FULLERTON – Momentum can be a fleeting thing in high school sports. On Friday night, Sonora had it for a brief moment and then Fullerton ripped it away with two touchdowns late in the first half.
The Indians never relinquished their momentum and they went on to defeat the Raiders, 42-20, in both teams’ Freeway League finale.
The Indians (4-6, 1-4) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Dylan Nicholson returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Arturo Bravo extended the Indians’ lead to 12-0 in the second quarter as he scored on a 35-yard run.
The Indians seemed to be in control as their defense forced a turnover on downs to give the ball back to the offense. Ethan Cook of the Raiders (0-10, 0-5) pressured Indians quarterback Gavin Klepper and came up with a sack and forced fumble that eventually rolled into the end zone. Cook recovered it for a touchdown to cut the lead to 12-7.
The Raider defense came up big again on the next Indian possession as George Flores broke up a pass on fourth down to give the ball back to the Raiders with 2:09 left in the half and a chance to gain the lead.
The Indians Dominic Freshour stepped in front of a Ryan Martinez pass, intercepted it and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, the Indians Kevin Campos recovered a loose ball to give the Indians another chance to score before the half. They did just that, as Anthony Ayon scored on 3 yard run to give the Indians a 28-7 halftime lead.
The Indians controlled the game behind the running of Bravo, who finished with 116 yards rushing, and the defense, which forced three turnovers and had three sacks, including two by Anthony Ayon.
