
Salpointe Catholic's Jack Darlington	Sunnyside's Jamie Cota
GARY GAYNOR/Tucson Citizen

High School Football Opener: Champs' showdown

Dominant local teams face off at Salpointe tonight

Blue Devils at Lancer's tonight at 7

MICHAEL CACCAMISE
Tucson Citizen

When the Sunnyside High School football team takes the field at Salpointe Catholic tonight at 7, it will be much more than a season-opening game.

It will be a showdown between programs that have dominated the local gridiron scene for the past several years.

Sunnyside, the defending Class 4A state champion and 2001 4A state champion, is the epitome of a dynasty.

Salpointe, two-time defending 5A Southern Region champion, isn't far behind.

"Theirs is a football program as strong as any in the state, regardless of the classification they play in," Salpointe head coach Dennis Bene said. "We have a great deal of respect for them."

Salpointe stunned Sunnyside 35-10 last year on the Blue Devils' home turf in the opener for both teams. Many dubbed it the city championship game.

The game retains the same importance this year, but it should be a much closer battle.

Sunnyside got off to a slow start last year with several players out of position, and star running back Xavier Smith, committed to the University of Arizona, didn't play.

After players were moved around and Smith came into his own, Sunnyside turned its 0-2 start into a 12-2 record and a 4A state championship.

"We made a whole lot of changes the first three games until we finally had the lineup we wanted," Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez said. "I think we've got kids in the right places right now. Last year, they were a young team. They were unproven, and we moved kids around some.

"This year is not that so much. We've got 15 returners coming back."

Both teams have worn bull's-eyes for the past several seasons because both have been the teams to beat.

Sunnyside has played in the 4A state title game three of the past four years and had a 32-game winning streak against local teams until Salpointe won last year.

Salpointe hasn't lost to a local squad since Bene's fourth game as the head coach on Sept. 21, 2001, a 14-0 loss to Sabino.

The secret to this success?

A steady influx of good players and two very good head coaches - both of them in their first year as head man.

"Dennis does a great job. He's a well-rounded coach that surrounds himself with great people," Salpointe athletic director Phil Gruensfelder said. "He does an incredible job of instilling what we call Lancer values into the kids on the field."

Bene, a former Salpointe quarterback, gave up his job as a equine veterinarian to take over the team in 2001. Since then, his teams have been a combined 30-5.

Sanchez has compiled a 94-36 record since taking the job - a job nobody wanted - in 1993. The Blue Devils were 1-9 the previous year.

"When the job opened up, nobody wanted it. They asked me if I wanted to take it," said Sanchez, who had started as the freshman football coach at the school in 1980. "From there we started working, and six years later we were in the state championship game, and the next year we were state champions.
"And here we are today, where every year we expect to win it."

It actually took a little longer than Sanchez wanted to get Sunnyside to the big game.

When he was hired, he told the athletic director the Blue Devils would be state champions in five years.

With all the success the two teams have on the field, there's a bevy of fans behind them.

And with that comes tailgate parties. Lots of tailgate parties.

The Lancers Quarterback Club, consisting of parents and anybody else who wants to join and is headed by Bene, throws tailgates before every home game.

The members get a special place to park and tickets for the game and gather before games for fun.

"I know Dennis does a lot of organizing for it," Gruensfelder said. "It's his way of getting football parents more involved. It's more of a group than a booster club."

Sunnyside does the same before home games, all organized by the parents' booster club.

Starting right after school lets out, there's plenty of hot dogs, music, hamburgers and soda to go around.

"We have students and parents who have kids here. We have a real good turnout," Sunnyside AD Leonard Suarez said. "Even our governing board makes an effort to be here."

The fan base is something that came with success.

"When I first took over from a team that went 1-9, we didn't have anybody in the stands," Sanchez said. "People want to see winners. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. You would hope, at the high school level, people would support the team no matter what. But when you win, they come out. When you lose, they don't come out."

Both teams pride themselves on defense, but the game tonight could easily be high-scoring.

Sunnyside's offense is led by Smith and senior quarterback Jaime Cota, as well as senior wide receivers Nathan Vega, Wally Altamirano and George Garza.

Being state champions, Sunnyside's top guys won't be intimidated by big games - or bigger players, which is what Salpointe has.

The Lancers' offensive line is once again very big, with Ian Brinker (6-6, 280), John Romero (6-4, 280), Kris Odowd (6-5, 290), Steve Hopkins (6-2, 245) and Alan Macias (6-0, 245).

"I don't really care about their size. You've just got to go out there and play the game," Cota said.

Behind the big Lancers' line will be quarterback Sean Brevaire, who transferred from Ironwood Ridge.

He'll have receiver Jack Darlington - who had more than 1,000 yards last year - and standout Evan LeBlanc to choose from.

There's also Lancer defensive end Andrew Berryhill and linebacker Ben Thiltges, who, along with Romero, have been offered scholarships to play at Arizona State University.

"Our defense is what's going to win our games this year," Berryhill said. "There is not a player on our defense that doesn't want to be on defense."

Will revenge be a factor for Sunnyside?

"Yeah, it's kind of revenge kind of game," Cota said. "But I'm not too worried about that. I'm worried about getting a 14-0 season and getting another state championship."

Citizen Correspondent Jessie Vanderson contributed to this article.