CLYDE – The Sonora Broncos beat the Olney Cubs 28-27 in the first round of high school football playoffs in a Thursday Night thriller up in Clyde, Texas!
Bulldog Stadium was the battleground for first seed Sonora and not-an-average fourth seed Olney. The Cubs were in probably the toughest 2A district in Texas with Hawley and Cisco. In any other district, this game would’ve been in the third or fourth round.
Olney won the coin toss and elected to defer while the Broncos offense took the field. There wasn’t much action but good defense until Bronco quarterback Jaime Buitron fumbled the ball on the 33-yard line and Olney defender AB Marquez scooped up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
Sonora would get on the board as wide receiver Edgar DeLuna would get behind the Olne defense to snatch a 28-yard touchdown pass from Buitron. Olney blocked the extra point to stay in the lead 7-6.
With 8:51 remaining in the first half, Olney back Javoni Rockmore would break through the Sonora defense for a 55-yard touchdown run and after a successful point after attempt, the Cubs then held an eight-point lead, 14-6.
Blake Weston’s Broncos would respond but not before a touchdown saving tackle from Marquez and a sack. From the 13-yard line, Buitron would find O’Banon over the middle of the field for a score. Needing to make up some ground, Sonora went for two and completed the pass, tying up the score at 14 all.
Bi-District Champion Sonora Broncos (LIVE! Photo: James Bouligny)
Sonora had a momentum swing after Cub quarterback Gatlin Guy fumbled the ball, only for Buitron to fumble it right back to Olney. After a great open field tackle by Damien Reyes and stuffing Rockmore on 4th down, the bands took the field for halftime.
Things looks much calmer after halftime. Onley ran a lot of clock and ended with another Rockmore touchdown to jump ahead 21-14 with 6:52 left in the third quarter. Sonora took a hit after Buitron came out hurt and his back up went in. It didn’t matter as DeLuna would take a handoff 39 yards to the house but didn’t convert the 2-point which made the score 21-20 with Olney still leading.
Momentum really starting to swing Sonora’s way with a big stop on third down and got the ball back. Buitron went back into the game, and he would punch in a 4-yard touchdown. O’Banon would catch the 2-point to make the score 28-21 with 56 seconds left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Sonora’s Dylan Ford got to Guy for a sack and all the Broncos needed to do was hold onto the ball. A big catch by Owen Jones and a first down run by Buitron kept Sonora driving but Olney did end up with the ball.
Rockmore had a huge run and eventually stretched out over the goal line for the score. Olney lined up for a kick but missed wide left to leave Sonora in the lead 28-27. The Cubs attempted the onside which the Broncos recovered with less than two minutes left in the game.
The Cubs used their timeouts and on 4th and 5 with 51 seconds left in the game, Olney jumped offsides to give Sonora a free five yards. After the shortest five yards in existence was walked off, Olney jumped offsides again to give Sonora a first down and the victory.
O'Banon said it best last night- "Round 2 Baby. Round 2!"
Tune into COVER1 on San Angelo LIVE! for an exclusive interview with Sonora head coach Blake Weston plus highlights of the Broncos and Cubs game. Next week, the Broncos will take on the Farwell Steers next week.
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