Wildcats Extend Winning Streak
Written by: Zeb Drivdahl
The Sonora Wildcats rolled to a 42-8 road victory on Friday night over the host Buhach Colony Thunder in Atwater.
Sonora struck early as a fumble by the Thunder on the second play from scrimmage was recovered by Cash Byington on the 24-yard line. The Wildcats wasted no time converting the turnover into points, as Bryce Nicolson took a pitch in for the touchdown on the very next play to give Sonora the quick 7-0 lead. The next 15 minutes of game time proved uneventful as the teams battled to a stalemate. A couple of Wildcat miscues, including a fumble deep in Thunder territory, kept the offense from finding any traction, while the Sonora defense stonewalled the Buhach Colony offense, led in part by a number of clutch plays from Channce Davis. Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats finally broke the stalemate as Byington intercepted a deep throw from the Thunder to give Sonora the ball on the Buhach 40-yard line. Nicolson took another pitch down to the 3-yard line, and Brandon Hensel punched the ball in for the score. Sonora would add two more touchdowns before the half, with Byington and Austin Craig each finding the end zone to push the lead to 28-0.
The second half saw the Wildcats firmly in control. Declan Gardner would extend the lead with a 25-yard TD run in the third quarter, and Nicholas Hudson would add his own touchdown in the fourth. Buhach Colony was able to break the shutout midway through the 4th quarter, but it came too late to salvage any attempt at a comeback.
Channce Davis earned Chicken Ranch Casino Player of the Game honors for his line play on both sides of the ball. Sonora improves to 3-1 on the year and travels next week to Livingston for the final leg of their three-game road trip.
In the early game, the Wildcat JV squad improved to 3-0-1 on the year with a shutout victory over the Thunder JV.
In other action, the Calaveras Redhawks traveled to Ripon and lost 28-7. Next Friday night, they remain on the road, taking on Big Valley Christian.
