Sonora Vs. Escalon Recap: Wildcats One Point Short
Written by Zeb Drivdahl:
Stockton, CA — The Sonora Wildcats football season came to an end Saturday night, falling to the Escalon Cougars 35-34 in the CIF Sac Joaquin Division 5 section championship.
Escalon received the opening kickoff and wasted no time putting points on the board. After a couple of running plays moved the ball to midfield, the Cougars connected for a touchdown on a 60 yard play action pass from quarterback Donovan Rozevink to running back Logan Anderson. The Wildcats answered on their possession, with running backs Noah Baker and Bryce Nicolson gaining big yards on a series of sweep plays. Fullback Audie Peeples finished the drive when he broke free for a 30 yard touchdown run, his first of three on the night.
Sonora forced a punt on the next Escalon drive and took the lead when quarterback Adam Curnow dove into the end zone on a one yard keeper. The Cougars came roaring back, as fullback Ryker Peters ripped off a 67 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14 a piece. After punting on their possession, the Wildcats defense swung the game back in their favor when Cooper Moburg picked off a Rozevnik screen pass at midfield. Sonora’s hurry up offense capitalized on the turnover with a deep throw to Nicolson to put the Wildcats in range for another Audie Peeples touchdown run, leaving the score 21-14 Wildcats at halftime.
Sonora received the second half kickoff and moved the ball into Escalon territory. Facing a fourth down and 4 four yards to go, the Wildcats elected to go for it and were stuffed for no gain. The Cougars responded immediately, connecting for a 55 yard touchdown pass to wideout Owen Nash, evening the score at 21 all. Sonora answered on their next drive with another long pass to Nicolson leading to a Peeples touchdown. Escalon responded, methodically moving the ball down to the Wildcat 2 yard line before a gritty goal line stand by the Sonora defense forced a turnover on downs. Sonora got the ball out to the 25 yard line before disaster struck. On a 3rd and long, Curnow had his pass across the middle picked off and returned for a touchdown by Logan Anderson, tying the game at 28 apiece.
On the ensuing drive, the Wildcats pulled ahead when Bryce Nicolson broke free for an 87 yard touchdown run. A bad snap led to a missed extra point and left Sonora with a 6 point lead and 2:34 on the clock. It would prove to be too much time, as a deep pass from Rozevnik to Nash moved the Cougars to midfield. A few plays later, the two connected again for a touchdown in the back of the endzone with 28 seconds left on the clock. The successful extra point put the Cougars ahead and sealed the section championship, their third in a row.
The Wildcats finish the season with a 10-3 record and the Mother Lode League championship. Running back Audie Peeples earned Chicken Ranch Casino Player of the Game honors for his three touchdown performance.
