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Umpire Bob Bertagnoli inadvertently backs into Mountain View's Ben Johnson, springing Sunnyside's Manny Aguilar for long gain to the Mountain View 1-foot line. The run set up a third-quarter TD for Sunnyside.

Kelly Presnell / arizona daily star

Sunnyside holds on for win

Devils edge Lions, remain unbeaten



By John Holden
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.20.2007

In a game that featured fast and furious offenses, Sunnyside's defense stepped up when it counted.

Thanks to two key stops late in each half, the Blue Devils remained undefeated with a 49-42 home victory over Mountain View on Friday night.

Sunnyside (8-0, 1-0 5A-II Southern Region) pressured the Mountain Lions into turning the ball over on downs up 42-35 with five minutes left in the game, breaking the entertaining back-and-forth scoring that was on display.

"They were in a formation in which we couldn't really bring any extra guys," Blue Devil coach Richard Sanchez said. "Once we got one ahead, and they kinda panic and change their personnel, we're able to change ours and start bringing guys. That's why we started getting those sacks and putting pressure on the quarterback."

After a tense first half during which the teams traded touchdowns, the skies opened up offensively in the second half.

Both teams combined for five touchdowns in just under six minutes in the middle of the second half, including a 94-yard touchdown run by Mountain View's
Dan Moore and a beautiful spiraling 35-yard touchdown pass by Sunnyside quarterback Jamie Valdez to Billy Gonzales in the back of the end zone.

Valdez, a senior, was unstoppable in the second half. He had four rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown and 393 yards of total offense. He also threw more confidently and successfully after halftime.

"At halftime I went to coach (Glenn) Posey, and he said you know we're going to beat them with the pass game. We knew what we had to do, and we knew what the game plan was," said Valdez.

Neither Sunnyside nor Mountain View (5-3, 0-1) held a lead of more than seven points until Sunnyside's Manny Aguilar scampered into the end zone with 4:12 left to give the Blue Devils a 49-35 lead.

The Mountain Lions struck in the final minute when Ben Johnson's pass to Denny Hawkins made the score 49-42 with 26 seconds remaining.

But Sunnyside's Hugo Blanco fell on the onside kick to end the game and Mountain View's five-game winning streak.

Sunnyside's defense also stood up the Mountain Lions' offense right on the goal line in the second quarter, stopping Johnson's sneak on fourth down.

"Both teams had some mistakes, and that's probably what happened," said Johnson. "We had some mistakes, and that kind of turned it over."

Moore led Mountain View with 205 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Johnson had 97 yards passing.

Sunnyside's Jovan Stevenson had only 47 yards rushing while playing with a taped ankle.

Manny Aguilar had two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

"I think we will see them in the playoffs later on, and hopefully they'll see that we weren't a joke," Johnson said. "It wasn't a pushover game, we fought all the way to the end."