Dragons fall to 0-6 after 54-7 loss

Unfortunately for the Sonoma Dragon varsity football team, they ran into yet another great offensive performance in 2015, this time from a team that has made a habit of doing so over the years.

For the 21st consecutive game in Sonoma County League play, the Analy Tigers showed why they have been the class of the SCL since the league’s realignment before the 2012 football season, defeating the Dragons 54-7 on Friday night at Arnold Field.

It was the fourth straight team to score 50 points against Sonoma, and the Tigers, who had a bye week to prepare for the Dragons, as well, showed why they are the number 1 team in the Redwood Empire early on.

Analy’s hurry-up spread offense got off to a tremendous start and never let up. On the first play from scrimmage of the game, Jack Newman hooked up with his favorite target in Schuyler Van Weele for a 50-yard scoring strike that put Sonoma on its heels early.

After a rushing score by Osiris Zamora made it 12-0, the Dragons got a jolt on a phenomenal option play by senior quarterback Max Yankovich, who had his best run of the year on a 63-yard touchdown scamper to make it a 12-7 game.

Analy would tighten up after that, as the Tigers added two more touchdowns in the first quarter and two more in the second, taking a 40-7 lead into halftime and putting themselves well on their way to their first league win of the season.

The Tigers have won three consecutive SCL titles, having taken over as the class of the league after the changes prior to the 2012 season, when Casa Grande and Windsor moved to the North Bay League and Piner and Elsie Allen moved to the SCL. They have yet to lose in league play since those changes.

“We ran into a great team,” said head coach Bob Midgely, “Now we work hard during the bye week and get prepared for Piner.”

The Dragons are now 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in league play, but run into a much more manageable schedule over their final four games. With Analy and Petaluma considered to be the favorites in the SCL this year, Sonoma now has four games against teams they match up very well against.

In addition, the bye week gives the Dragons some more time to prepare for their next league game in northwest Santa Rosa, where they will take on the Piner Prospectors on Oct. 17. The Saturday afternoon game will begin at 2 p.m.