Cienega’s Ritchie McCormack, left, goes head-to-head with Sunnyside’s Johnny Rendon on a carry in their game Friday. The Bobcats won 34-0.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Cienega muscled its way past Sunnyside in a convincing 34-0 win Friday night, marking the team’s fourth consecutive victory.

Two-way player Ritchie McCormack picked off Sunnyside quarterback Deion Conde on the opening drive of the game and the Bobcats immediately scored a touchdown on a run from Cole McFarland in what turned out to be a tone-setting sequence.

Cienega asserted itself as the superior team early on, scoring 21 points in the game’s first 13 minutes of play. After the McFarland run, the Bobcats special teams stepped up with a blocked punt scoop-and-score, then added to the lead with a rushing TD from McCormack.

Over their last two games, the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 90-0.

Cienega's Joshua Consavage stretches the ball into the end zone over Sunnyside's Roman Canez to return a blocked punt for a touchdown in the first quarter.

β€œWe’ve really been preaching to our kids not waiting until the second half to turn it on, but play all four quarters,” Cienega coach Justin Argraves said. β€œThese last four weeks have been fun.”

Right before halftime, the Bobcats had a drive of five-plus minutes that culminated in a rushing touchdown from senior CJ Hangartner, his first rushing score of the season.

β€œIt feels great to have so many guys that can score. I love it,” Cienega quarterback Brayden Cherry said.

Cherry, who’s thrown for six touchdowns and just shy of 600 yards over his last three games, didn’t have to shoulder too much of the offensive responsibilities as the team’s offensive line and running back group led the way.

β€œI barely got touched tonight. It was so nice,” he said.

Sunnyside's Samario Garcia, left, makes the catch despite tight coverage from Cole McFarland on Friday night.

Down 28-0, Sunnyside began the second half with a bit of trickery and nearly had a successful onside kick recovery. The Blue Devils kicker softly dribbled the kick in front of him but was flagged for illegal touching by recovering the kick before it reached 10 yards.

Two plays later, McFarland took a direct snap out of the backfield 44 yards for a score to put the game out of reach.

On the other side, mistakes prevented the Blue Devils from snapping a two-game losing streak. From defensive missed assignments, to penalties on offense, Sunnyside was out of sync from the get-go.

The Bobcats’ defense constantly had pressure in the face of Conde, who had to scramble out of the pocket on several occasions and was forced to make off balance throws. Conde was intercepted twice after going the previous four weeks without one.

After starting the year 4-1, the Blue Devils are now 4-4.

As the regular season comes to a close, Cienega still has games remaining at Marana and home against Rincon/University. Sunnyside will finish with a home game next week vs. Rincon followed by a road game at Nogales.

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Contact sports producer Alec White at 573-4161 or awhite1@tucson.com.