SONORA, TX — With the district title hanging in the balance, a wild game between Sonora and Ballinger on Friday came down to one final play.
After Sonora answered Ballinger’s touchdown in overtime, the Broncos decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win.
Aaron Segura dropped back and found Evan Arredondo to set off a celebration at Bronco Stadium as Sonora secured a 42-41 win and at least a share of the District 4-2A Division I title.
"It's awesome, and it's great to do it on our home field on Senior Night," Sonora head coach Blake Weston said. "I can't speak enough words about it."
Sonora can claim the title outright next week with a win at Forsan, but the Broncos will be the district’s No. 1 seed regardless of what happens in that game.
Sonora seemed to be on its way to a comfortable win over Ballinger with a 34-13 lead late in the third quarter. But the Bearcats have pulled off three second-half comebacks this season, and they nearly did it again.
Ballinger stormed back with three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes to force overtime, capped by quarterback Wyatt Clemens’ 5-yard run — and a two-point conversion — with 48 seconds remaining.
Ballinger then scored first in OT when Clemens threw a TD pass to Hunter Peacock.
Sonora responded, however, when Aaron Segura fired a TD pass to Wyatt Killough to set up the do-or-die two-point conversion.
"Here's a shoutout to Larry Payne. Back in the day when he was our (defensive coordinator) here, he said that's a play you can't defend," Weston said of the two-point conversion. "We've kept it in our repertoire in our offense forever, and we pull it out when we need it."
It's the fourth time this season Sonora has won by eight points or fewer. The Broncos had to find a way to shake off Ballinger's late comeback, and they did it with their high-octane offense, which topped the 40-point mark for the sixth time.
"They've battled all year," Weston said. "These kids, they've just got that dog in them. We've talked about that all year. You've got to find the dog somewhere in you, and tonight we found some dudes that could do it."
Segura threw four TD passes and ran for two more to lead the Broncos. Killough had three TD catches, including a 35-yarder that gave Sonora a 34-13 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter.
Brody Wilde ignited Ballinger's rally with a 63-yard TD run with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
Ballinger's Dylan Page then intercepted Segura on the goal line early in the fourth quarter to keep his team in the game.
Clemens threw a 35-yard TD pass to Hunter Kresta, and Brody Wilde intercepted Segura to give the Bearcats a chance to complete the comeback.
Clemens then drove them down the field for the game-tying score in the final minute.
Clemens threw two TD passes for Ballinger and ran for two more.
Sonora improved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in district, while Ballinger fell to 7-2 and 4-1.
Ballinger will host Ozona next week to finish its regular season. The Bearcats can lock up the No. 2 seed with a win, while a loss would drop them to the No. 3 seed.
Sonora 42, Ballinger 41 (OT)
Ballinger 7 6 6 15 7 — 41
Sonora 6 22 6 0 8 — 42
First Quarter
S - Aaron Segura 8 run (two-point conversion failed), 8:37 remaining
B - Wyatt Clemens 22 run (Hunter Peacock kick), 4:02
Second Quarter
S - Wyatt Killough 69 pass from Segura (two-point conversion failed), 11:12
S - Segura 4 run (Evan Arredondo pass from Segura), 4:51
S - Jayden Welborn 64 pass from Segura (two-point conversion good), 2:07
B - Malachi Bentley 2 run (kick failed), :00
Third Quarter
S - Killough 35 pass from Segura (two-point conversion failed), 3:37
B - Brody Wilde 63 run (kick failed), 2:31
Fourth Quarter
B - Hunter Kresta 35 pass from Clemens (Peacock kick)
B - Clemens 5 run (two-point conversion good), :48
Overtime
B - Peacock pass from Clemens (Peacock kick)
S - Killough pass from Segura (Arredondo pass from Segura)
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