Recapping SVHS Dragons Record Football Seasons

2024 Dragons Unbeaten Season

By Steven Serafini
Sonoma Valley Sun Sports Editor 

The greatest season in Sonoma Valley High School football history unfolded in 2024, and deserves a review as we bring Sonoma Sun readers up to date on SVHS sports. Because that’s the season the varsity football team reached a school milestone, becoming the first Dragon squad to go through the regular season undefeated, including a six-game sweep en route to capturing the Redwood Empire Mountain League (REML) title.

Then, in the 2025 regular season, the Sonoma gridders were again nearly perfect, dropping the opener before posting nine straight victories, including a second straight six-win REML championship, finishing with an overall 9-2 record, after losing 34-28 to St. Helena in the North Coast Section playoffs.

 The Dragons’ unprecedented two-year, 12-win unbeaten REML run included second-straight victories over league foes Piner, San Rafael, Novato, Archie Williams, Terra Linda and Healdsburg.

Directing Sonoma’s title-winning and current football teams are head coach Max Pond and assistant coaches Ian Albrecht, Casey Moll, Ricardo Reyes, KaVell Jenkins, Ed Pomeroy and Jeremy Vassalo.

During their historic ’24 campaign, the Dragons stormed through the regular season and into the postseason with 10 consecutive wins, and in the opener of the NCS playoffs they routed Hayward 49-12, before outlasting perennial power Salesian 36-27 in the semifinals.

Sonoma’s NCS victory over Salesian was touted as its most impressive team effort of the season, and was led by senior Judson Giarritta’s outstanding two-way performance, which included five touchdowns and three interceptions.

In the NCS championship game, the Dragons were upended 51-7 by a strong St. Vincent de Paul team – the eventual state champion in its division – and wrapped up their impressive season with a school-best overall record of 12-1.

The Dragons who received top REML honors for the 2024 season were overall Player of the Year Giarritta, and the Defensive Player of the Year, senior Daunte Gonzalez.

Sonoma’s first-team all-leaguers on offense were seniors Anthony DeTorres (lineman) and Austin Hughes (wide receiver), and juniors Dalan Lopata (quarterback) and Cayden Waldrop (running back); first-team defensive all-leaguers Hughes (defensive back), and juniors Spencer Owen (linebacker) and Brendan Wroblewski (linebacker); offensive second-team all-leaguers senior Samuel Stovall (lineman), junior Benicio Reyes (tight end) and freshman Mason Pucci (lineman); defensive second-team all-leaguers DeTorres (lineman) and senior Connor Cooper (defensive back).

For the season, Giarritta scored 32 touchdowns, including 22 pass-receiving TDs, off 78 total receptions for 1,079 yards, while on defense he had seven pass interceptions; Gonzales averaged 7.5 tackles per game; Waldrop scored 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,617 yards; and Lopata completed 172 passes for 2,416 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Comprising the entire 2024 championship team, were seniors Cooper, DeTorres, Giarritta, Gonzalez, Hughes, Stovall, Angelo Cano, Ceivan Cassing, Jaden Dudy, Sergio Angel Reyes Favel, Quinn Gamble, Finn Hartnett, Wyatt Hinman, Jonny Lucatero, Niko Olivier, Daniel Pucci, Oswaldo Larios Reyes, Donovan Riebli and Benjamin Stevenson; juniors Lopata, Owen, Reyes, Waldrop, Wroblewski, Grady Barnes, Uriel Benitez, Luis Botello, Colin Buckley, Johnny Campbell, Lakshman Shambhu Goff, Luciano Hernandez, Walter Hofstetter, Dylan Hudspeth, Kevin Martin, Chuy Ordaz and Alexander Pureco; sophomores Jake Collins, Will Harper, Bryden Landry, Angelo Navarrete, Josh Plexico, Jonathan Sanchez, Thomas Schloessman, Angelo Tellez, Johan Zenon and frosh Pucci.

In their 2025 title run, the Dragons who earned top REML honors were overall Player of the Year, senior Cayden Waldrop, and the Defensive Player of the Year, senior Luis Botello.

Sonoma’s first-team all-leaguers on offense were Botello (lineman), seniors Colin Buckley (wide receiver), Dalan Lopata (quarterback), Benicio Reyes (tight end) and junior Jake Collins (lineman); first-team defensive all-leaguers seniors Dylan Hudspeth (lineman), Chuy Ordaz (defensive back), Spencer Owen (linebacker) and Brendan Wroblewski (linebacker); offensive second-team all-leaguer sophomore Bryson Mettler (lineman); and defensive second-team all-leaguers Buckley (defensive back) and Reyes (lineman).

For the season Waldrop rushed for 1,817 yards while scoring 28 touchdowns; Botello recorded 11.5 sacks; Lopata completed 137 passes for 2,336 yards and 25 touchdowns; Buckley had 35 pass receptions for 834 yards and eight touchdowns; Reyes had 28 pass receptions for 513 yards and seven touchdowns; and Wroblewski averaged 6.3 tackles per game.

The 2025 VVAL football champion Dragons consisted of seniors Botello, Buckley, Hudspeth, Lopata, Ordaz, Owen, Reyes, Waldrop, Wroblewski, Erwin Aguilar, Luke Armitage, Grady Barnes, David Carrillo, Johnny Campbell, Lakshman Shambhu Goff, Luciano Hernandez, Angel Lopez, Kevin Martin, Cristian Morales, Luis Orozco, Alexander Pureco and Steven Ramirez; juniors Collins, Porter Abodeely, Iñaky Bran, Jayden Figueroa, Will Harper, Sam Harris, Kevin Martinez, Mason Petersen, Josh Plexico, Jonathan Sanchez, Thomas Schloessman, Angelo Tellez, Johan Zenon and Ezequiel Zuñiga; and sophomores Mettler, Cohen Filippi, Evan Lobato, Dalston Looi, Mason Pucci and Keagan Rowland.

Photo: Judson Giarritta (No. 21), the 2024 REML overall Player of the Year, catching a pass during the Dragons’ undefeated championship season. -submitted photo