Dragons shut out Montgomery

Behind an outstanding defensive effort the Sonoma Dragons defeated the Montgomery Vikings 14-0 Saturday night at Arnold Field.
With the victory Sonoma advances to the semi-finals of the North Coast Section 3A playoffs where they will meet #1 seed Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa.
The shutout was the first of the season for the stellar Dragon defense. In this season’s two meetings with Montgomery, both won by Sonoma, the Dragons allowed a total of only three points.
Sonoma got on the board first following an opening-quarter fumble recovery by senior linebacker Nick Pappas at the Viking 27-yard line. Seven plays later quarterback Jake Powers hit fellow junior Michael Mulas with a two-yard scoring strike good for a quick 6-0 lead. Devon McCauley’s extra point split the uprights and the Dragons led 7-0.
In the second and third quarters Sonoma dominated the line of scrimmage and effectively limited the Montgomery scoring opportunities by chewing up large chunks of yardage and time off the clock.
Unfortunately for the Dragons the drives failed to result in any points until Matt Darnell sprinted around the left end with 5:31 left in the third quarter to put Sonoma up 14-0. Darnell finished the night with 87 yards on 28 carries against a physical Montgomery defense.

Photo by Vince Albano

Darnell’s run capped a 10-play 75-yard drive that was perhaps the best of the season. The five-minute drive featured a mixture of the run and pass, with Powers connecting on all three of his attempts and Sonoma converting three times on third down.
The victory over Montgomery, a long-time playoff nemesis for the Dragons, left little time for celebration with only a week to prepare for an imposing #1 seed. Last year the Dragons fell to state finalist Cardinal Newman 42-21, a game in which the Cardinals took advantage of Michael Mulas’ absence and ran the ball up the middle at will.
Kick-off this year is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, November 23. Live coverage on KSVY 91.3 Sonoma begins at 6:45 p.m.

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