Fullerton slips past Sonora with late TD

FULLERTON - Anthony Martinez threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Drake with nine seconds remaining in the game to give Fullerton a 20-16 victory over Sonora in a key Freeway League game Friday at Fullerton High School.

The touchdown capped a 90-yard drive that the Indians started with 1:41 remaining and no timeouts left.

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Fullerton finishes second and will go into the playoffs as the league's No. 2 team (6-4, 4-1).

The Raiders (8-2, 3-2), who won more game than they did in 2008 and '09 combined, finish third and still make the playoffs.

"We practice (the two-minute offense) every Wednesday and Thursday and we finally got to use it," said Martinez, who completed 13 of 23 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. "It feels great."

Nico Divincenzo kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 16-13 lead with 6:31 remaining.

On the ensuing drive, the Indians could advance no farther than their 35 before being forced to punt.

Sonora then took over on their 45 with 4:02 left and could have run out the clock with a sustained drive.

Sonora managed one first down and Fullerton used all three timeouts before stopping the Raiders on a third-and-3 from Indians 38.

The Raiders punted and the Indians took over on their own 10 with what wound up being the winning drive.

Martinez completed eight of 11 passes on the 11-play drive and got some help on a pass-interference call that put the ball on the 24, setting up the winning score.

The Raiders got the ball back with eight seconds left and Zach Ouderkerken completed a 53 yard pass to the Fullerton 32 with one second left.

But Oukerkerken's final pass was intercepted on the last play of the game.

Baba Eko and Jakob McCarthy combined for 272 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Raiders.