Sunnyside cruises into semis on roll

Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez could have begun preparing for this year by pointing the finger at his team's successes and failures from last season.
 

But in fact, it was just the opposite.
 

His team finished with a 7-5 record and got bumped out of the state quarterfinals. During the following winter break his coaches, former players and current team all bombarded Sanchez with suggestions on how to improve the Blue Devils for the following season.
 

"Nobody likes to be told what they're doing wrong, and here everybody was telling me. So I said, 'Well, maybe they've got a point,'" Sanchez said. "I'm not coaching the way I did last year. I've turned back to my old ways."
 

His old ways have carried the Devils to three appearances in the Class 4A state title game and two state championships this decade.
 

This season, second-seeded Sunnyside is 10-2 and on a seven-game winning streak heading into tonight's 5A-II semifinal match against No. 11 Tempe Marcos de Niza at Flowing Wells High School.
 

Even though Sanchez reverted back to his old strategies, Sunnyside's road to the semis has not been free of the occasional speed bump and pothole.
 

In the first round of the state tournament, running back Manny Aguilar tore a ligament in his knee that will put him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Last week, their top rusher and leading scorer Jovan Stevenson left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle.
 

Stevenson has scored 10 TDs and rushed for 1,426 yards on 215 carries this season. With stats like those, it seems the Devils' playoff future may rely on the junior's ankle.
 

"The running game just sets everything up; everybody knows we are going to run," said Stevenson, who has not missed practice this week and is expected to start tonight. "It's been sprained, but I've just got to fight through it for two more weeks — give it everything I've got."
 

Early in the season the Blue Devils faced a revolving door situation at quarterback. Sammy Olivas was first to step behind center, but he was benched after a few games for a lack of consistency. Junior Jaime Valdez replaced Olivas, who was moved to wide receiver.
 

"In the beginning games, I was making mental mistakes," said Olivas. "When I was benched I took it to heart."
 

Olivas began spending extra hours practicing plays and working on his passing routes with his father. He was reinstated as starting quarterback after Sunnyside's 55-0 rout of Flowing Wells on Oct. 21. In the four games that have followed, he has thrown for 523 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for two more.
 

The backbone for the Blue Devils has been their defense, which has prevented seven opponents from scoring a touchdown and has posted four shutouts this year.
 

"We push each other on every play saying, 'I can make more plays than you,' and talking to each other," said linebacker Zach Holmes. "We want to hold them to zero."
 

With all of the adjustments that the Blue Devils have made throughout this season the one thing that has not changed is their focus on their goal: a state crown.
 

"That's why you're in here. We don't promote being mediocre in anything that you do," Sanchez said. "There's a prize that they want, and that prize is a state championship."