Dragons win thriller over Sacred Heart

Junior Michael Mulas’ one-yard touchdown run capped a dramatic 21-17 victory for the Sonoma Dragons over Sacred Heart Friday night at historic Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
Mulas’ run was the culmination of a dramatic 95-yard drive that saw the Dragons use only seven plays and less than two minutes to notch the go-ahead score. Senior tailback Matt Darnell, who finished the night with 153 yards on 20 carries, rushed for 70 yards on the winning drive.
“Matt Darnell really stepped it up,” said head coach Mick O’Meara of his senior’s performance. “I thought his effort on the final drive was key.”
O’Meara identified Tyler Lunney’s third-quarter interception as a turning point in the game. “With our offense struggling to score, we really needed a turnover there, and we got a touchdown right after that to tie the game.”
The Dragons (7-1-1, 4-1 in the SCL) will travel to Windsor next week to take on a Jaguar team fresh off a win over Analy. The SCL title will be on the line as well as the positioning for postseason seeding. The game will be broadcast live on KSVY 91.3 FM beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Junior quarterback Jake Powers had a strong second-half performance, completing all three of his fourth-quarter passes, including two on the winning drive and a 35-yard third-quarter scoring strike to Mulas to tie the score at 14.
Darnell got the Dragons on the board first with a three-yard scamper on the opening drive of the game to put Sonoma up 7-0. Sacred Heart responded with 14 unanswered points, good for a 14-7 halftime lead.
The game was ripe with emotion from the opening whistle and several times players seemed to engage in extracurricular activity after the whistle.
In his postgame speech to the team O’Meara praised his team for keeping their composure throughout the contest.
The win marked the second consecutive contest between the non-league opponents that was determined in the final minute. Last year, Sonoma defeated Sacred Heart on the final play of the game.
Taped replay of the Sacred Heart game will be on SVTV27 at 10 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday. And watch Dragons Boys Varsity Soccer LIVE at 7 p.m. Saturday in second-round play-off action (with rebroadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday).