Second-half effort earns Sunnyside the 4A crown

TEMPE - The Sunnyside High School football team had to rally from an 0-2 start to make the Class 4A state title game.

So a 10-0 deficit to Glendale Cactus at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday didn't seem that difficult to overcome.

The Devils scored a touchdown with 1:54 left in the first half and went on to post a 21-13 win to earn their second state title in three years. Sunnyside also won in 2001.

"It's the best feeling of my life," said Sunnyside quarterback Jaime Cota, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. "I never thought I'd be this happy."

Running back Xavier Smith added 120 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, including a late 2-yard score to seal the win.

It appeared for a minute that Cactus might send the game to overtime after quarterback Bubba Bradley completed a 39-yard pass to Kevin Marin in the end zone with 11 seconds left. But the pass was called back because Bradley crossed the line of scrimmage before he threw.

The Blue Devils had a tough time early. They fell behind 10-0 because of Bradley. The quarterback and kicker scored in the first quarter on a 4-yard run and in the second on a field goal of 32 yards.

"They were a good team. You can't say they weren't going to score," said defensive lineman Ruben Leyva. "Coach (Richard) Sanchez said to keep our heads up and that we had to fight. It was only 10 points."

Sunnyside took their coach's advice. The Blue Devils scored on a 17-yard pass from Cota to Mike Villalobos minutes before the half to trail 10-7.

"We knew what we had to do," Sanchez said. "Our kids were programmed all week. They knew this was going to be a war and toe to toe till the end."

Sunnyside took over in the second half, dominating on defense and getting big plays on offense when needed.

Smith, a junior, has often been referred to as Sunnyside's X-factor and he showed why Saturday. After gaining just 14 first-half yards, Smith broke off for a 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for a 14-10 lead.

Cactus cut the lead to 14-13 on a field goal with 5:02 left, but then Smith took over.

He broke loose for a 50-yard run to set up his 2-yard touchdown sprint with 1:28 left.

Sunnyside receiver Mike Quiroz, who caught eight passes for 108 yards, celebrated with his teammates on the field after the game.

"I've never had this feeling," Quiroz said. "This is the first ring I've ever got in my life. I've got it. This is all the hard work this summer paying off."