RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson Citizen

Chaparral Firebirds safety Adam Baily (2) goes after Sunnyside Blue Devil running back Xavier Smith (38) but can't catch him.

Blue Devils seniors rise in win

JESSIE VANDERSON
Tucson Citizen

The old hands got the job done for the Sunnyside High School football team during crunchtime.

Ahead of a spirited Scottsdale Chaparral team 10-7 with fewer than three minutes left, Blue Devils seniors Jaime Cota, Xavier Smith and Manuel Altamirano secured the victory with big plays.

"Our money guys came through in the end," said Glenn Posey, Sunnyside's offensive coordinator.

Smith, who bruised his way to a tough 90 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, made his last carry of the night count the most.

On first-and-10 from the Sunnyside 49, Smith exploded though a big hole on the left side created by a crushing block from fullback John Paul Leal, sprinting 20 yards to the Firebirds' 31.

That set the stage for Cota, the Blue Devils' quarterback. He found Altamirano streaking behind the Firebirds' deep coverage for a 31-yard scoring pass on the next play, securing the 17-7 victory.

Sunnyside's offensive lineman played well against a big and mobile Firebirds defense that was anchored by massive 6-foot-2, 300-pound nose guard Efom Udofia, whom the University of Arizona is recruiting.

Cota also had a big game, completing 11 of 24 throws for 224 yards.

"It was pretty tough out there," said Anthony Bonfiglio, Sunnyside's starting right offensive tackle. "We make sure we are well-conditioned so we can go hard in the fourth quarter."

Sunnyside's cat-quick wide receivers proved to be the difference. Senior Nathan Vega caught six throws from Cota for a game-high 127 yards. George Garza grabbed three throws for 59, and Altamirano's only catch iced Sunnyside's second straight win over the Firebirds.