FULLERTON – Thomas Becerra first looked for Dominic Vaccher. He wasn’t open.
Becerra then looked for his receiver in the flat. He was covered, too.
Troy was chasing three points with less than 30 seconds remaining, and neither Becerra’s first nor second options were open.
Thirteen yards from the goal line, Becerra settled in the pocket as Chavo Hernandez settled in the middle of the end zone.
One spiral later, Troy nabbed a 34-30 lead over Freeway League upstart Sonora, and held on for a victory Friday night at Fullerton High.
“These kind of games make it all worth it,” said Becerra, who completed 10 of 17 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns. “The long hours of practice, all the hard hits. They’re all worth it for this moment.”
Vaccher was held without a catch for the first time this season. Sonora (6-1, 1-1) blanketed Vaccher with two defensive backs, forcing Becerra to go through his progressions.
As a result, receiver Ryan Scotti finished with six catches for 101 yards, including a crucial 19-yard reception on the winning drive for Troy (6-1, 2-0).
“All week I was working on my progressions,” Becerra said. “Looking for my second, third, fourth reads, and finding the open guy. If Dom was open, he was open. If he wasn’t, he wasn’t.”
Sonora running back Jacob Fimbres finished with 280 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His runs regularly featured broken tackles at the line of scrimmage.
Troy coach Kevin Hastin called Fimbres a “stud” multiple times after the game.
“Sonora, I tip my hat to them,” Hastin said. “They came to play.”
Trailing, 21-10, in the fourth quarter, Sonora scored on consecutive possessions. Becerra then dropped a 17-yard touch pass into Scotti’s hands to help Troy regain the lead.
Fimbres scored on a 33-yard run with 50 seconds remaining, and his two-point conversion run put Sonora ahead, 30-27. A long kickoff return and a late hit penalty set up Becerra’s heroics.
“It was just a great team win,” Hastin said.
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
