Sonora beats Ripon Christian
Written by: Nick Stuart
The Sonora Wildcats closed out the regular season with a 42-21 victory over the Ripon Christian Knights. Sonora returned to the town of Ripon once again, only this time to face Ripon Christian in a game that gave the Wildcats the win and an impressive 8-2 record for the year.
The Wildcats received the ball to start the game and were able to score after only a couple of plays when #7 Cash Byington broke loose and scored on a 51-yard run for a touchdown. The Knights turned the ball over on downs, and this time it was #29 Tommy Sutton breaking through the secondary and finding the endzone on a 32-yard run. The Wildcats ended the first quarter leading 14-0. After another turnover on downs, the Wildcats furthered their lead with another TD from #7 Byington before the Knights’ offense started to show signs of life. Ripon Christian began to successfully pass the ball and scored, then after a Wildcats fumble they passed and scored again, lowering the Wildcats lead to 21-14. A rare missed field goal from 47 yards for #8 Garibay ended the first half.
Both teams returned to the field after halftime due to rapidly changing weather conditions, a steady rain affecting both teams and greatly limiting the ability to successfully pass the ball. Incomplete passes forced Ripon Christian to punt the ball, and a long series of plays saw #2 Brody Speer run in for the touchdown, bringing the Sonora lead to 28-14. More incomplete passes and another punt gave the Wildcats the ball, and their run continued this time with quarterback #5 Eli Ingalls getting the touchdown, and the lead continued to grow to 34-14 as the fourth quarter began. The Ripon Christian passing game found the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter, but Sonora answered the score in kind during a two-play series and pass that gave #7 Cash Byington the final TD of the evening, along with a sixth successful PAT from #8 Emanuel Garibay that brought the final score to 42-21 in favor of the Sonora Wildcats.
The Chicken Ranch Casino player of the game was #3 Tanner Navarro, who played a great game at cornerback. Stay tuned to mymotherlode.com.
