Written by Zeb Drivdahl:
The Sonora Wildcats defeated the Woodcreek Timberwolves 41-14 Saturday in front of a packed house on a cold, foggy night at Dunlavy Field.
The Wildcats won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.  Facing the high powered Timberwolf offense, Sonora’s defense immediately set the tone with a quick three and out.  Following the Woodcreek punt, Sonora’s rushing attack was on full display as Tommy Sutton took the first 5 handoffs from scrimmage and moved the ball into Timberwolf territory.  Cash Byington was next up, ripping off runs of 17 and 25 yards to get the Wildcats on the scoreboard with an early 7-0 lead.  The Sonora defense forced another three and out, and a botched punt by the Timberwolves gave the Wildcats excellent field position.
The Wildcats quickly delivered another touchdown, this one a 30 yard run from Eli Ingalls.  Woodcreek got their offense moving on the next possession however, driving down to the Sonora 3 yard line as time expired in the first quarter.  Deep in their own territory, the Wildcat defense stepped up big when Lemar Vaughn punched out the ball on the next play, recovered by Sonora on their own 5 yard line.  Sonora then put together a 95 yard scoring drive, with big runs from Byington, Sutton, and Speer leading to a 3 yard touchdown run by Speer.  Woodcreek would turn the ball over on downs in Sonora territory on their next drive, but a Wildcat fumble gave the Timberwolves new life.  The Wildcats would snuff that hope out when Steven Morfoot outfought a Woodcreek receiver for an interception, leaving the score 21-0 at the half.
Down big and kicking off to start the second half, the Timberwolves tried a surprise onside kick and appeared to recover.  The ball failed to travel the required 10 yards however and Sonora retained possession.  Another long Wildcat drive ended in another touchdown, this time in the form of a beautiful scramble drill pass from Ingalls to Byington.  Woodcreek finally found the endzone on their next drive, taking 4 minutes off the clock as they pulled back within 3 scores.
Another failed onside kick attempt gifted Sonora  excellent field possession, and the Wildcats executed a dominating drive consisting almost exclusively of runs by Sutton.  Sutton even delivered the finisher, a 3 yard dive into the endzone, putting the score at 35-7.  The following Woodcreek drive did not last long, as Sam Alderman strip sacked the Timberwolves quarterback for their third turnover of the game.  Sutton converted the opportunity in to points for the Wildcats with his second touchdown of the night a few plays later.  Woodcreek would score one more touchdown late in the 4th quarter, but by that point the celebration was already on for the Sonora sideline.
Brody Speer was the Chicken Ranch Casino Player of the Game for his high level defensive play and second quarter touchdown.  Speer also delivered the Foust Heating and Air Hot Hit of the Game, a crushing block that sprang Byington for the opening score of the game.  Sonora improves to 14-0 on the season.  The Wildcats will travel to Southern California to play Rio Hondo Prep for the CIF Division 2A State Title next Saturday at 11:30 am at Saddleback College. Hear the game live on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML with the audio streamed on myMotherLode.com.
