Roundup: Hilmar upsets Sonora; Ripon and Escalon set for Division V rematch
The Hilmar High football erased an 11-point deficit in the second half to knock off the No. 3 seed Sonora 35-31 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs on Friday night at Sonora High.
The No. 6 Yellowjackets (10-2) made adjustments at half and got their offense moving after being limited to just 27 yards of offense in the first half.
Hilmar took advantage of some special teams mistakes and turnovers by the Wildcats (6-4).
Sonora fumbled on its first offensive play in the second half and Hilmar’s Jason Pimentel pounded on it. Pimentel then scored on a 5-yard run to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 18-15 in the third quarter.
Pimentel later connected on a long pass to Derek Taylor to set up another touchdown run by Pimentel to give Hilmar a 22-18 lead with 6:53 left in the third quarter.
After Sonora regained the lead with a touchdown, Hilmar answered back with a long drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Broc Perry to give the Yellowjackets a 29-25 lead.
The Yellowjackets extended the lead to 35-25 when a Sonora player touched a Yellowjackets’ punt near the Wildcats’ goal line and Jax Branco recovered it for a touchdown with 10:31 left in the game.
Sonora scored late to cut the lead to 35-31, but the Yellowjackets advanced to the semifinals next week.
“The adjustments we made in the second half worked,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “We were like a different team in the second half.”
Friday’s playoff game was a rematch of a Sept. 10 game won by Hilmar over Sonora 28-21.
Hilmar will host the semifinal game against No. 7 Casa Roble (7-4) after the Rams upset No. 2 Union Mine 35-33 on Friday night.
“We were getting ready to shake hands and someone told us we were hosting next week,” Marques said. “That was a huge surprise.”
No. 3 Le Grand 27, No. 6 Big Valley Christian 6 — Louie Aguallo rushed for two second-half touchdowns to help the No. 3 seeded Bulldogs pull away from the No. 6 Lions in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoffs.
Big Valley Christian (4-7) had success running the ball, but the Bulldogs defense came up with the big plays when they needed them.
Jeremiah Lopez delivered the first big defensive play for Le Grand (6-5) with a pick-six, returning a first-quarter interception 85 yards to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
Le Grand extended the lead to 14-0 in the third quarter when quarterback Julian Bucio connected with Carlos Castaneda for a 48-yard touchdown.
Aguallo added touchdown runs of 9 and 1 yards to help the Bulldogs put the game away.
Le Grand will host rival Mariposa (6-5) in the semifinals next week after the No. 7 Grizzlies upset No. 2 Vacaville Christian 7-6 on Friday night.
Le Grand edged Mariposa 24-20 in the regular season finale on Oct. 29.
No. 1 Oakdale 40, No. 9 Roseville 0: The Mustangs continue to have success playoff success at home and this year, it started with the Tigers.
Oakdale didn’t show any bye-week rust as it shut out its second straight opponent to advance to the Division III semifinals..
The Mustangs, one of four Valley Oak League teams to win Friday, look to keep their playoff home win streak alive next week against Patterson.
No. 5 Patterson 52, No. 4 Yuba City 48: The Tigers extended their winning streak to 10 games in a Division III shootout win over Yuba City. They scored 38 first-half points and maintained their lead until third quarter.
After falling behind, Patterson converted on fourth-and-20 to take back the lead late in the third quarter.
Yuba City returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown and Patterson ran out the final five minutes to complete the upset.
No. 1 Escalon 39, No. 8 Woodland 12: The Cougars started slow but shook off the bye-week rust in the second half of their Division V quarterfinal win over the Wolves.
Escalon scored 22 points in the third quarter to pull away after leading by just five at halftime.
No. 5 Ripon 39, No. 4 Pioneer 20: Caleb Johnston rushed for three touchdowns as Ripon picked up another Division V playoff win. The Indians scored 13 points in the second and fourth quarters.
Quarterback Adam Barrera, who completed 11 of 15 passes with three touchdowns and Nolan Young caught seven passes for 124 and two touchdowns.
With the win, the Indians set up a rematch with rival Escalon on the road. The two teams met Oct. 22, with the Cougars beating Ripon 21-7.
No. 5 Rosemont 37, No. 4 Hughson 28: The TVL’s fifth-place finisher’s season came to an end at home against the Wolverines after a hot start.
The Huskies scored 28 first-half points then their offense went cold, failing to score in the final two quarters. The Wolverines scored 17 second half points in the win.
Rosemont travels to Bradshaw Christian (10-1) next week.
