LOCAL TEAMS FIND LATE NIGHT SUCCESS
Flames stun Sonora, 27-12
Two touchdowns early in the game set the tone for the Lodi High football team against Sonora, and the Flames may have just set the tone for their season.
In Friday’s home opener at the Grape Bowl, the Flames smoked the Wildcats’ defense in the second quarter on their way to a 27-12 win over Sonora. The last time that the Flames won their season opener was in 2014, when they knocked off Amador 35-21 in Sutter Creek.
“Beating this team was huge,” said Lodi coach Robert Sperling of Friday’s win over the Wildcats, who posted an 111 record last fall. Last year, Sonora defeated Lodi 62-15.
Sonora led 6-0 early in the second quarter. But Lodi quarterback Tyler Rowlands put his squad on the scoreboard when he found a leaping wide receiver Matthew Wright, grabbing the ball away from a Wildcat defensive back, for the touchdown. Jake Hayes’ extra-point kick gave Lodi a 7-6 advantage.
With six seconds left in the quarter, Lodi (1-0) made it 14-6 when sophomore quarterback Logan Stout found Angelo Zazzarino on a 5-yard strike.
The Wildcats cut the Flames’ lead to 21-12 on a 65-yard fumble recovery by Jack Camara.
Stout contributed toward the Flames’ final touchdown of the game with 6:19 in the fourth quarter. Taking snaps in the second quarter in which he lost yards, Stout kept the ball on a keeper on a 22-yard score.
The game was originally scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. But because of the triple-digit heat that reached over 110 degrees throughout most of Northern California, school officials opted to cancel the Sonora-Lodi frosh-soph contest, and start the varsity game at 8:30.
Because of the late start of the contest, plus the News-Sentinel going to an early deadline on Friday night for today’s issue, an extended story and photos will run in Tuesday’s issue.