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FRANCISCO
MEDINA/Tucson
Citizen |
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Sunnyside
coach Richard Sanchez (right) is congratulated by
senior player Alfredo
Mesa
after beating Mingus 55-7 last week. |
Sunnyside
seeks revenge
MICHAEL
CACCAMISE
Tucson
Citizen
When his Sunnyside High School team hits the football field
at Phoenix College tomorrow, head coach Richard Sanchez will
be no stranger to the situation or the opponent.
The Blue Devils take
on No. 1 seed and undefeated Scottsdale Chaparral (12-0) in
the 4A state playoff semifinals.
Sound familiar?
It should. The two
teams faced off last year in the same game, which Chaparral
won 20-17 after a 53-yard last second field goal attempt by
Sunnyside kicker Andres Carroll fell just feet short.
Sunnyside also played
Chaparral in Week 2 of this season, but the Blue Devils came
out on the losing end of a 41-14 blowout.
"We're going to
play this time," Sanchez said, referring to what he
thinks was a lackluster performance against the Firebirds
this year. "We were young and we gave up some big
plays."
Chaparral is not the
only Scottsdale team that has a semifinal history with
Sunnyside. Scottsdale Saguaro faced the Blue Devils in 2000
and 2001 in the semis, both games that Sunnyside won.
"The last four
years we've had to play a Scottsdale team to get into the
championship," Sanchez said. "Our kids are feeling
pretty good right now. They know where they started and
where they are at right now."
Sunnyside started this
season 0-2 after losing to Salpointe Catholic and then
Chaparral. But the Blue Devils are a different team.
There are six players
starting now that weren't starting at the beginning of the
season. He switched some players from offense to defense and
vice versa.
The result has been a
10-game win streak, with blowout victories coming in eight
of those games.
After surviving a
21-20 scare in the first round of the playoffs against
Cienega, the Blue Devils came bouncing back by dismantling
Cottonwood Mingus 55-7 last week.
Running back Xavier
Smith, who did not start the first two games, has also
become one of the state's premier rushers with 1,641 yards.
"I had kids out
of position. It was a combination of things," Sanchez
said. "Our first two games were tough games, but that's
why we put them on the schedule to see where we stood."
But with all of
Sunnyside's strengths and string of victories, the Blue
Devils still find themselves big underdogs in the minds of
many tomorrow night.
In two playoff games,
Chaparral has outscored opponents 128-24, including a first
round 76-0 romp of Phoenix Arcadia.
They put together a
four-game shutout streak in midseason, outscoring opponents
202-0 during that span.
They've also won three
of the last four Class 4A state titles, the exception being
2001 when Sunnyside took home the trophy.
Chaparral wide
receiver John Peel and quarterback Darren Mougey will need
to be stopped. But Sunnyside triple-teamed Peel earlier this
year, and Mougey made them pay by throwing to other
receivers.
That's been the
problem with Chaparral for opponents - too many weapons.
"We're up to the
challenge. Our kids know they've gotten better each
week," Sanchez said. "Hopefully we get better this
week. We'll have to play a great game to win."
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