Heart Attack Huskies secure win over Sonora with last-second stop in TVL showdown
The groundwork for the biggest win of the season for the Hughson High football team was laid over the past two and a half seasons.
The Huskies went on an improbable run to section and state titles in 2022, winning their last six games by less than five points each, earning the nickname Heart Attack Huskies. Last season, they beat Bradshaw Christian in a one-point, come-from-behind win for their second straight section championship. In 2022, some of the biggest playmakers were sophomores. Last season, they did the same thing as juniors.
Those same guys are now seniors, and they came up big yet again Friday night, beating Sonora High in a Trans-Valley League shootout. The two sides, both of which entered 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league, played in an instant classic, combining for over 100 points and nearly 900 combined yards. In the end, Hughson made the play of the game, stopping Sonora’s last-second two-point conversion and securing a 52-51 win.
The Heart Attack Huskies struck again.
“We didn’t give up, and that’s the Hughson way,” coach Shaun King said. “These past three years, we’ve been in these close games.”
Neither team could get a stop all night. Hughson (7-0, 4-0 TVL) scored touchdowns on seven of its nine possessions and Sonora found the end zone seven times out of 10 possessions.
Sonora (6-1, 3-1 TVL) rushed for 493 yards, chipping away consistently at Hughson’s defensive line for four, five and six yards per play. Hughson and Arizona-bound quarterback Robert McDaniel answered with a precise attack through the air. The senior completed 19 of 27 passes for 424 yards, five touchdowns and one conversion pass without throwing an interception.
With Hughson ahead 52-45 and just 10 seconds left in the game, Sonora quarterback Eli Ingalls rumbled through the line for a seven-yard touchdown. Instead of kicking an extra point to tie the game at 52, Sonora coach Kirk Clifton opted to go for a two-point conversion.
“We had a good idea they were going to go for two. That’s TVL football right there,” King said. “It came down like this and we had a guy make a play.”
Despite getting positive yards on nearly every run play from scrimmage, Sonora went with a pass. Hughson linebacker Colt Foss, who rushed for a touchdown earlier in the game, read the play and knocked the short pass out of the air. McDaniel took a knee on the Huskies’ next possession to seal the one-point win.
“It doesn’t really matter what the score was at the end of the day, as long as it looks good on the record,” McDaniel said. “7-0 is really surreal. Our defense stepped up in the end.”
Hughson took a 10-0 early lead but Sonora tied it at 10-10 before the end of the first quarter. For the rest of the game, each team answered its opponent’s scores. No touchdown felt bigger than the Huskies’ score early in the fourth quarter. Hughson trailed by one point but regained the lead in two plays. To start the drive, McDaniel rushed for eight yards then dropped a deep pass 40 yards in the air right into the arms of a sprinting Malakai Sumter for a 72-yard touchdown with 9 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game. McDaniel found Sumter to complete a two-point conversion and go ahead seven, 45-38.
Sumter finished with four catches for 116 yards, two touchdowns and a conversion. Lawson Aviles caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and had a 57-yard reception, Max Mankins had a 63-yard catch and a 10-yard touchdown and Jamesson Davis had a 13-yard touchdown catch. Eli Wilbanks and Foss had rushing touchdowns and Noe Pacheco made a 26-yard field goal and six of seven extra points.
“It was amazing,” Sumter said of Hughson’s offense. “We knew coming into the game that we had to air it out and get off of their press and make sure every time we catch the ball, we go down and score.”
Clifton said it came down to execution for Sonora.
The Wildcats fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. Hughson recovered the fumble and scored on the first play of the ensuing drive. Sonora also had a turnover on downs when it did not execute a punt, giving Hughson the ball on its own 12-yard line. It scored three plays later.
In games like this, it often comes down to the little things and Clifton said the team couldn’t get out of its own way.
“That’s a great football team, their quarterback and their wideouts are amazing and they do a great job,” Clifton said of Hughson. “We just came out on the short end of the stick. Our mistakes cost us. … They didn’t make mistakes and we did.”
Each of Sonora’s top rushers scored a touchdown. Brody Speer, Ingalls and Tommy Sutton each rushed for two scores. Cash Byington added a touchdown on the ground.
Clifton said the team flushes each game at midnight. Win or loss. The Wildcats will look to bounce back with the hopes of winning their final league games. They play Ripon next week and Ripon Christian on Nov. 11. They still haven’t found a replacement for the Modesto Christian contest originally scheduled for Oct. 25.
“We don’t have a choice,” Clifton said of how his team bounces back from the loss. “We’ve got to flush the loss at midnight and move on. We’ve got to get ready for Ripon on the road next week. … Our goal is to win every week.”
Though they’re sitting in the driver’s seat in the TVL, the Huskies know there are no easy games coming down the road. They have to face Orestimba next week and Hilmar in two weeks.
Orestimba is new to the TVL, coming over from the Southern League, and gave the Huskies a challenge during their 2022 postseason run. Hughson escaped with a 21-17 win. King never has beaten Hilmar as a head coach and no one on this year’s varsity roster has won against the Yellowjackets, either.
“Orestimba is a great team,” King said. “We’ve had some great battles in the past and next Friday night is going to be another battle down there in Newman.
“Coach Marques is a great guy, a great coach. He’s had my number for years. That’s going to be a big game because everyone knows they give us fits.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2024 at 8:32 AM.
