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Dragons romp over El Mo, 41-13

Sonoma at SCL foe Elsie Allen Friday

The Sonoma Valley High School gridders needed only three plays and about 50 seconds to score their first touchdown Friday en route to a 41-13 win over Sonoma County League foe El Molino.

Sonoma got touchdowns from four different players in the first quarter while running off to a 27-0 lead.

Seniors Justin McDonald, Hosea Reyes and Dustin Sloane, and junior quarterback Dan Deely, all scored as the Dragon defense was holding the Lions to three-and-outs.

And while the Dragon offense ran roughshod over El Mo in the first half, the defense was just as tenacious forcing El Mo into three-and-outs time after time. In their first three possessions, the Lions had a minus-nine yards on offense. The Lions didn’t get their initial first down until mid-second quarter – and that came as a result of a Sonoma penalty.

After holding the Lions to a three-and-out on their first possession, the Dragons took over deep in El Molino territory on the 35-yard line. The Dragons needed only three plays for McDonald to score the first of Sonoma’s six touchdowns.

After holding El Mo to another three-and-out, the Dragons needed only three plays and 28 seconds to score as Reyes caught a 19-yard pass from Deely to give the Dragons a 14-0 lead at the 6:24 mark of the quarter.

The Dragons forced another El Mo punt on the ensiung series.

On their third possession, the Dragons took almost two minutes before Deely hit Sloane for an 11-yard TD pass.

Senior Brennan Cole set up Sonoma’s fourth TD of the quarter when he intercepted a pass and ran it back inside the 5-yard line. A holding call on Sonoma on the runback pushed the ball back to the 32-yard line. But it merely slowed down the Dragons as Deely ran it in with 34 ticks left on the clock. The point after hit the upright, but the Dragons had a 27-0 lead.

The Dragons lengthened their lead when Deely hit Sloane, who made another of his seemingly patented juggling catches in the end zone, on a 43-yard pass. And Sonoma was up 34-0.

Late in the second quarter, Deely scored on a 1-yard plunge and the Dragons were up 41-0 with 26 seconds to play in the half.

But on the ensuing series, El Molino scored a touchdown on a fluke play. The Lion quarterback threw up a wobbly pass that a Dragon defender almost intercepted, and a Lion receiver caught the tipped ball and outraced the Dragon defenders to the end zone to cut the margin to 41-7.

In the third quarter, Dragon Coach Mick O’Meara started subbing and most of the first team was on the sidelines with about three minutes left in the quarter. Sonoma didn’t punt until its first possession of the third quarter. Late in the quarter, Sonoma fumbled the ball away, but Deely intercepted a pass getting the ball back for the Dragons.

El Molino scored a meaningless touchdown with two-minutes left in the game making the final 41-13.

The win gives Sonoma a 5-3 overall record and a 3-1 league record. Sonoma travels to Santa Rosa to face new league foe Elsie Allen this Friday, Oct. 26.

 

Dragons of the Week

 

The Dragons of the Week in Sonoma’s 41-13 SCL victory over El Molino at Arnold Field were Steven McVeigh, Austin Bailey and Brandon Santana.

McVeigh, a 5-foot, 8-inch, 200-pound senior lineman, turned in a solid effort at defensive tackle and registered six solo tackles.

Bailey, a 5-9, 200-pound junior defensive tackle and running back, made six solo tackles and contributed a couple of good runs.

Santana, a 5-8, 200-pound junior lineman, had three solo tackles, including a quarterback sack.

The Dragons of the Week are sponsored by Eraldi’s Men’s Wear and Shoes, and Broadway Market.