Salpointe rebounds from loss to beat Sunnyside

That one day ignited a spark to come across town to beat Sunnyside 37-14 on Friday night.

“This game is personal for me,” said Bene. “At the end of the day, you have to play good football to beat Sunnyside.”

Both teams came into this game with tough losses last week. Salpointe (3-1) lost to Tucson 14-3 and the Blue Devils (3-2) were beaten by Mountain View 52-8.

To prepare for this week the Lancers focused on execution.

It definitely sunk in as they were ready on the very first drive. Two big passes from senior quarterback Sean Barton (5 for 5, 81 yards) highlighted the five-play drive. One was 13 yards to senior running back Trevor Volpe (who finished with two touchdown runs of 6 and 1 yards). The other was to freshman wide receiver, Bijan Robinson — for a 52-yard touchdown.

“I just saw the players slip off me,” Robinson said. “I did a step back and bounced out and he couldn’t tackle me and I was gone.”

Salpointe’s next score came with 2:24 left in the first quarter on a 23-yard run by senior DeMarco Vasquez.

Salpointe’s only mistake of the first half came as Raphael Mencias picked off a pass from senior quarterback Kameron Carmickle (5 for 6, 42 yards) on the Lancers’ 41-yard line. A few plays later, Sunnyside didn’t make the first down on fourth-and-3, turning the ball over on downs to Salpointe.

Carmickle came right back on the next drive completing three passes (12, 5, and 17 yards) and Volpe finished off the drive with a 2-yard run.

At the half, the Lancers were up 23-0, gaining 193 yards on 27 plays. Sunnyside was limited to 16 plays and 28 yards, with 38 yards in penalties.

Sunnyside’s two scores came in the fourth quarter on two 1-yard runs by Joey Hernandez (7 carries for 22 yards). Senior running back Adam Valenzuela finished with 11 carries for 99 yards, including breaking a 35-yard run to set up Hernandez’s second score. Junior quarterback Alex Alvarado was 4 for 10 for 37 yards.

“We just have to build on this,” said Sunnyside coach Roy Lopez. “We have to be part of the solution, not mistakes. We don’t want to make losing a habit.” http://tinyurl.com/jum2pnz