SONORA, TX— The Sonora Broncos are preparing to take back the District 3-2A Division I crown with a core of young players and a season of experience under their belts.
Sonora head coach Blake Weston, junior quarterback Aaron Segura, and the entire team is looking to prove everyone wrong and play into December.
Last season, the Broncos finished fourth, good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough for the Broncos. They kicked off district with a 52-0 win over Forsan, but then lost three straight games to Ozona (30-6), Reagan County (20-7) and Christoval (20-13).
After beating Colorado City 42-22 in the regular-season finale, they secured the final playoff berth. But that fourth seed placed them squarely in the crosshairs of state finalist Stamford in the first round, where they lost 45-8.
It's important to remember that Sonora had quite a few new starters in important positions like quarterback, running back, and on the offensive line. The then-sophomore gunslinger, Segura, threw for 2,767 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. The young QB made it to the end of the season and took his share of lumps along the way. Weston made sure to reiterate that Segura is the Broncos starting quarterback.
“For sure, he is 100% the guy,” Weston said. “He’s entering Year 2 and he’s super darn smart. If I’m not mistaken, he’s probably valedictorian of his class. We are way ahead of where we were last year.”
With his sophomore season behind him, Segura is shouldering that leadership role and will have more command of the offense.
“He’s going to have the leeway, too, to change the play at the line of scrimmage to get us into something maybe better because he understands everything," Weston said.
One reason for the struggles last year was the offensive line. In 2023, the team put up 3,296 yards on the ground and scored 37 times. Last year, Sonora managed 1,220 yards and nine TDs, something Weston knows needs to change.
“Last year, I’m going to be honest, our O-line wasn’t very good,” Weston said.
How does the line look this season?
“Amazing. 10 times better,” Weston said. “There are a lot of new ones (offensive linemen). All spring we talked about being physical, dirty and nasty.”
One offensive lineman took it personally and made it his mission to change not only how people view the line, but to change the culture. That lineman is Conner Gill.
Weston spoke highly of him saying, “Gill will be a senior for us this year after starting at guard last year. He kind of took it personal that we weren’t very good up front, and he has made it a point of emphasis. He has his own lineman group chat, and they’re talking, coaching each other up. He is the definition of what we need up front. He’s going to be physical. He’s going to be nasty. He’s our tone setter up front.”
That group includes Axel Botello, Hayden Masters, and Lane Perez among others.
An improved offensive line is paramount to success on the field, but those five guys can’t do it alone, and neither can Segura. Sonora is going to have some absolute firepower in a one-two punch out of the backfield and out wide.
Let’s start with running back. Enter Jose Guerra and Acea Gomez.
“Guerra played linebacker for us last year, and he’s going to be our tailback,” said Weston. “Him and Acea Gomez back there … oh my goodness, watch out. (Guerra) is about 6-1, 190 and is just a physical dude.”
At linebacker last year, Guerra led the Broncos in tackles with 102 and added a sack as well. Gomez was buried behind upperclassmen at running back but managed 5 yards a carry and also played defense.
When Segura isn’t handing it off to Thrash and Dash, he has some serious size at the receiver position. Jaydon Welborn is 6-3, Evan Arredondo is 6-4, and the football team enticed a basketball player to trade dropping 3s for catching TDs in Wyatt Killough, who is 6-1.
“We are going to be really really loaded at the skill positions,” Weston said. “Segura’s going to have some height to throw to.”
At the 2A level, it is common for players to play both offense and defense.
Defensively, all three of the Broncos linebackers are back, including Angel Diaz, and they’ll have Arredondo at defensive end, where he had 43 tackles, three for loss, three sacks, and three pressures in 2024.
In the secondary, David Luna also returns and chipped in two interceptions last season. Bronco newcomer Camden Brown will play safety, as will Welborn.
While the returning starters may be five on offense and five on defense, plenty of players are going to be either switching sides or, more likely, playing both ways like Guerra.
“We have a lot of varsity experience back, but it might have just been on one side of the ball,” Weston said. “We returned five on offense but really, we returned 10. They played it every day, they just didn’t play over the starters last year. Angel Diaz, Jose Guerra, and Acea Gomez started every game for us on defense, but they didn’t play offense. This year, they’re going to have to play a lot of offense.”
As for Sonora, the town, really all West Texas, needs to get excited. The players, not just Gill and Guerra, take it personal that everyone seems to have written them off after last season. The Broncos open the season against the Miles Bulldogs, who are in a similar predicament as Sonora. The Bulldogs graduated a ton of talent, have players who will move around to put them in a better position to win, and return a junior quarterback in Liam Yancy.
“He’s (Yancy) probably one of the best quarterbacks we’ll see all year,” Weston said. “He spins it. He’s good.”
In district, Forsan had a strange year last season and struggled unexpectedly. Reagan County graduated quite a bit of talent, including new Arizona safety Kason Brown. Christoval has a new head coach in Tanner McLean and had a big graduating class. Talking heads are looking for Ozona to take the district as the Lions return a strong offensive line and one of the best running backs in the Concho Valley, Christian Villarreal. The question facing the Lions is how they will handle the new system under new coach Jason Pitts.
Texas Football’s preseason district prediction has Ozona winning the district, with Sonora settling at the second playoff spot. Don’t count the Broncos out before the season starts.
“It’s going to be a great year,” Weston said. “Sit back and watch, and I think we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong. We’re going to be better than what people think, I can tell you that. We have kids right now that flat out get after it on the field. We’re going to hang our hat on effort and intensity. You’re going to see it this year for sure.”
Sonora Broncos
2025 schedule
Aug. 29 at Miles
Sept. 5 Johnson City
Sept. 12 at Eldorado
Sept. 19 at Alpine
Sept. 26 McCamey
Oct. 3 OPEN
Oct. 10 at Forsan*
Oct. 17 Ozona*
Oct. 24 at Reagan County*
Oct. 31 at Christoval*
Nov. 7 Colorado City*
*District 3-2A Division I game
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