Blue Devils feel no pain in win

By Patrick Finley
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.25.2006
 

Jovan Stevenson was supposed to have a sprained ankle.
 

He left last week's state quarterfinal because of it. He limped around Sunnyside's campus all week, his left ankle throbbing, trying to forget about the pain.
 

But what mortal with a sprained ankle can do this? The junior running back gained 200 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass Friday night to lead the Blue Devils past Tempe Marcos de Niza 21-14.
 

The second-seeded Blue Devils earned a trip to the 5A-II state championship where they will play Peoria Centennial.
 

Stevenson did not play the first drive of the game.
 

"It's a big game," he said. "I expected to get in the game."
 

More accurately, he thought it would be in the second or third quarter. But when the Padres marched 70 yards on five plays to score a touchdown on the first drive, Stevenson went in.
 

Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez said he did not sit Stevenson to fool Marcos de Niza into thinking he would be unavailable.

"We don't play mind games," he said. "Jovan did a great job tonight. It was maybe the best game of his career, in undoubtedly the biggest game. Stevenson was too happy to be in pain.
 

"I just don't think about it," he said.
 

And how does his ankle feel now?
 

"Much better," he said with a smile.
 

The game was tied at 7 at halftime, but Stevenson and his teammates exploded from the locker room. On fourth-and-two from the Marcos de Niza 26-yard line, Stevenson thrust around the right side of the line for 21 yards. That set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Sammy Olivas to Zach Holmes on a naked bootleg.
 

The Sunnyside defense forced a three-and-out. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Stevenson took a handoff left, stopped, cut across the middle of the field and sprinted for 59 yards.
 

This season, Stevenson has 1,626 yards on 239 carries, with 12 touchdowns.
 

Dressed like Arizona State doppelgangers — white jersey and mustard helmet and pants — the Padres looked every bit like collegians at the start of the game.
 

Their star running back, Harrison Evans, dueled with Stevenson at every turn, their stunning runs covering up a game marred with before-the-snap penalties of every variety.
 

Evans finished with 123 yards on 21 carries and six catches for 108 yards.
 

The Blue Devils (11-2) have won eight consecutive games.
 

The game was held at John M. Mead Athletic Arena at Flowing Wells High School, supposedly a neutral site for the two teams. Sunnyside fans packed their end of the stadium, as did Marcos de Niza.
 

The 11th-seeded Padres scored with about 11 minutes left in the game to cut the lead to 21-14. Trailing by seven, the Padres turned the ball over on downs after getting as close as the Blue Devils' 41-yard line.
 

They were able to run two plays at the end of the game. The final one ended in controversy. With four seconds left, the Padres threw a hook-and-ladder play up the right sideline that was stopped around midfield.
 

The clock, however, did not start. After a minute of confusion, the referees whistled the game over, and Sunnyside fans streamed onto the field.
 

"It feels great," Stevenson said. "But now we gotta win it. You wanna get the ring."