Sunnyside shut out Nogales 24-0 Friday on Homecoming Night to open up 5A Southern play.
The Blue Devils are 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the region. Nogales is 2-3 and 0-2.
Both teams struggled offensively for most of the first quarter.
“Flags, we don’t want them, but we need to be disciplined next game; we have Desert View (on Thursday at home), and we know we need to clean that up,” senior receiver Ismael Martinez said about Sunnyside’s offensive struggles and penalty problems throughout the game.
The Blue Devils put themselves in good field position off a tipped ball by a Nogales receiver and interception by senior William Dorame.
Sunnyside capitalized, running the ball down the field, ending its drive with a 6-yard touchdown run by senior Jesus Sierra.
In the early minutes of the second quarter, Sunnyside added a field goal.
The Apaches secured a turnover of their own with a muffed punt by Sunnyside, setting themselves up at the Blue Devils’ 25-yard line.
Nogales failed to capitalize on the turnover.
Sunnyside’s rushing attack continued to dominate, running all the way down to the Apache 20.
On one of the Blue Devils’ few passing plays in the first half, sophomore Ray Leon III found sophomore Vidal Arroyo for the 20-yard score.
Nogales looked to add points before half by causing another special teams turnover, this time blocking a punt. The Apaches didn’t have enough time on the clock to shrink their deficit, keeping the score 17-0 in Sunnyside’s favor.
The third quarter was fairly similar to the first quarter, with both offenses continuing to struggle.
The Blue Devils had the opportunity to extend their lead to 20, but the ball hit the upright on the field goal attempt.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils scored on a 58-yard pass from Leon III to Martinez, extending their lead to 24.
“The play before, I messed up, and I had my head down, and I told my coaches, ‘I’m going to get it back’. They kept my head up and the very next drive I made that play,” Martinez said about his touchdown.
Sunnyside’s focus now shifts to its biggest game of the year against Desert View for the “Duel in the District.”
Desert View has won the last two games; last season, the Jaguars dominated in a 35-14 victory over the Blue Devils, and in 2024, they won 29-28 in overtime. Sunnyside still leads the series 16-9.
“We’re going to watch film, know what we need to do, perfect every little detail because there’s a lot that goes into it and we’re going to need to do it,” Martinez said.
Kickoff is Thursday at 7 p.m.
Nogales will take another long bus ride to Tucson for its region game against Flowing Wells Friday at 7 p.m.
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