For the first time in a couple years, both Sonora and Summerville high schools have a shot at clinching respective berths into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Championship games.
Back in 2022, the Bears and Wildcats each reached the section title contest, the former in Division VI and the latter in D5. However, both Tuolumne County programs fell just short, by 1-point a piece.
Last year, Sonora defeated Summerville 45-14 in the D6 quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals by a single point against Bradshaw Christian, who is the top seed in this year’s D6 bracket.
Bears await league rematch
With a 56-0 shutout of No. 8 Gustine, No. 1 Summerville (10-1) dominated in the D7 playoff quarterfinals.
“I am pleased with how we came out of our bye,” Summerville head coach Sean Leveroos said. “You always question how the team is going to respond with a little bit of a layover. All in all, I thought they responded well.
“Luke Larson getting a chance to get healthy, he had a really bone-jarring tackle to end the series on that first possession. That set the tone from there. Offensively, I felt that (Isaac) Biggs ran the ball really well. When we put the ball in his hands, he ran and kept falling forward, gaining those tough yards.”
Summerville is facing a familiar foe in the semifinals, No. 5 Big Valley Christian (7-5). The Bears smashed their Mother Lode League rival last month, beating the Lions 47-21 on Oct. 25 in Modesto.
“My initial thoughts are that we must play much, much better than we did the first time we played them about a month ago,” Leveroos said. “That’s been the message delivered to our players. There were some pre-procedure penalties that need to be cleaned up. We were not satisfied with how our front played. We really challenged the front this upcoming week.”
Big Valley Christian beat No. 12 Valley Christian Academy 49-0 in the opening matchup. The Lions defeated No. 5 Waterford 55-25 in the second round.
“We are extremely focused on ourselves, but I do believe that playing an opponent for a second time in a season, the onus is on the previous victor in that contest.” Leveroos explained. “The team that dropped the contest before, it’s usually easier to rally and get those kids excited to play up again, get redemption and revenge.
“It’s much more difficult to coach the team that won because what you might’ve succeeded doing in the first contest won’t be the same type of thing in the second contest. The opponent will scout what you did well and try to take it away.”
Rainy conditions are expected Friday night at Thorsted Field, and Summerville is prepared.
“We recognize that this contest is going to be wet,” Leveroos said. “Ball security is going to have a huge impact on this contest. We go to the film and show them what good and bad ball security looks like. We get the ball wet in practice and make sure we have plenty of individual and unit time to harp what we’ve watched on video.”
With a win this week, the Bears would advance to the D7 championship game, which will be played at 3 p.m. Nov. 30 at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. Summerville would play the winner of No. 2 Stone Ridge Christian versus No. 6 Rio Vista.
“Bring your umbrellas, it’s going to be wet,” Leveroos said. “Misery loves company so come out there, get in the stands with us and bring your rain gear.”
Wildcats oppose state champions
No. 3 Sonora (9-2) crushed No. 11 Calaveras 64-7 in the quarterfinals of the D6 postseason.
“To be honest, it turned out to be exactly the way that I thought it would end up,” Wildcats head coach Kirk Clifton said. “We had a bye week, so we had two weeks to prepare for them and our potential next opponent. We got healthy and got some guys back. We executed on both sides of the ball and were firing on all cylinders. We played extremely physical. The biggest thing is that we took care of the football. We didn’t have any turnovers. We dominated up front.
“Eli Ingalls, our quarterback, is really starting to play extremely well. He doesn’t make many mistakes. The last few weeks, he has operated at a higher level and is running the offense really well. Our whole defense tackled well, were physical and I thought we did a good job overall.”
The reigning, defending and undisputed champions are next for Sonora. The Wildcats will travel to Justin Smith Field this weekend to play at No. 2 Woodland Christian (10-1).
“We have a long road to go,” Clifton said. “It’s a grass field, terrible field, terrible stadium, it’s awful. It’s going to be a muddy mess. We’re just going to have to execute, take care of the football and play even better than we did last week.
“We’ll play them in a parking lot, I don’t care and our kids don’t care to be honest with you. They were 9-1, so they got the two seed. We played a really bad game and dropped a game to Ripon. If we would’ve beat Ripon, then we would’ve probably been the two seed. But it doesn’t matter, we’re going to have to play them no matter what. When, where, it doesn’t matter. Our preparation has been the same.”
The Cardinals earned crowns at the D7 section and D5 state levels last year, each the first in program history. Woodland Christian edged No. 7 Liberty Ranch 21-7 in the second round last week.
“They are very big,” Clifton said. “They have a really good, athletic quarterback (Isaiah Hunt). It’s kind of like Hughson all over again, but their quarterback is not as good as Hughson’s quarterback. (Hunt) is very athletic and runs the ball well. They’ve got guys all over the field. Big, tall receivers that are really fast. They’ve got two receivers that are faster than anybody we have on our team. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.
“Our schedule though, our first 10 games, eight teams made the playoffs. We’ve played in a lot of big, tough games. They’ve only played two teams in their first 10 games that made the playoffs. I do think that’s an advantage for us.”
If Sonora can take out the reigning D7 champions, then a shot at redemption will likely be on the line for the D6 title. The Wildcats would play the winner of No. 4 Linden at No. 1 Bradshaw Christian at 11 a.m. Nov. 29 at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College.
“Football is like the greatest team sport out there,” Clifton said. “There is no other team sport out there that requires 11 people to be on the same page and do the right thing every single play. That’s why I think football is the greatest game. Not only do you have to be smart, you have to be tough, both mentally and physically.”
