Sonora can use NorCal football loss as fuel for next season

Sonora High School football coach Bryan Craig used a loss in the 2014 Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title game to fuel the Wildcats’ run to a D-V championship this season.

Next year, he’ll try to do the same after Friday night’s 42-18 loss to Hanford in the CIF Northern California Division IV-AA Bowl Game.

“There’s nothing to cry about,” said Craig, who has led Sonora to a 23-4 mark the past two years and, with a berth in a NorCal bowl, farther than any team in the school’s history. “I understand losing is hard and it hurts, but it was losing that section game last year that inspired these guys to go as far as they did.”

Giving eventual state champ Central Catholic its toughest game of the 2014 postseason, the Wildcats entered 2015 knowing what they were capable of achieving.

Sonora won the D-V banner two weeks ago with a 42-30 thumping of Bear River, its 12th consecutive win after dropping the season opener to ancient rival Oakdale.

Next season, with several key players returning – including Mother Lode League MVP Bradley Canepa, Defensive Player of the Year Nate Gookin, state interceptions leader Kane Rodgers and two-way all-league performer Killian Rosko – the Wildcats will try to extend their season to the next logical step: a state championship game.

For a few minutes Friday, it looked like Sonora might get there this season. After cutting the lead to 20-18, the Wildcats took possession at their 13-yard line and drove to near midfield before the drive stalled, shifting the momentum back toward Hanford. From there, the Bullpups scored 22 unanswered points to earn a date with Bonita Vista of Chula Vista, a 24-21 winner over Canyon of Anaheim in the Division IV-AA SoCal final.

“They worked their butts off,” Craig said of his players. “They have so much heart. There’s no reason to hang their heads.”

The Wildcats almost assuredly will be the favorite to win the Mother Lode League title next season – Sonora is 12-0 since joining the league in 2014 – and figures to be a contender in either the D-IV or D-V playoffs, depending on where they fall.

This year, when considering each playoff team’s MaxPreps.com ranking, the D-V field was actually a tougher draw than the D-IV field.

And Hanford was easily the toughest foe Sonora faced in the postseason, boasting better athletes at nearly every position.

Still, for 36 minutes, Hanford couldn’t shake the Wildcats.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Craig said. “Not so much because they won league or because they won section, but because of the way they played tonight.

“We played as a team. If you look at Hilmar (36-35) or Argonaut (28-26 in overtime) or Calaveras (28-27), we could have easily lost all three of those games. But we played with such heart.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 2:40 AM with the headline "Sonora can use NorCal football loss as fuel for next season."