Sunnyside 32, Cienega 29
At Cienega, Sunnyside and the Bobcats played a pretty normal first three quarters, but combined for a furious fourth quarter that saw four-lead changes and a big-time player in Sunnyside QB Nick O'Hagin make a big-time play.
With his team trailing by five with under four minutes to play, O'Hagin completed a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Gabriel Soto, then on the next play, he pulled the ball down and ran through a hole and hugged the right sidelines for a 39-yard game winning touchdown.
"I dropped back and it parted like the Red Sea," O'Hagin said after the game. "My line did a great job and Daniel (Hernandez) made a great block on three people near the goal line to get me in the end zone."
Down by 7 at halftime, Cienega started the fourth quarter scoring on a fourth-down pass to tie the game at 16. On the ensuing possession, a bad snap by Sunnyside was recovered in the end zone by linebacker Brandon Cross, and Cienega would lead for the first time. After a Sunnyside score, Cienega would take the lead again before O'Hagin's heroics in the final minutes.
Cienega will travel to Tucson High next week and Sunnyside will host Sierra Vista Buena.
Highlight reel
During the back-and-forth fourth quarter, Cienega quarterback Walker Frighetti found Wyatt Dansbee for what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown only for him to fumble at the 2-yard line. Fortunately for Cienega, teammate Kaleb Bost was right there to scoop up the ball and score a go-ahead touchdown and make it 29-24 late.
Player of the game
O'Hagin ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing for 232 yards. He led his team to two go-ahead touchdowns, including the game-winning run in the fourth quarter.
By the numbers
36. After just 25 points were scored in the first three quarters, both teams put on an offensive display combining for 36 total points in the fourth quarter.
He said it
"These aren't all style points and we'll take a win anyway we can get one." said Sunnyside coach Glenn Posey.
Sam Martin
