive contest that saw both teams score on quick passes and kept fans on the edges of their seats until the final minutes of the game.
Sonora won the coin toss and deferred kicking the ball to Dixon to start the game. Less than one minute into the game, #34 Chance Pimentel, playing from the defensive back position, read a pass expertly and made an interception that he returned for a touchdown. After the Wildcats’ defense forced a punt, Pimintel scored again, this time on a 13-yard pass from #5 Adam Curnow. The Rams were able to answer with a scoring drive of their own when #10 Brent Green caught a pass on a seam route and scored with a 65-yard catch and run to close out the first quarter.
The second quarter started off with a change of pace for the Wildcats, who began to establish a strong running game and take control of the time of possession. A long drive eventually saw #24 Audie Peeples score on a 4-yard run to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead over the Rams. Both defenses were able to hold out until another series of mostly running plays saw Peeples find the end zone again with less than two minutes in the half. With both momentum and the score on their side, the Wildcats looked to enter the halftime locker room confident in their position, but the Rams strung together a series of quick passes that ended with a touchdown once again to Green. That brought the score to 28-14 while also seeming to shift the momentum in favor of the Rams going into the half. The Wildcats received the ball with less than 35 seconds left in the first half and managed to score in only 27 seconds when Curnow made a well-placed throw to Pimintel in the end zone, regaining the momentum and bringing the score to 35-14.
Sonora fumbled the ball early in the first opening drive of the third quarter, and Dixon capitalized on the mistake with a pass to their fullback, #33 Baumbach, who ran into the end zone. The Wildcats answered with dual scoring drives of their own, both finished by runs from #14 Bryce Nicolson, to put the Wildcats up 49-21. The Wildcats defense was unable to stop wide receiver Green, who caught his third touchdown pass of the night on a drive that was advanced by a pass interference call against the Wildcats.
The fourth quarter saw the Wildcats trying to capitalize on their lead and use up as much of the clock as they could with each possession, while the Rams utilized a spread-out passing formation to try and move the ball down the field as quickly as possible. The Rams found their fullback, Baumbach, once again able to break a tackle and score points. Dixon mishandled the snap and was unable to kick the extra point, bringing them to within two scores at 49-34. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Rams were about to punt the ball in from the three-yard line and make it a one-score game when Sonora stripped the ball away and recovered it in the end zone. Starting from their own 20-yard line, the Wildcats put together several plays that saw them convert third downs and consume the clock to close out the game.
Next week, Sonora plays Escalon, who upset No. 1 seed Sutter, 2-32, last night. The championship game day, time, and location are to be announced. Stay tuned for details to mymotherlode.com for those details.
