Sonora Dominates Ripon
Written by: Nick Stuart
The Sonora Wildcats trounced the Ripon Indians 43-0 in the Sonora home opener. Starting with the opening play, the Wildcats forced the Ripon ball returner to fumble the ball on the kick return. Ripon was able to recover the ball, but they went three and out and gave the Wildcats excellent field position, which the Wildcats capitalized on with a scoring run from #24 Audie Peeples. A penalty halved the distance for the extra point and encouraged the Wildcats to run the ball in for two, bringing the score to 8-0. The Indians were unable to find success on offense despite throwing the ball well and connecting on several passes that repeatedly came up just short of the first down marker.
The story remained the same in the second quarter, with Ripon trying different strategies to develop a passing game but were unable to cross the middle of the field and threaten the Wildcats. Sonora established a strong running game with running touchdowns from both Hensel and a second from Peeples to take Sonora into halftime with a 22-point lead.
Sonora received the ball to open the second half and effectively moved the ball down the field, again capping off the drive with a sweep play that saw sophomore Byington find the endzone. Feeling pressure to put some points on the board, Ripon spread their offense out and focused on trying to complete passes. The Wildcats were ready for the strategy on defense and provided tight coverage, continuing to hold the Indians scoreless and forcing them to turn over the ball on downs. After a 50-yard run play to bring the ball to the 10-yard line, Audie Peeples earned his third touchdown of the night, bringing the lead to 36-0. Frustrations mounted for Ripon, and several penalties put the Wildcats in a position to score again. Quarterback Curnow kept the ball and ran it into the end zone, closing out the third quarter 43-0.
The fourth quarter was dominated by the introduction of the running clock. Sonora relied on a run-heavy offense and a preventive defense to close out the game without either team scoring again.
This win brings the Sonora Wildcats to 1-1 for the season. Next week, they return to the road for a contest against the Hilmar Yellowjackets. Audie Peeples was awarded the Chicken Ranch Casino Player of the Game for his efforts running the ball on offense and continued excellent play on defense.
Calaveras High School traveled to Carson City, Nevada to play the Carson Senators and lost 26-6. Their next game is against Ripon.
