Wildcats lose thriller to Hughson
Written by: Zeb Drivdahl
The Sonora Wildcats lost to the Hughson Huskies 52-51 Friday night in a wild game that saw 10 lead changes and was not decided until the final play.
Tense play out of the gate put the Wildcats in an early 10-0 hole. Hughson quarterback Robert McDaniel led the Huskies on a quick drive with plenty of precise passing. The Wildcat defense stepped up in the red zone and sacked McDaniel to force a field goal. On their first play from scrimmage, the Sonora offense fumbled the snap, which was recovered by the Huskies. The next play, McDaniel hit one of his receivers on a 44-yard slant pattern for a touchdown and the early 10-0 lead. The Wildcats were able to recover however and ripped off 17 unanswered points, as the next three drives ended with an Emanuel Garibay field goal, a 12-yard Brody Speer touchdown, and a 43-yard Cash Byington touchdown. The Huskies offense found their footing again on the next series, as McDaniel connected for a 70-yard touchdown pass to beat a Wildcat blitz and tie the game at 17 a side. The next Sonora drive stalled, and a low snap prevented Garibay from getting the punt off, giving Hughson the ball deep in Wildcat territory. The Huskies struck paydirt on a 3rd down scramble drill by McDaniel, who found a man deep in the endzone to put Hughson back on top. Sonora came roaring back with a quick strike of their own as Tommy Sutton broke free for a 70-yard touchdown to tie the game at 24. The Huskies answered again with another quick drive and another McDaniel passing touchdown. The Wildcats’ two-minute drill would be unable to put any points on the board before the half, as a 45-yard Garibay field goal attempt fell just short, leaving the score 31-24 Hughson at the half.
Sonora received the second-half kickoff and went right back to work, with big contributions from Sutton and Byington and capped by another touchdown from Speer. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff pinned the Huskies deep in their own territory but proved no hindrance as McDaniel engineered a 92-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead, though a missed extra point put the score at 37-31. A big return on the kickoff from Byington gave the Wildcats excellent field possession, and they took advantage with another Sutton touchdown to retake the lead. Hughson answered two plays later as McDaniel unleashed a perfect 72-yard bomb for his 6th touchdown pass of the night. The two-point conversion was successful and gave the Huskies a 7-point lead. Sonora engineered a methodical drive in response, moving down the field with a steady diet of Sutton runs and tying the score on a 33-yard keeper from Eli Ingalls. The Huskies put together a clock chewing drive of their own in response, finishing with a 1-yard dive by the fullback to take the lead with under 3 minutes left. The Wildcats two-minute drill responded and found the endzone on a Sutton run with 3 seconds left. The Wildcats would forgo the tying PAT attempt and go for the win with the two-point conversion. After a wild sequence that saw both teams use 5 timeouts before the conversion attempt, Sonora tried a quick slant pass, which was batted down at the line and secured the win for Hughson.
Brody Speer won Chicken Ranch Casino Player of the Game Honors for his two-touchdown performance and great play on defense. Cash Byington and company received the Foust Heating and Air Hot Hit of the Game award for a stifling gang tackle on an early third down pass play. The Wildcats drop to 6-1 on the year and 3-1 in Trans Valley League play. The Wildcats are on the road again next week at Ripon.
