Sunnyside advances to the 5A semifinal round. Ulysses Torres-Palacios (10) attempts a header. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

They appear to be a little faster, a little stronger and even a little better. The Sunnyside Blue Devils appear to be a few steps ahead of the competition this year and it showed in a 3-0 win over a very talented Cienega squad Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.

SALPOINTE/CIENEGA UPDATE AT AZPREPS365.COM

Manuel Quiroz with 35 goals on the year for Sunnyside #AZPreps365 pic.twitter.com/TMKUGRqzx3

— Andy Morales (@AZPreps365Andy) February 13, 2019

WINTER PLAYOFFS

TUESDAY, FEB. 12

SOCCER QUARTERFINALS: BOYS 5A
No. 1 Sunnyside over No. 8 Cienega 3-0
No. 2 Rincon/UHS over No. 7 Ironwood, 0-0 (5-4 PK)
No. 5 Independence over No. 4 Desert View 3-1

SOCCER QUARTERFINALS: BOYS 4A
No. 1 Salpointe over No. 8 Amphitheater, 9-0
No. 4 Flagstaff over No. 5 Douglas, 2-1
No. 7 Catalina Foothills over No. 2 Tempe, 2-1

SOCCER QUARTERFINALS: GIRLS 4A
No. 5 Catalina Foothills over No. 4 Flagstaff, 4-0

4A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 4 Salpointe 90, No. 13 Palo Verde 48
No. 8 Amphitheater 67, No. 9 Estrella Foothills 62
No. 11 Catalina Foothills 59, No. 6 Seton Catholic 54

5A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No, 12 Casteel 48, No. 5 Buena 31
No. 9 Maricopa 58, No. 8 Marana 48
No. 13 Rincon/UHS 51, No. 4 Desert Mountain 44
No. 1 Millennium 79, No. 16 Cholla 22
No. 2 Gilbert 66, No. 15 Ironwood Ridge 31

3A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 21 Monument Valley 61, No. 12 Pusch Ridge 56

2A GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAY-IN
No. 12 Desert Christian 62, No. 21 Pima 61 (OT)
No. 16 Glendale Prep 37, No. 17 Bisbee 25
No. 14 Scottsdale Prep 52, No. 19 Benson 38
No. 13 Camp Verde 68, No. 20 Santa Cruz 40

Manuel Quiroz (22) battles Cienega’s Jeylen Moore. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13

SOCCER QUARTERFINALS: GIRLS 5A
No. 9 Cactus Shadows at No. 1 Ironwood Ridge, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Rincon/UHS at No. 2 Casteel, 6 p.m.

SOCCER QUARTERFINALS: GIRLS 4A
No. 6 Prescott at No. 3 Salpointe, 6 p.m.
No. 7 Sahuaro at No. 2 Arcadia, 6 p.m.

5A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 10 Cholla at No. 7 Sunnyslope, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Nogales at No. 5 Cactus Shadows, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Mountain View at No. 1 Gilbert, 7 p.m.

3A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 19 Catalina at No. 14 Window Rock, 6:30 pm.

2A BOYS BASKETBALL PLAY-IN
No. 18 Hopi at No. 15 San Manuel, 6:30 p.m.

6A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 12 Tucson at No. 5 Highland, 7 p.m.

4A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 13 Greenway at No. 4 Sahuaro, 7 p.m.
No..11 Cactus at No. 6 Salpointe, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Rio Rico at No. 7 Flagstaff, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Pueblo at No. 5 Desert Edge, 7 p.m.

Casey O’Brien (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

THURSDAY, FEB. 14

5A GIRLS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
No. 13 Rincon/UHS at No. 12 Casteel, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEB. 15

4A BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
No. 12 Mesquite at No. 4 Salpointe, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Amphitheater at No. 1 Shadow Mountain, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Catalina Foothills at No. 3 Buckeye, 7 p.m.

2A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 6 St. Augustine vs. TBD at Yavapai, 9 a.m.

1A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 2 Gregory School vs. No. 15 Seligman at Prescott, 7:30 p.m.
No. 9 Patagonia vs. No. Mogollon at Prescott, 1:30 p.m.

3A GIRLS BASKETBALL SECOND ROUND
No. 1 Sabino vs. No. 16 Paradise Honors at Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
No. 5 Tanque Verde vs. No. 21 Monument Valley at Amphitheater, 5:30 p.m.

2A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 12 Desert Christian vs. No. 5 Velley Sanders at Bradshaw Mountain, 4:30 p.m.

1A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
No. 15 Cibecue vs. No. 3 Baboquivari at Bradshaw Mountain, 10:30 a.m.
No. 9 St. David vs. No. 8 Grand Canyon at Prescott, 9 a.m.
No. 12 Valley Union vs. No. 5 Mogollon at Prescott, 3 p.m.
No. 14 Immaculate Heart vs. No. 3 Anthem Prep at Bradshaw Mountain, 9 a.m.

Dean Nourse talks to the Bobcats at halftime. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

SATURDAY, FEB. 16

SOCCER SEMIFINALS: BOYS 5A
No. 1 Sunnyside vs. No. 5 Independence at Coronado, 11 a.m.
No. 2 Rincon/UHS vs. No. 3 Campo Verde at Coronado, 1 p.m.

SOCCER SEMIFINALS: BOYS 4A
No. 1 Salpointe vs. No. 4 Flagstaff at Williams Field, 11 a.m.
No. 7 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 6 Prescott at Williams Field, 1 p.m.

SOCCER SEMIFINALS: GIRLS 4A
No. 5 Catalina Foothills vs. TBD at Williams Field, 3 p.m.

3A BOYS BASKETBALL SECOND ROUND
No. 5 Pusch Ridge vs. TBD, 6:30 p.m.
No. 8 Sabino vs. TBD, 6:30 p.m.

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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at