SUNNYSIDE 24, TUCSON HIGH 17
Sunnyside steps up in the second half
Blue Devils coach unhappy with start
KEN BRAZZLE
Tucson Citizen

Sunnyside High School coach Richard Sanchez had nothing to say to his team at halftime Friday night, even though the Blue Devils were up by three points on Tucson High.

"They knew they had to come out and play better,'' Sanchez said.

Sunnyside (3-2) scored on its first two possessions of the second half and went on to hold off Tucson High 24-17.

"We weren't playing to our level,'' Sunnyside running back Manny Aguilar said. "All we said was that we weren't playing to our level and we had to pick it up or get our butts whipped.

"Our receivers picked it up. Our line picked it up and the running backs picked it up,'' said Aguilar, who rushed for 116 yards on 22 carries.

Aguilar capped the first scoring drive of the second half with a 42-yard run. The next drive was capped by quarterback Jesus Vega's 1-yard run.

Vega threw a nine-yard TD pass to Brandon Vaughn in the first quarter to help Sunnyside lead 10-7 at the half.

Tucson High (2-3) managed to stay within striking distance of Sunnyside with big plays.

Wide receiver William Griffin returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score as the first half expired.

The touchdown followed a 35-yard field goal from Hector Solis with 13 seconds left in the half.

The Badgers scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to seven, but could get no closer.