Preview: Sonora Broncos vs. Hawley Bearcats
Sonora is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Hawley is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Sonora Broncos will take on the Hawley Bearcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Sonora had no problem doing just that on Friday. They blew past the Steers 42-14 on the road. Sonora pushed the score to 36-7 by the end of the third, a deficit Farwell cut but never quite recovered from.
Sonora had a senior duo take command as Jaime Buitron rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns and Edgar Deluna gained 148 total yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Hawley on the road against Panhandle on Friday as the team secured a 59-16 win.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hawley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Diontay Ramon, who rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 110 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ramon was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 65 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Keagan Ables, who threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 14.1 yards per attempt.
Another reason for the win was Hawley's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Ramon and Hunter Hudson who racked up four sacks between them.
Their wins bumped Sonora to 11-1 and Farwell to 8-4.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as Sonora and Hawley have no problem gaining yardage. Sonora has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 357.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Hawley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 350.1 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Sonora took a serious blow against Hawley when the teams last played back in November of 2022, falling 57-26. Can Sonora avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
