Family feud: Sonora, Modesto’s Central Catholic meet Friday for Division IV crown

When Central Catholic football coach Roger Canepa discovered his Raiders would be playing Sonora in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV final, he considered altering his Thanksgiving dinner plans.

“I think I’m going to Kentucky Fried Chicken,” Canepa said at the section’s championship banquet Sunday in Lodi.

Central Catholic may have dominated Stanislaus District football over the past few years – the Raiders have won back-to-back section, NorCal and state titles – but Sonora will dominate the Canepa Family dinner table.

Born and raised in Sonora and a former linebacker for the Wildcats, Canepa was the coach there for 12 years. His nephew John Canepa is an assistant coach for Sonora, while nephews Bradley Canepa and Billy Kiriluk play for the Wildcats – quarterback/linebacker Kiriluk, a senior, is the team’s leading rusher and leading tackler; linebacker Canepa, a sophomore, is the second-leading tackler.

And it was Canepa who brought Sonora head coach Bryan Craig into the program, hiring him in 1991 to coach the freshman squad.

“I respect the job he’s done at Central Catholic,” said Craig, in his second section semifinal since 2009, when the Wildcats lost a 15-14 heartbreaker to Placer. “Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to see how good you are against the defending state champions?”

Sonora will get that chance Friday at 7 p.m. at Lincoln High in Stockton.

Actually, the Wildcats tested themselves against the two-time state champs before the season began. Due to renovation work at their field earlier this year, Sonora was forced to move its annual Mountain Misery Summer Camp to Central Catholic’s David Patton Field, where Calaveras and Ripon Christian joined the festivities.

“They were right there with us,” said Canepa, indicating that the Wildcats gave as good as they got.

“That was our first clue that we might do pretty well this year,” said Craig, whose team flushed much of that good feeling in the first 30 minutes of the season when it fell behind 28-0 to longtime rival Oakdale.

“At halftime I asked the team, ‘Are we just going to accept that this is what Oakdale does and it’s OK?’ ” said Craig, whose team would eventually lose 28-14. “We came out in the second half and it was 180 degrees different and we made it a game.

“It was another measuring stick for us.”

Since that opening-night loss, the Wildcats have rolled off 11 consecutive victories, averaging 50 points per game in six Mother Lode League victories while giving up less than five per game.

But the Raiders are a step up in class, on par with Oakdale.

“No. 1, we can’t turn the ball over,” said Craig. “No. 2, we have to control our penalties; and No. 3, we have to tackle very well. Those are probably the three biggest points of emphasis going into the game.”

While Sonora can control its infractions, Central will have a say as to how many turnovers the ’Cats commit or how well they tackle.

Under defensive coordinator Billy Hylla – a Sonora graduate who played for Canepa – the Raiders have a knack for knocking the ball loose. Central Catholic has picked off 15 passes this season – senior Jared Rice leads the team with six – and recovered eight fumbles. That’s nearly two turnovers per game.

Give the Raiders extra cracks at the end zone, while diminishing your own chances at paydirt, and they’ll make you pay.

And Central Catholic’s Justin Rice has a knack for breaking tackles.

The junior tailback, who didn’t start until Week 3, when Montell Bland went down with an ankle injury, has totaled 1,585 yards and 27 touchdowns on just 134 carries. That’s nearly 12 yards a pop and a TD every five attempts. Plus, he has five scoring runs of 70 yards or longer.

But even though Canepa must go through Sonora to get a third consecutive section crown, which would all but guarantee a third straight trip to the Northern California regional, the coach still has a soft spot for his alma mater.

“I’m really proud of Sonora,” said Canepa. “The way they’ve played and the way they’ve coached ... I’m proud of what they’ve done.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Family feud: Sonora, Modesto’s Central Catholic meet Friday for Division IV crown."