Sunnyside’s performance in its first two flag football games this fall make it seem as though the Blue Devils have played the sport for as long as the nearly 70 years the school has been open.
The 70th anniversary takes place next school year for Sunnyside, which opened its doors to ninth and 10th graders in 1955-56.
Almost four generations later, Sunnyside is making history and lasting memories with a brand new sport, beginning 2-0 while outscoring the first two opponents 68-7.
Thursday’s 30-7 win over Buena, in the first flag-football game ever at Sunnyside’s field, followed a 38-0 drubbing of host Maricopa Desert Sunrise in the inaugural game Tuesday.
“What helped us a lot were the fans; I appreciate the fans coming out,” said junior quarterback Anyssa Lerma, who took control of the game from the start with her football smarts and athleticism.
“We have a really good school spirit and that helps us out. What helped us win this game today was our energy. I always preach to the players that it’s just not who is the quickest, who is the strongest and who is the smartest … it’s who is more mentally tough here.”
Lerma pointed to her head.
Her teammates followed her showing a lot of heart and skill.
.@SHSDevilSports QB Anyssa Lerma and WR/K Kassandra Flores were two of many standouts for the Blue Devils in their 30-7 win over Buena in the school’s first home game in school history to improve to 2-0. Lerma passed for two TDs and ran for another and Flores ran for a TD and… pic.twitter.com/SEtk4T4IMm
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 20, 2024
Lerma completed 8 of 16 pass attempts for 146 yards, including a 68-yard connection to Isela Rodriguez, who finished with 77 yards on two receptions.
Lerma also rushed for 41 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown.
“I’m proud of her; we always talk about team,” said Sunnyside coach Alfredo Lerma, her father. “In order for her to do her job, everybody else has to do their job. She understands that. She understands her position.
“I know sometimes she makes it seem really easy, but it’s not, because everybody else does their job. … We always preach team. There’s not one person who will win us the game.”
Alexsandra Arce-Marquez was Anyssa Lerma’s top target, catching six passes for 63 yards with a touchdown.
Kassandra Flores rushed for a 20-yard touchdown and caught a 2-yard scoring pass from the younger Lerma.
In one of the most dramatic moments of the night, Flores, a member of Sunnyside’s soccer team, nailed a 46-yard field goal attempt to cap the game’s scoring with 7:25 left.
WOW!
46-yard FG by Kassandra Flores of Sunnyside.
Blue Devils 30-7 with 7:25 left https://t.co/TzN3y9uMy3 pic.twitter.com/e844Bf2Hbq— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 20, 2024
“Honestly, the ref was asking, ‘Can you get it?’ and I wasn’t sure,” Flores said of her field goal. “I wasn’t sure but I had her there (pointing to Anyssa Lerma). As my captain, she’s my biggest supporter on the field.
“She was one of the reasons I made it, for sure. It felt good hearing the fans, the family and friends that come out. It’s a great feeling having them out here.”
Sunnyside scored its first touchdown in program history at home on its very first possession, with Anyssa Lerma capping the eight-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. She had a 20-yard run and connected with Arce-Marquez on two passes for 24 yards in the possession.
.@SHSDevilSports coach Alfredo Lerma and his staff have coached the Blue Devils to a 2-0 start in their inaugural flag football season. His daughter Anyssa is a player to watch especially as a junior at QB. Born leader as a coach’s daughter. She played tackle football for him… pic.twitter.com/dxtr8hLKRT
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 20, 2024
The game was a stalemate until Buena’s Aryanna Garcia completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Iyana Holcomb, tying the game at 7 with 2:55 left in the first half.
Sunnyside immediately struck back in a big way with a touchdown set up by the 68-yard pass from Lerma to Rodriguez. The 2-yard scoring completion from Lerma to Arce-Marquez gave Sunnyside a 14-7 lead going into halftime.
The Blue Devils stopped Buena on downs in the Colts’ first possession of the second half and proceeded to score another touchdown following a 27-yard pass from Lerma to Arce-Marquez that set up Flores’ 20-yard scoring run with 6:55 left in the third quarter.
Sunnyside led 20-7 at that point.
“This was our first time getting scored on,” Anyssa Lerma said of Buena’s touchdown after Sunnyside shut out Desert Sunrise. “We didn’t know how to come back from that, right? Second half we came in and allowed no points and that’s because we were mentally strong.
“We were mentally ready; we knew what we had to do. We thank our coaches for preparing us for this game today. That helped us win today.”
Two plays into Buena’s ensuing drive, Lerma intercepted a pass at the Buena 15.
That led to her 2-yard touchdown pass to Flores with 4:31 left in the third quarter.
After the Colts were stopped on fourth down at the Sunnyside 40, a 21-yard run by Flores put her in position for her 46-yard field goal.
The Lermas share another interesting dynamic other than a father-daughter, coach-player relationship.
They coach together with the Southwest Rams youth football organization. The younger Lerma played five years for her dad with the Rams before attending high school.
“It’s almost like having a coach on the field,” Alfredo Lerma said. “She can read defenses really well. She’s played football before. She has football IQ, so that definitely helps us.”
Sunnyside and Desert View (1-1) meet Monday in the highly anticipated first Duel in the District matchup in flag football at Desert View starting at 6 p.m.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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