Woodcreek overwhelmed by Sonora in NorCal championship

There's a saying in the foothills of Tuolumne County: Mountain Misery. And on Saturday night, the Sonora Wildcats delivered it in full. Sonora set a bruising tone from the opening snap and never eased off, grounding, pounding and punishing visiting Woodcreek 41-14 in the Division 2-A NorCal championship game. The Wildcats set the tone from the jump, forcing two three-and-outs defensively to start the game and converting them into points on the offensive end. Sonora stuck a dagger in the Timberwolves midway through the second quarter, forcing a fumble on its own two-yard-line. The Wildcats went 98 yards on the ensuing drive to close out a statement first half with a 21-0 lead. "We knew that they hadn't been hit really hard pretty much all year," said Sonora coach Kirk Clifton about setting a physical tone. "It's not flag football, it's not 7-on-7, its real football out here. We got called for a few penalties but we'll take it because when the rubber hits the road, you're gonna get hit. It's football, that's the way it is and that's our philosophy. We played perfect on defense tonight." Sonora put pressure on Woodcreek quarterback Joey Melendez from the jump, forcing him to make quick decisions and bottling up the Timberwolves' dynamic offense before it could get started. Sonora sacked Melendez four times and pressured him constantly, wreaking havoc in the backfield. "Our whole theory is, if you can get after the quarterback and hit him, it's always gonna be in the back of their mind," said Clifton. "We had constant pressure on him all night. We're very athletic on the defensive line so we were able to get to him and we harassed their wide outs." The physicality of Sonora took its toll on Woodcreek and head coach Kyle Stowers said that the Wildcats played how he expected them to up front, but noted that a fumble, interception and turnover on downs in the first half stalled promising drives and changed the dynamic of the game. "The biggest difference maker was the level of physicality they had up front," Stowers said. "We had some missed opportunities early that I think deflated us and elevated their play. After we got down 21–0, they changed some things schematically, and I don't know if we adjusted really well." Despite the deficit, Woodcreek continued to fight. The Timberwolves found ways to move the ball in the second half, punched in a pair of touchdowns and played with pride until the final snap. "Games like this have a lot of emotion," Stowers said. "But our resolve stood out. We talk all the time about getting knocked down and finding ways to get back up. I just wish we could've punched in a couple scores early. I think it would've changed the game. But credit to them. That's a great football team we just played." Sonora's offense was led by its senior quartet of Tommy Sutton, Cash Byington, Eli Ingalls and Brody Speer. Sutton had two scoring plunges while Byington, Ingalls and Speer each added one. Ilgalls connected with Byington for a touchdown pass as well. Six of Sonora's nine possessions ended in points, and the Wildcats used two others to chew up the rest of the half. Woodcreek's scores came on a touchdown run from Jaxson Karavlan and a touchdown pass from Melendez to Ethan Keim. The loss ends Woodcreek's season at 12-2 but Stowers told the Timberwolves that they had nothing to hang their heads about, reminding them that they made it further than any other team in the football program's 31-year history. "It didn't go our way tonight," Stowers said. "But I wanted to remind them of what they accomplished. They're upset. We're saying goodbye to 15 seniors and it's emotional, but when they look back, they're going to feel so much pride. Hopefully this is the beginning of something we get used to: playing late in the playoffs." If someone had told Stowers back in January, when he first took the job, that Woodcreek would be a NorCal finalist by December? "I probably would've thought they were crazy," he said. "I didn't know the kids, they didn't know me. But they bought into the culture, the weight room and the offensive system. And we have really good players. More importantly, we have great kids. I wish we could've had one more week together." Sonora (14-0) will look to repeat as state champions as it faces SoCal champion Arcadia-Rio Hondo Prep (15-0) on Saturday for the D-2A state championship. The Kares are making their second consecutive trip to state as well, having lost to Vanden in overtime in the Division 3A final last season.