Broncos Soar Over Eagles
By Ray Glasscock
There is an old saying about eavesdroppers: you might not like what you hear. I am not sure if listening to the Junction radio announcers broadcasting the game is really eavesdropping, but they made the comment that the Junction Eagles don’t really like the Broncos from Sonora. I think I can understand as the all time win loss record reads 50 wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties in favor of Sonora. Sonora’s 50th win over Junction was by a score of 59 to 0. To make matters worse for Junction, Kade Wimberley led all Bronco scorers with 17 points on eight PAT kicks, one field goal, and one touchdown. I am sure Kade and his parents must have mixed feelings about his night.
The stats for this contest tell the story of a completely outmatched opponent. The Broncos scored 35 points in the first quarter, 17 points in the second, and 7 points in the third quarter. Sonora scored on every opportunity until Junction stopped a scoring drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Broncos had 23 first downs, no turnovers, 209 yards rushing and 261 yards passing for a total of 470 yards.
Clayton Parks completed 10 of 14 passes for 226 yards with three passes going for touchdowns. His NFL quarterback rating was 153.3. (The maximum NFL quarterback rating is 158.1) Davis Jiminez completed three passes out of nine for 35 yards.
Nine Broncos got to run with ball. Zach Badeaux had eight carries for 52 yards and one touchdown. Edward Garza ran seven times for 58 yards and one touchdown. Jesus Vasquez rushed for 51 yards on six carries.
Parks and Jiminez spread their completions between seven receivers. Badeaux caught four for 50 yards, Garza had one catch for a 26 yard touchdown, Word Hudson caught two for 45 yards with one going for a touchdown, Cadesman Pope caught two for 55 yards with one going for a touchdown, Jiminez had one catch for 50 yards, and Ryan San Miguel snagged one for 14 yards and Rhett Guerra caught two for 21 yards.
Imoni Cross scored the first Bronco touchdown on a 65 yard punt return and Wimberley kicked his first of eight PATs.
Parks was forced out of the pocket and ran to his left. Just prior to reaching the sideline, he signaled for Hudson to go deep. Hudson caught the 26 yard pass from Parks for the touchdown. This scoring drive covered 63 yards on 7 plays and took 2:05 off the clock.
The next Bronco drive lasted three plays, covered 25 yards, lasted 27 seconds, and Garza scored on a seven yard run.
Garza scored on a 28 yard pass from Parks on a three play drive that covered 41 yards and 30 seconds.
The last score of the first quarter featured Wimberley scoring on a five yard run. This drive lasted 40 seconds and covered 55 yards in two plays.
Damon Evans scored his first varsity touchdown on the first drive of the second quarter. He bulled his way into the end zone from one yard out. This drive lasted five plays covering 43 yards and 1:47 worth of game clock time.
Pope, the Broncos’ man among boys, scored on shortest (time wise) drive of the game as he caught a 51 yard pass from Parks. This one play drive lasted only eleven seconds.
The last scoring drive of the first half ended when Wimberley kicked a 35 yard field goal. That drive covered 50 yards in six plays and lasted 1:32. The score at the end of the first half was 52 to 0.
Sonora received the second half kickoff. The last scoring drive of the night covered 66 yards on 11 plays and lasted 4:46. Badeaux handled the ball on ten of the 11 plays and he scored the touchdown on a two yard run.
Defensively, the Broncos were equally impressive. 21 Broncos made tackles. Jorge Villanueva, the KHOS defensive player of the game, and San Miguel led the Broncos with eight tackles. Badeaux, Erik Santana, and San Miguel tied for the solo tackle lead with three solo tackles each. Hagen Kennedy, Guerra, Nathan Jarratt, and Alonzo Hernandez, JV players getting their first varsity action, contributed 11 tackles in the fourth quarter that were instrumental in preserving the shutout.
Santana and Blake Esparza had quarterback sacks. Santana and Cross had an interception each. Jiminez recovered two fumbles and Villanueva fell on one.
This week, the road warriors travel to San Saba for what may be the game that decides the district championship. San Saba is 4 and 2 and just shutout Harper by a score of 44 to 0. Both Sonora and San Saba return most of the players who played in last year’s game, and Sonora won that game by a score of 34 to 24. The visitor stands at San Saba are quite small, so make the trip and fill them up.