Giant killers strike again as Sonora knocks off Turlock in nonleague showdown
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sonora defeated Division I Turlock 35-24, extending its perfect season to 4-0.
- Despite smaller enrollment, Sonora controlled tempo through physical rushing attack.
- Turlock struggled with injuries and turnovers, falling behind in second half play.
Just call them the giant killers.
A Week 1 win over Oakdale set the tone, and a 35-24 win Friday night over Turlock cemented it for Sonora. The Wildcats can play with anyone.
In both statement wins, a few things were the same: The defending Division VI section and Division 4-A state champions outplayed and outrushed the opposition for four quarters. The Wildcats were simply more physical.
The Sac-Joaquin Section separates its divisions by school enrollment. The largest schools are in Division I and small schools are in Division V and VI. Sonora is a school of 880, a D-VI school by enrollment, while Oakdale is nearly double its size (1,563) in Division III. Up in Division I, Turlock is one of the largest schools in the section, with 2,548 students.
But physicality and execution are the ultimate equalizers.
These Sonora (4-0) players have been running the triple option essentially since they could walk. They grew up playing with one another in youth football. If you asked them to take the turf with their eyes closed, the line would block the right guy, the backs would hit the right hole and the quarterback would know just when to pull the ball and take it himself. At this point, it’s muscle memory.
Eli Ingalls rushed for 42 yards and a second-half touchdown, Cash Byington had nine carries for 107 yards and two scores, and Brody Speer had 10 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
“We love playing physical football. We’ve done it our whole lives,” Byington said. “We just love pounding the rock and making them quit. Throughout the game, it’s pressure and pressure and they kind of fold.”
Next man up for Sonora
The Wildcats were playing without leading rusher Tommy Sutton, who broke his forearm last week. Head coach Kirk Clifton said he will have surgery Tuesday and could be back for the Ripon Christian game in their regular season finale.
But this Sonora team is deep. The players always knew it, and now the section knows it, too.
Junior Steven Olley II rushed for 125 yards on 12 carries and a 60-yard touchdown run.
“Tommy went down and here comes junior Steven Olley,” Clifton said. “It’s just a really tight-knit group and they pride themselves on being physical.”
The Wildcats opened the scoring in a back-and-forth first half with a Byington three-yard run. Sonora took a 7-0 lead into the second frame of the first Turlock-Sonora matchup since 2013. Scout Silva scored on three quarterback sneaks to punctuate long Turlock drives. But each time Turlock (1-3) scored, Sonora answered, giving the Wildcats a 21-18 halftime lead.
Turlock scored just once in the second half, on another Silva sneak, but Sonora scored seven points in the third and fourth quarter each to seal the win.
Athletes say they don’t see the online chatter, but let’s be honest — of course they do. They see the media rankings, and anything that’s viewed as disrespect gets posted on their bulletin boards for extra motivation. Sonora is no different. The doubt drove them.
“Populationwise, we’re a small D-VI school and everyone was doubting us online,” Speer said. “Everyone’s saying Turlock’s gonna roll these guys. But we knew in our hearts if we played hard enough, we’d come out with a victory.”
As is typical with coaches, Clifton was not satisfied with just the win. He noted drives that stalled and turnovers that Turlock converted into points. But like champions do, Sonora bounced back all night, not allowing one mistake to compound into two, and three. The Wildcats kept momentum for most of the game. They take their perfect record into their first Trans-Valley League contest against Escalon.
“We made some mistakes that gave them two touchdowns,” he said, “this game was not close. I felt like in the first half they were tapping out because our piles are always moving forward, their piles are always moving backward.”
Turlock dealing with injuries
Turlock quarterback Scout Silva completed 19 of 31 passes for 221 yards and carried the ball for 31 yards with four rushing touchdowns on quarterback sneaks. But the Bulldogs ran out of steam.
Silva was hampered by what Turlock head coach James Peterson confirmed postgame was an elbow injury he suffered in Week 1 against Rocklin. The sophomore also suffered a lower-body injury on one of his first-half rushing touchdowns but finished the game.
A few other Bulldogs were not as lucky as the injuries continued to pile up against the physical, run-heavy Wildcats. With Noel Garcia, Jeremy Garcia and leading rusher Alex Ventura already sidelined heading into Friday, last season’s top receiver, Landyn Fitzgerald, DJ Robertson and a handful of other Turlock players went down. Some re-entered, some did not.
“We’ll just take it one day at a time,” Peterson said. “We have an athletic trainer for a reason, and she’s doing her job. She definitely worked hard tonight and I’m glad we have her, man. We’re lucky to have that support on our staff right now. (We’re) just thinking about the guys that got injured and praying that they can get back.”
Silva did not throw the ball downfield as much Friday night as he did in his freshman season. Just a handful of passes went more than five yards in the air. Peterson said the elbow injury is something they consider when calling offensive plays, but working around it is not something that completely shapes how they run their offense.
“I think we’re still calling the same plays, but how he’s feeling determines what to do with it,” Peterson said. “We’re calling a pass play, he decides what pass he’s going to throw based off how he’s feeling.”
For Turlock, the bye can’t come soon enough. But first, the Bulldogs are back at home against the No. 5 team in the Central Section, Clovis West. Their week off is in Week 6, then comes their CCAL opener against Enochs on Oct. 3.
Peterson said this is part of the nonleague plan: Play tough opponents early so they are ready for CCAL play and the postseason.
“We’re going to be better because of it,” he said.
This story was originally published September 13, 2025 at 8:04 AM.
