LA HABRA – It was Anthony Abad all night long in a victorious playoff opener for Sonora.
Abad rushed for 287 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries, as Sonora defeated visiting Bishop Alemany, 41-25, in a CIF-SS Division 9 first-round game at La Habra High on Thursday.
Sonora (6-5) will play the Quartz Hill-Kennedy winner in next week’s quarterfinals. Sonora would host Quartz Hill or play at Kennedy.
“I told the guys to be calm, cool, collected after this first win,” Sonora coach Kevin Oberlander said. “We have to go into next week focused. We’ve been to the playoffs the last three years, but we haven’t been past the quarters.”
Alemany (5-6) lost its final six games to end the season. Gianni Haynes caught eight passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors.
Sonora linemen Adrian Famber, Mike Lozano, Brian Vargas, Everett Hornung and Alex Romeo carved up running lanes, as Abad shouldered the load for Sonora all night long.
“This offensive line is amazing,” Abad said. “These are my guys. I trust each and every one of them. I love them.”
Olin Morales Hyder actually ran in the first two touchdowns for the Raiders, as each team traded scores and momentum swing plays in the first half.
Alemany’s opening drive spanned nearly eight minutes and 12 plays to cover just 59 yards and the first score of the game. Valentino May ran in the 9-yard touchdown, but the extra point was blocked, 6-0.
Sonora stayed on the ground for seven consecutive plays to respond four minutes later. Abad carried the load to the 12-yard line, where Morales Hyder finished with the touchdown run. Extra point was also no good for a tie game, 6-6.
Aiden Peru intercepted Alemany on fourth down of the ensuing drive at midfield, and Morales Hyder struck again seven plays later on an 18-yard touchdown run for the lead, 12-6. Two-point run by Sonora was no good.
A bad kickoff set up Alemany at midfield on the following drive, and a May-Haynes 39-yard connection put the Warriors in business at the Sonora 10-yard line. The Raiders made a stand and broke up a fourth-down pass to deny Alemany points.
Starting from its own 4-yard line, Sonora flipped the field on its only pass of the first half, a 48-yard strike from Tucker Hunnicutt to Morales Hyder. However, Sonora fumbled on the next play, as Alemany’s Alexis Casillas recovered a bad snap.
Alemany immediately converted on a 86-yard rope from May to a sprinting Haynes to tie the game with five seconds remaining in the half. The extra point put Alemany ahead, 13-12, at halftime.
Abad grabbed the lead that Sonora would never relinquish to open the second half. Abad broke a 42-yard run and finished the drive on a 7-yard touchdown run for the 20-13 lead.
Two plays later, Brady Ackerman pulled in an interception at the line of scrimmage, and Sonora capitalized again with a two-yard Abad touchdown run, 27-13.
Alemany responded with the May-Haynes connection to get in deep, and Darren Coleman drove in a 1-yard run, 27-19.
Sonora responded again with Abad, Abad, Abad and more Abad with a 13-yard touchdown run, 34-19.
May and Haynes hooked up again for a 19-yard Alemany touchdown pass, 34-25.
Abad put the nail in the coffin on a 43-yard back-breaker touchdown run, 41-25, with just over seven minutes to play.
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