Two dominant backs in Cayden Waldrop and Julian Earls are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Sonoma Valley Dragons will take on the St. Helena Saints at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sonoma Valley knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past eight matchups -- so hopefully St. Helena likes a good challenge.
Sonoma Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past Healdsburg to the tune of 70-6 on Friday. The Dragons have beaten the Greyhounds the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Greyhounds has come to flipping the script.
Sonoma Valley had a senior duo take command as Dalan Lopata threw for 290 yards and four TDs on only 19 passes and Johnny Campbell picked up 140 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Campbell's longest reception was for an impressive 62 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per catch total.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Sonoma Valley proved: they limited Healdsburg to a paltry 1.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Brendan Wroblewski for the heroic effort on defense: he. Sonoma Valley didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 11.8.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Sonoma Valley, adding 14 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Chuy Ordaz, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, St. Helena beat Upper Lake 23-12 on Friday. Those 23 points were actually the fewest the Saints have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
The critical scores for St. Helena came from Earls, Latif Basile, and Eric Torres.
Sonoma Valley's record is now 9-1. As for St. Helena, their record now sits at 10-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Sonoma Valley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Helena struggles in that department as they've been averaging 258.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
