Sonora offense, defense dominant in season-opening win over Oakdale
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- Sonora ended a 20-year road drought with a 32-14 win over rival Oakdale.
- Quarterback Eli Ingalls led the Wildcats with 194 total yards and two scores.
- Oakdale struggled offensively, recording just one first down before halftime.
A week after Sonora beat St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 52-34 in the Division 4-A state title game on Dec. 14, the Wildcats were back in the weight room at 6:30 a.m.
Sure, it showed a veteran dedication from a group of juniors at the time that had one more year of varsity football to play. Yes, it was a building block to accomplish the goal of playing another 15-game season, winning more section, Northern California and state titles in 2025. But it also showed up much earlier than a mid-December state title game. It proved helpful in Friday’s Week 1 road contest against Oakdale.
Sonora and Oakdale are more alike than different. That is what makes every game a struggle. Both are physical on offense and defense, with run-heavy offenses that throw in a pass to keep the defense off balance. Both aschools have wtoried histories dating back to their days in the VOL, and both had been tough to beat at home.
But this time, the Wildcats outhustled and outmuscled the Mustangs.
“They’ve all bought into the strength program, and it makes a difference,” head coach Kirk Clifton said. “We’re pretty physical on defense, but our offense wears on people, too. I’m proud of the way our kids played today. It was a tremendous amount of grit they showed.”
Everything went right for Sonora in Friday’s 32-14 victory.
A 42-yard touchdown pass from Eli Ingalls to Steven Morfoot gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, putting them up 10-7 in the second quarter, and they never trailed again. They turned a botched fourth-quarter extra point into a two-point conversion in a perfectly executed “fire” situation. Sonora even scored on a drive where it fumbled three times and had a five-yard penalty.
Sonora’s win at the Corral was its first on Oakdale’s home turf in 20 years and the first time winning back-to-back games over the Mustangs since before the 2004 season. Clifton coached against an Oakdale he played against in high school and then played with in junior college football. That’s the beauty of storied matchups. Throw the records out. History is always being written and rewritten.
“At halftime, we were walking out here and one of our players was asking about it and I was saying that when you go to college next year and you meet an Oakdale guy, you guys are going to be best friends because you’re just the same mold,” Clifton said. “They’re cut from the same cloth.”
Clifton did not go as far as to call it a “rivalry” by the book’s definition, but he did say it is important because it’s the first game of the year.
Ingalls ran the Wildcat option offense like a veteran. He pulled the ball at the right time, tosses were made with precision, and when asked, he made the right throws, completing seven of 10 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 74 yards and a score on 16 carries.
“I got to play my last football game ever on this field and it was awesome,” he said. “I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.
“I didn’t know what to expect today. We’ve really been pushing it in practice, but there’s no way to gauge how good you are until you really play. We had a really good group of guys last year. A lot of us are returners and I’m so glad to see people stepping up today.”
Asked if Ingalls learned anything about his team in the season opener, he smiled. “I learned that No. 6 likes to catch the ball,” he replied.
Morfoot finished with 96 receiving yards. Tommy Sutton added 62 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Cash Byington’s 11-yard touchdown run was the exclamation point on a dominant win.
“We have dudes on every aspect of the field and we have people that want to play football, which, in my heart, I already knew,” Ingalls said. “We just had to prove it.”
Oakdale needs to rebound
Highlights were few and far between for the defending Division III section runner-up Mustangs. A 15-play drive in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead was the first. The second was a 53-yard Richard Flores touchdown run.
The senior took a fourth-quarter handoff, and when a slim hole on the left side of the offensive line closed, he bounced it to the outside, tiptoed along the sideline for five steps and sprinted to the end zone for Oakdale’s second touchdown this season. Flores also scored the Mustangs’ first touchdown, capping the 15-play drive with a seven-yard run to the outside.
Any other highlights, if they exist, will be pointed out after head coach Garrett Martin watches film. “It’s going to be a long weekend of looking at what we did well, because when we turn it on, there will probably be things that we did well. Probably not a ton, (though),” Martin said. “And then (looking at) what we need to improve.”
Oakdale gained a first down on just one drive in the first half, and though it scored on its second drive of the second half, moving the ball was a struggle all game. Air Force commit Wes Burford had 17 carries for 72 yards, Chase Lopez had 12 carries for 47 yards, and Flores’ two touchdowns came on eight carries for 75 yards.
“I told the boys it’s a terrible feeling, but it’s Week 0,” Martin said, “and it has little bearing on how the season ends. It’s a bad way to start the season, but the way we get to the middle of the season and end the season is dictated by us.”
Game No. 2 is around the corner and Oakdale won’t run from its mistakes. The Mustangs will address them in practice, build on them and look for improvements against Lincoln-Stockton next week and Escalon in Week 3.
“The great thing about this program that I learned from coach (Trent) Merzon is we’re not going to shy away from the things that we do poorly,” Martin said. “We’re gonna look at it, we’re going to reflect on it, then we’re going to fix it.”
This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 8:42 AM.
