Sonora beats Ripon Christian to move to 13-0, repeats as Sac-Joaquin Section champ
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- Sonora repeats as CIF-SJS Division VI champion, advances to NorCal at 13-0.
- Tommy Sutton returns from broken arm, rushes 146 yards and two TDs in title game.
- Ripon Christian loses key starters to injuries, rallies late but falls 56-18.
Tommy Sutton did not know when he would be able to play football again.
The Sonora High senior running back broke his arm in the third game and missed the rest of the regular season.
Sutton did everything he could to get back. He had the surgery that put “two plates and all kids of screws” in his arm. He started running early, even when he shouldn’t have. He prepared mentally and in the rehab room so he could return for the home stretch.
Sutton came back for the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals against Bradshaw Christian Nov. 21 but did not look himself. The senior rushed for over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024. In his 2025 return to the lineup, he tallied just 40 yards.
In the Sac-Joaquin Section D-VI title game Saturday against Ripon Christian, Sutton returned to his old ways, saving his best performance of 2025 for the biggest game of the year. He carried the ball 13 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
“It felt great, it felt amazing,” Sutton said. “I worked hard for this, went through what I went through, but I’m glad this is the outcome. Worth it.”
While he was scampering for 29- and 32-yard touchdowns in the Wildcats’ dominant 56-18 win, he ran with the ball tucked in one arm and his other arm moving back and forth, in perfect running form, donning a bright green club cast.
“It was hard sitting out, watching my teammates do what I like to do,” he said, “but they were there supporting me, coming to my house, bringing me food. Just keeping my head in it.”
He says he did get lucky, though. Sutton broke his right arm, meaning the natural left-hander could still carry the ball in his dominant hand when he returned.
The powerful runner returned in time to help the Wildcats keep their perfect season alive. Carrying a 12-0 record into a title game at Sacramento City’s Hughes Stadium understandably comes with added significance, but Sonora didn’t mind.
“There’s pressure, but we’re good with pressure,” Sutton said. “We work hard at practice, we work for these outcomes.”
Sonora’s stable of reliable rushers and linemen kept the ship afloat during the season, turning in wins on the field while Sutton worked to get better off it. Saturday, Cash Byington caught three passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Quarterback Eli Ingalls passed for 141 yards and two scores and rushed for a touchdown. Brody Speer rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s just my team,” Sutton said. “My linemen work their butts off, they did good all the time I was out. (Everyone was) still grinding and didn’t stop.”
Ripon Christian battled through injuries
Championship appearances are not easy. No one knows this better than Ripon Christian.
The Knights reached the Sac-Joaquin Section’s peak in 2023, winning the Division 7A championship against then-Southern League rival Orestimba. The Knights did not get out of the quarterfinals the next year despite returning a number of players from that 2023 championship team.
Now, some of the same players from the 2023 championship and 2024 teams are seniors and the team was motivated. In their second season in the Trans-Valley League, which is widely regarded as the best small-school league in the state, the Knights flew under the radar. In The Bee’s anonymous preseason coaches poll, TVL coaches picked the Knights to finish second-to-last in the league standings.
The Knights embraced the challenge, finishing tied with Hughson for second place in the league standings (4-2) and knocking off the defending league champion Huskies, along with Escalon and Ripon. They started the season by beating defending state champion Summerville and also beat Calaveras, the eventual D-VII section champion, as part of an undefeated non-league schedule. The Knights’ only losses entering the title game came to Sonora and Hilmar.
“This team could be argued to be the best team in Ripon Christian history,” coach Phil Grams said.
Now, they were faced with keeping up with the Wildcats for the second time this season, this time on a bigger stage.
The Knights’ offense moved down the field, scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns by Carson Cho and Mason Tameling in the first and second quarters, respectively. But throughout the first half, the Knights lost three starters who would not return for the rest of the game.
Star senior receiver Amos Cady injured his shoulder in the first quarter on his second catch of the game. In the second quarter, Tameling took a hard hit on the sideline and banged his head on the turf. He did not return. Starter Jackson Howell also went down in the first half.
“It doesn’t matter what level of football you are at, you lose your quarterback and your best offensive weapon, it’s going to be tough,” Grams said. “We gave them a little run there, then once Mason went down, we didn’t have any bullets left in the chamber. Our kids still fought, though. It’s just been a year of strength and unity.”
Late in the first half, Daniel Lambdin returned a kick 96 yards for a touchdown and the Knights forced a fumble in the second and fourth quarters.
“It’s just a team that’s together, and we were going to find a way to finish the ballgame and get out of here with our heads held high,” Grams said. “It’s tough to lose in the section title game, but no one thought we would be in the section title game playing in the TVL.”
Sonora waits for NorCal seeding
Clifton told his team after the semifinals that they wrote history.
The 2025 outfit was the first Sonora High team to qualify for back-to-back section title games.
A week later, the Wildcats re-wrote history by winning two straight section title games.
Last year, Sonora beat Bradshaw Christian 23-20 for the Division VI section title, then won NorCal and state championships to finish out 2024.
This year, the Wildcats returned at least 95% of its offense in what they hoped would be a dominant run.
And dominant might be an understatement.
The Wildcats only had one win by less than 10 points, a 22-21 league victory over Hilmar. Saturday, they got up on the Knights early, scoring on all of their first half drives to take a 35-18 halftime lead. The defense held Ripon Christian scoreless in the second half while the offense scored 21 points.
“Two new feathers in our cap,” Clifton said of making school history. “Hats off to the kids and the coaches.”
The Wildcats await their seed in the CIF Northern California regional tournament.
Some projections have Sonora traveling to another NorCal school at least twice its size, which Clifton does not feel is right. Wildcat faithful believe that the team’s resume warrants a home game. The Wildcats enter the state playoffs 13-0 overall with nonleague wins over D-III finalist Oakdale and Division I postseason qualifier Turlock.
“You’re rewarding mediocrity, and you’re punishing a good small-school football team,” Clifton said of the idea that the Wildcats could be on the road next Friday. “That’s California for you, so what would you expect?”
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM.
