Sonoma Valley defense can’t stop Montgomery’s offensive swarm

Despite taking an early lead, Sonoma Valley’s defense couldn’t hold back Montgomery’s high-powered offense in 37-9 loss.|

Despite taking an early first quarter 9-0 lead, Sonoma Valley High School’s defense couldn’t hold back Montgomery High School’s high-powered offense in a 37-9 Montgomery victory Sept. 16 at Arnold Field.

Sonoma started the game off with a surprise play during the opening kickoff. The Dragons pulled off a “short kick” and recovered the ball to take the game’s first possession. The play was intentional, and was something the team had practiced, according to head coach Bob Midgley.

“I liked the way we started the game with good energy,” Midgley said. “We worked on that kick, we saw a hole.”

Sonoma’s first drive resulted in a 37-yard field goal by senior Juan Zaragoza. Then the first offensive play for the Vikings led to a Sonoma defensive touchdown: Montgomery senior quarterback Bryce Burroughs threw the ball into junior linebacker Rocko Wetzel’s arms for a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Entering the second quarter, Sonoma held a 9-0 lead. But shortly after the quarter started, senior running back Mackenzie Volkmouth scored from 11 yards out to give the Vikings their first touchdown of the game. It would not be their last.

Punting was a problem all game for the Dragons. Fumbled snaps, poor kicks and lack of time to kick the ball allowed Montgomery to start with the ball near the 50-yard line or on Sonoma’s side of the field several times.

On Sonoma’s first drive after the Montgomery touchdown, a fumbled snap on an attempted punt gave the Vikings the ball at the Dragons 27-yard line. A field goal by junior kicker Carson Wyatt put Montgomery on top 10-9. The Vikings would not look back once they claimed the lead.

Montgomery capped off back-to-back drives with passing touchdowns from Burroughs to junior wide receiver Auston Rapolia. The first of the two drives was a 37-yard touchdown pass, and the second was a 28-yard touchdown pass. Montgomery headed into the half up 24-9.

“They made a couple of adjustments, and we tried to adjust back, but they were pretty good upfront,” Midgley said.

Like they did in the first half, Sonoma had a great start to the second half. The Dragons handed the ball to Zaragoza on the first offensive play of the half, and he broke off a 71-yard run. Montgomery’s junior defensive back Cameron Flinn made a huge play to bring Zaragoza down at the 9-yard line, preventing the touchdown.

What looked to be a possible momentum swing for the Dragons turned out to be all for naught. Three runs failed to result in the ball getting into the end zone, and a missed field goal left Sonoma with no points to show for Zaragoza’s big run.

Montgomery scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. A 23-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ricky Medina to senior wide receiver Pascal Camarillo made it 30-9. And a 2-yard run from senior running back Trae Anaya put the final points on the board.

The Vikings, in three games so far, have scored 125 points and only allowed 16.

“They just executed better than we did,” Midgley said. “We knew we would have to execute and almost be perfect to compete with them.”

With the loss Sonoma falls to 1-2 on the season. They now look ahead to next week when they take on winless Elsie Allen High School. “We just got to make some better adjustments this week to get in a little better shape,” Midgley said about the upcoming matchup.

The two teams are set to square off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, at Elsie Allen High School.

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