Gridiron Guide: Sunnyside a must-see, must-eat
The west view from the top of the football stadium has an excellent view of the field and the Tucson Mountains at Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star
School: Sunnyside
Name: None
Address: 1725 E. Bilby Road
Opened: 1971. When the school opened in 1955, the football field was originally further north on the campus, close to where the baseball field is now. The stadium was moved to its current location roughly 15 years later.
The lowdown: Sunnyside is a can’t-miss affair for high school football fans in Tucson. Numerous local legends have been produced on that field — from running backs Fred Sims to Philo Sanchez to Xavier Smith — and Richard Sanchez, one of the top coaches in Southern Arizona history, walked those sidelines for 18 seasons. There have been many sold-out crowds, dating to the 1980s and as recently as in 2010 in a game when the Blue Devils hosted district rival Desert View.
Don’t miss: The carne asada. Nowhere else in Tucson on Friday nights can you get fantastic burritos to enjoy while you watch football. If you haven’t tried it before, the Blue Devils have home games this season on Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 25, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30. “Great carne asada is a staple on the south side, and we brought it to the football games,” said Sunnyside coach Glenn Posey, also a former player. “It just really took off like wildfire.”
Biggest game: An estimated 8,000 fans packed into the stadium for the 2006 regular-season finale as the Blue Devils hosted Salpointe Catholic with the 5A Southern Region championship on the line. After falling into an 11-point deficit, Sunnyside rallied back for a 22-20 win against the previously unbeaten Lancers. Senior quarterback Sammy Olivas connected with fellow senior Anthony Aguilar for the go-ahead score with 7:31 left in the game. The Blue Devils finished as the 5A-II state runner-up that year.
Performance for the ages: Philo Sanchez turned in a career performance in one of his final home games. The 5-foot-7-inch, 176-pound running back rushed for a whopping 325 yards and five touchdowns on 44 carries in a 42-23 victory in a 2001 state playoff win over Prescott. Sunnyside went on to win its first state title. Sanchez finished with 2,479 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Quotable: “We’ve had a lot of great games, a lot of big wins and some huge disappointing losses here at this damn place.” – Posey
