Sonoma Valley High School’s undefeated football team is headed to the North Coast Section Division 5 championship game after defeating Salesian 36-27 on Saturday afternoon in Richmond.

The third-seeded Dragons had to overcome a furious comeback bid from the No. 2-seeded Pride — and did so thanks to another miraculous performance by versatile star Hudson Giarritta — as they kept their perfect season intact at 12-0.

How it happened

Sonoma Valley stormed out of the gate, forcing a turnover on downs on Salesian’s first possession that nearly took up the entire first quarter. While the Dragons’ offense stalled on their opening drive as well, it was the Pride’s second drive that really got things going.

Salesian fumbled a throw and Benicio Reyes pounced on it, giving the Dragons the ball at the hosts’ 21-yard line. Then their offense went to work, as quarterback Dalan Lopata found Giarritta from 16 yards out to open the scorebook. That connection delivered once again before halftime for a 12-0 Dragons lead.

Sonoma Valley kept its foot on the gas as Giarritta once again made his presence felt, this time on defense with an interception return for a touchdown to give the Dragons a 19-point cushion. It was one of his three interceptions on the day. He intercepted a pass on Salesian’s next possession as well, and followed that up with a 37-yard touchdown reception. The Dragons had a 26-0 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

That’s when Pride started showing everyone why they got better seed.

Salesian scored 20 unanswered points between the three-minute mark of the third quarter and the four-minute mark of the fourth. The Dragons’ offense had suddenly stalled, and three-and-outs were becoming more common on possessions.

And while the Pride scored again to get to 27 points, two key plays by Sonoma allowed the visitors to hang on for the win.

Key game

The first happened with just over four minutes left in the game, with Sonoma staring at a fourth down at the Salesian 21-yard line. Ceivan Canning, a first-year football player who had a PAT blocked earlier that day, trotted out to score. He lined it up from 31 yards and, after what appeared to be the slowest run of the ball in recent memory, drilled it to give the Dragons a vital 29-20 cushion.

The second, to no surprise, came from Giarritta. With Sonoma leading 29-27 and just over two minutes remaining, the Dragons once again faced a fourth-and-long in the Pride red zone. Head coach Max Pond chose to go for it, trusting his best player once again. Giarritta beat his man and Lopata placed a perfect ball that fell into Giarritta’s hands as he crashed into the Salesian safety in the back of the end zone for the dagger.

Takeaways

If it hasn’t already been shown, this Sonoma Valley team is for real. Although unbeaten, their strength of schedule was questioned this season – but in arguably the biggest test of the year, the Dragons continued to prove the doubters wrong. Now they are on to their first sectional title game on the gridiron since 1990.

Also, Giarritta only has a couple of college offers, which is crazy to think about. He cemented himself as one of the arguably top five players in the area with a performance that included 13 receptions for 197 yards, three interceptions – including a pick-six – and five total touchdowns.

Citable

“This is a tough team for us, but I thought our defense did a really good job early on of slowing them down. Once we got the lead on them, it took them out of their ‘be patient and control the ball’ and got them to do things that maybe they’re not as good at. This is a special group, they play together, and this was a dogfight. I trust these guys to do their job, and at the end of the day, I’m really proud about the coaching staff and their plan, our offensive line to grind it out, and our guys are playing at a higher level now.” — Dust

“To go from 3-7 last year to now 12-0 and play for a sectional title, it’s like the best feeling ever, to be honest … we celebrate until Sunday, watch film on Monday and prepare for who’s next. It’s the 24-hour rule—celebrate tonight, but by this time tomorrow it’s over.” — Giarritta

Next

Sonoma Valley will now play top-seeded St. Vincent (11-1) in the title game Saturday night at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma. The Mustangs beat No. 4 Maria Carrillo 53-24 in the bracket’s second semifinal.

You can reach staff writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @kodoherty22.