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Salpointe's Chris Miller (5) tries
to break up this catch by Sunnyside's Jovan Stevenson
(3) in the third quarter. |
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FRANCISCO MEDINA /
Tucson Citizen |
Sunnyside RB has 55-yard TD in win
JESSIE VANDERSON
Tucson Citizen
It was vintage Jovan Stevenson, dancing loose as if he were
a bothersome bee attacking a picnic lunch.
"He is elusive. He has great cuts and great speed," said
Mark Teixeira, Salpointe's secondary coach.
It was vintage Stevenson, taking a handoff from Sunnyside
quarterback Jamie Valdez in the second quarter and exploding
through Salpointe's defensive, slashing for a 55-yard
touchdown.
"What he did was incredible," Valdez said.
Stevenson, a senior tailback, rushed for 146 yards on 11
carries and caught five passes for 99 yards in Sunnyside's
17-0 win Thursday at Salpointe in the Tucson Citizen
Spotlight Game.
"He has good vision and good cuts," former Pueblo receiver
great Wilbert Washington said.
Stevenson attacked the deep backs with across-the-field
cutbacks and raised memories of his decisive 59-yard TD run
last year against Tempe Marcos de Niza.
"When Jovan gets to the open field, he becomes a very
special runner," said Philo Sanchez, running backs coach at
Sunnyside.
Sanchez knows what it feels like to run well in a big game.
He broke the back of Phoenix Greenway with a 41-yard TD run
late in the fourth-quarter of the 2001 Class 4A state
championship game.
This was vintage Stevenson, avoiding Salpointe linebackers
on Thursday with the stealth of a kindergartner making off
with an extra chocolate chip cookie at lunch to post his
third 100-plus-yard game of the season.
"Big-time players make big plays in a big game," the
5-foot-11, 190-pound Stevenson said. "That's what coach
(Richard Sanchez) is always telling me."
STEVENSON RUSHING AFTER 4 GAMES
Date Foe Car-Yds TD
Sept. 1 at Mtn. Ridge 12-122 1
Sept. 8 Mtn. Pointe 14-97 1
Sept. 15 at Central 19-165 0
Thursday at Salpointe 11-146 1
Total 57-530 3
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