Dragons fall 37-6 to top-ranked Cardinal Newman

Behind the running and passing of quarterback Max Pond, Cardinal Newman erupted for 21 points in the second quarter en route to a dominating 37-6 NCS semi-final playoff victory over the Sonoma Dragons Friday night in Santa Rosa.
The loss dropped the Dragons from the playoffs and brought conclusion to a successful 8-3-1 campaign in head coach Mick O’Meara’s 24th season. Next week, Cardinal Newman will compete for the NCS 3A Redwood Empire title against the winner of Saturday night’s Rancho Cotate versus Casa Grande contest.
Friday’s contest marked a rematch of last year’s playoff quarterfinal and was close in the opening quarter, with the Dragons twice marching deep into Cardinal Newman territory. On their second possession the Dragons, behind the running of senior tailback Matt Darnell, had first-and-goal at the Cardinals nine yard-line and seemed poised to take an early lead.
However, after false start penalty on third down the Dragons were forced to try a field goal. Senior Devon McCauley’s 24-yard attempt was blocked and Cardinal Newman took over on their own three yard line. The Cardinals put together an impressive 16-play 97-yard drive, capped by Jeff Badger’s five-yard touchdown run that made the score 7-0.
The Dragon offense was unable to rekindle the success of the opening quarter and Cardinal Newman needed only 13 plays in the second quarter to put 21 points on the board. The Cardinals posted 306 yards of total offense in the first half.

Photo by Vince Albano

Sonoma got on the board in the third quarter as Matt Darnell scored a rushing touchdown for the sixth consecutive game. Most of Darnell’s success came in the first half, but the determined runner tallied 143 yards on 26 carries in his final game as a Dragon.
Cardinal Newman sacked Dragon signal caller Jake Powers for a safety in the third quarter and added a late touchdown in the final quarter to complete the scoring.

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