Dragon gridders pull out overtime win

Zaragoza kicks winning field goal|

Senior Juan Zaragoza hit a 20-yard field goal in overtime to propel the Sonoma Valley High Dragons to a 17-14 Homecoming win Friday night over Piner.

In a slow first half, Sonoma scored the only points on defense when senior Aiden Van Heerdon picked up a Piner fumble and headed for the end zone to give the Dragons a 7-0 lead.

But Piner scored a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters to give the Prospectors a 14-7 lead.

The Dragons refused to give up, after the second Piner touchdown, Sonoma put together a drive that ended with senior Henry Darnell’s 20-yard ramble into the end zone with less than a minute-and-a-half left in the game.

As the clock wound down, Piner put together a drive that ended when senior Ethan Koler stepped in front of an errant pass, saving the game for the Dragons

The game went into overtime, and Piner had first possession on the 10-yard line. On the first play, the Piner quarterback ran down to the 3. But the Dragon defense pushed the Prospectors back on each of the next three downs.

This it was Sonoma’s turn. After three attempts, the Dragons were on the 2 when coach Bob Midgley sent Zaragoza in for the field goal attempt.

After it cleared the uprights giving Sonoma the win, students poured out onto the field to celebrate the Homecoming victory.

A more complete story will be in Tuesday’s Index-Tribune.

The win gives the Dragons a 3-4 overall record and a 2-2 SCL record. The Dragons travel to Healdsburg on Friday night.

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