Sonora falls short at Placer

AUBURN -- Luck appeared to be on Sonora's side in Friday night's Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoff game against Placer.

The Wildcats survived penalties, blocked two field goal attempts and took the lead on a deflected pass in the end zone with just over seven minutes remaining.

But a pair of gutsy calls by Placer coach Joey Montoya proved to be the Wildcats' undoing and the end of their season.

Dalton Dyer completed a 45-yard halfback option pass to Cameron Southward on fourth-and-eight, ran the ball in from the 3 on the next play, then Asher Gotzmer ran in the two-point conversion to give the host Hillmen the lead and, ultimately, a 15-14 victory at Le Febvre Stadium.

Placer will take on Modesto Christian next Friday night in the Division 4 championship game at Lincoln High School in Stockton.

"We played hard," Sonora coach Bryan Craig said between postgame hugs with any player he could find. "I'm proud of my kids and the way they battled tonight.

"A fourth-and-eight play beat us and bit us in the butt, but you have to give (Placer) credit because they played a great game."

The loss spoiled a fantastic performance by Sonora quarterback Ryan Emerald, who, despite taking a pounding at the hands of the Hillmen defense, passed for 100 yards and a touchdown and ran 20 times for 142 yards.

"It was such an incredible game," said Emerald. "That double pass, I don't think we even saw it on film. They just made a great play there."

Sonora running back Dan Link, coming off a 203-yard, four-touchdown performance last week in the Wildcats' 38-20 quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Lincoln of Placer, had 139 yards in 22 attempts, increasing his school-record total to 1,739 to go along with 18 TDs.

Trailing 7-0, Sonora answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive of its own, topping it off with a 9-yard Brendon Kamler TD run with 1:26 left in the half. The key plays were a 27-yard run on third down by Emerald and a 16-yard run by Irl Barajas.

It could have been considerably worse for Sonora, which continually shot itself in the foot with penalties and could have been facing a 21-point deficit at the break if not for a TD-saving tackle by Emerald on the opening kickoff return and a huge fourth-down pass breakup by defensive back Elliot Hall in the end zone late in the first quarter.

Sonora (10-3) caught a big break late in the third quarter and an even bigger one midway through the fourth.

The first came when a 9-yard TD run by Gozmer was called back by an illegal block penalty late in the third quarter. Things got worse for the Hillmen (12-1), who were forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal try that was blocked by Ryan Kelly.

Sonora's next windfall came on a 14-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass from Emerald to Kamler. Mierop was Emerald's intended receiver on the play, but the ball was knocked out of his hands and landed into Kamler's. Sonora led 14-7 with just over seven minutes to play.

On its ensuing possession, the Wildcats defense held strong and forced the Hillmen into a do-or-die fourth-down call from the Sonora 48 with 4:33 left to play.

That's when Burnett pitched out to Dyer (nine carries, 114 yards), who coiled and unleashed a tight spiral down the field to an open Southward, who hauled it in and was tackled at the three. Dyer ran in one play later and the Hillmen were down 14-13.

Rather than play for the tie, Montoya elected to go for the kill, and Gotzmer made the move pay off by running it in for the decisive two-point conversion.