Football: Cota big in big games

Sunnyside High School's Jaime Cota is no stranger to big games after leading the Blue Devils to the Class 4A football title in 2003.

And he performs very well in those big games.

Cota, a senior and quarterback, is the Tucson Citizen's high school football player of the week after leading the Blue Devils in the first victory of their title defense run.

In a showdown between premier programs Sunnyside and Salpointe Catholic, Cota's performance helped lead the Blue Devils to a 38-14 road victory.

Cota ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns and completed 7 of 13 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Cota had good runs last year, but he averaged just 29.7 rushing yards a game.

He took it to another level against Salpointe. His legwork was more effective than the 87 yards indicate, with a lot of his runs coming at important parts of the game.

On a 5-yard scoring run, he dived just far enough to get the ball across the goal line and give Sunnyside a 10-0 lead at the half.

"Well, I saw the holes, and I just knew I had to make the plays for the team to get the first downs, keep the game going and get our offense close to the end zone," Cota said after the win.

Last year, Cota ran for 416 yards and threw for 1,485 yards and 19 touchdowns.