Salpointe steps it up
Defense, rushing help Lancers top host Sunnyside
By Casey Crowe
Arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.27.2008

Consider the turnaround complete.

Behind another stifling defensive effort and 117 yards from star running back Christian Ramirez, Salpointe Catholic High School kept its record unblemished, grinding out a 17-9 victory at Sunnyside.

At this time last year, the Lancers were in a funk, owners of a 1-3 record which included a 17-0 loss at home to these Blue Devils.

"We've already gotten revenge on three of the teams we lost to last year," said Salpointe Catholic safety Chase Gallagher. "Brophy, Basha, and Sunnyside all beat us last year. And now we've turned the tables on them all."

And the Lancers did it on Friday by beating Sunnyside at its own game — a steady diet of runs straight at the Blue Devils, flanked by a dominating effort on the other side of the ball.

While the Lancers' offense earns all the praise, it was the Salpointe defense that again dominated the flow of the game, keeping Sunnyside's premier back, Manny Aguilar, to just 65 yards on 15 carries.

"I've been waiting for the defense to get some love for a while now," said Gallagher. "We've been getting after it."

With the Blue Devils' trademark running game struggling to move the ball, Sunnyside went airborne — exactly the situation it was trying to avoid.

Sunnyside quarterback Jesus Vega, a senior transfer from Cholla, tried to throw the Blue Devils back into the contest.

But the Lancers secondary ensured that wasn't going to happen, blanketing the Blue Devils receivers, allowing the line and linebackers to the tune of four sacks.

Vega finished 11 of 26 for 133 yards, unable to drive Sunnyside into the end zone all night.

"We didn't go into it thinking that we were just going to run the ball. We were going to play with what they gave," said Vega. "We just didn't execute very good."

Sunnyside found the scoreboard on its first drive of the game, producing a vintage 12-play, 76-yard drive that took up nearly five minutes. Hector Solis' 27-yard field goal capped the drive.

Salpointe responded in the second quarter, breaking into the lead as Ramirez seared Sunnyside for a 16-yard touchdown run, giving the Lancers a 7-3 advantage.

Solis sliced the deficit to 7-6 with another field goal, this one a 23-yarder, completing the scoring for the first half.

Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez said earlier in the week that if the Blue Devils were within striking distance at halftime, he would consider it momentum for his squad.

But that was quickly erased on Sunnyside's first snap of the second half — a fumble by the usually reliable Aguilar.

While Salpointe Catholic failed to cash in on the miscue via the scoreboard on that drive, it came back to take the lead on its next possession of the half as Sam Seeger drilled a 37-yard field goal for a 10-6 lead.

Ramirez put the game on lockdown in the fourth with a 2-yard score to cap a 14-play, 64-yard drive with his second touchdown, making it 17-6.

It could've been worse for the Blue Devils. Two touchdown connections between Salpointe quarterback Trevor Eggleston and Mike Descisciolo, 39 and 59 yards respectively, were both negated by illegal motion penalties.

"Feel bad for Mike D., but I tried to pick him up," said Ramirez.