Sonora grinds out semifinal victory
After an easy run to the Mother Lode League championship, No. 2 Sonora showed it can still prevail in a close game with Friday’s 28-14 victory over No. 3 Los Banos in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals.
Sonora running back Billy Kiriluk carried the ball 25 times for 206 yards and punched in three touchdowns – a 1-yarder in the second quarter, a 3-yarder in the third quarter (to make it 21-0) and a 5-yarder in the fourth.
“I’m going to do what I can for my team,” Kiriluk said. “We’ve just got to keep pumping. They’re a tough team, but I think the score should have been a little more lopsided.”
The victory set up a section-championship showdown with Kiriluk’s uncle, Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa. Kiriluk’s cousin, Sonora back Bradley Canepa, is also in the family.
“You know what, I finally get my shot at my uncle,” Kiriluk said. “As a team, everyone’s looking forward to it. We play them in camp every year, and we always play them tough.”
Both defenses doled out punishing hits, but Los Banos found the going tougher, managing 74 rushing yards as a team. Quarterback Adam Herrera accounted for 56 of those yards and completed 12 of 20 passes for 148 yards. Receiver David Walker helped him out, taking a dump pass in the flat and turning it into a 58-yard touchdown for Los Banos’ first points in the third quarter.
“There was a lot of fight in those guys, no doubt,” Sonora coach Bryan Craig said. “We told them this game was going to be a dogfight. We didn’t think they would roll over and die. Champions don’t, and they were champions of their league.”
After Kiriluk’s last touchdown, Los Banos answered with a 16-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions and ended with a 1-yard Daniel Fernandez plunge. After Sonora recovered an onside kick, Sonora mounted its own extended drive, running 10 plays to wind down the final five minutes of the game.
Turnovers were the name of the game in the first quarter – Los Banos gave up three fumbles, while Sonora fumbled once and threw an interception to defensive back Jordan Smith. None led to points, though, not even Smith’s return to the Sonora 8-yard line. Sonora’s James Mitchell recovered a fumble two plays later.
“I wish we could have gone farther,” Los Banos linebacker Loggan Pimentel said. “We had the talent, but everyone said we couldn’t even do better than 5-5, and I’m happy with these guys.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Sonora grinds out semifinal victory."