WEEKLY BLOG: 9/6/19

Prior to the start of their season, the Sunnyslope Vikings found themselves on the cusp of the Arizona Varsity 5A Top 10 Media Poll with the 11th-highest vote total. And then, a 41-14 loss to Notre Dame Prep happened on Aug. 30. That not only kept SHS from appearing in this week's rankings, but it didn't receive a single vote from the 12 panelists (including this author).

But the Vikings didn't get down on themselves after wearing down against a bigger NDP offensive line and failing to hold a 14-13 third quarter lead. They picked themselves back up. They studied film, showcased one of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, unleashed a ferocious swarming defense, and owned the field position battle.

The result is what we call an upset of No. 8 Cienega, and it wasn't even close at 38-10.

It was a first half for Sunnyslope where it simply couldn't be stopped. In four first-half possessions, the Vikings kept the scoreboard operator busy with three touchdowns and a field goal.

"Our offensive and defensive coaches game planned pretty well," Sunnyslope head coach Damon Pieri said. "They stayed in a vanilla defense for the first part of the game and we saw it on film and we took advantage of it."

On a warm, 103-degree evening in North Phoenix, Vikings quarterback Niko Haen moved the ball with ease. He completed his first eight passes and scored the first points of the game on a run around the right side complete with a stiff arm.

Cienega (1-1) answered by going for it on fourth-and-12 from the SHS 34-yard line. Senior Daniel Montana dropped back and hit junior Sebastian Felix coming across the middle for a touchdown.

Sunnyslope (1-1) equaled its point total from its first game in the opening quarter. Haen was 7-of-7 with 96 yards along with 58 more on the ground in the period. A 12-yard pass to Josh Lang put the Vikings on top for good at 14-7.

"Our coaches had us ready," Lang said. "We watched film all week. There were some looks on that touchdown. He hit me back shoulder. Props to Niko for that one."

Lang, filling in for David Haen (high ankle sprain), was the Vikings' top receiver with eight catches for 111 yards. It is not known yet if David Haen will be back next week at Horizon.

In the second quarter, the teams exchanged field goals and Haen later worked the two-minute offense to perfection. Sunnyslope went 75 yards and senior running back Aizik Robles plowed up the middle from three yards out to make it a 24-10 game at the half.

Haen rushed for 120 yards in the game, with most of that coming in the first half. He also completed 13-of-16 passes in the first two quarters.

"There were vulnerabilities in the defense," Haen said. "Over the No. 2 receiver, they were giving us that all the first half and we took advantage of it. I was using my wheels and it was rolling."

Cienega made a change in the second half, switching to a four-man front. That was successful in slowing down the Sunnyslope offense. The Vikings scored just on just one offensive possession the rest of the way, and that was on a short (36-yard) field.

The second half was about the Sunnyslope defense. The Vikings piled up five sacks on the night, including three from senior defensive tackle Nathan Steffen. Cienega is still figuring out its quarterback situation, and played three different ones in the game. Each had drives end with interceptions in consecutive possessions.

"They did a good job in route combinations," Pieri said. "We got a little better pressure than we did against Notre Dame Prep."

The first interception, by junior linebacker David Sing, didn't hurt the Bobcats. A sack from Tyrae McKinney pushed the Vikings out of field goal range.

Later in the quarter, sophomore Xander Georgoulis picked off a pass that was thrown into double coverage. Sunnyslope started at the CHS 36 and made its way to the 12. A pass that appeared to be a lateral was scooped up by Isaiah Webb, who had a clear path to the end zone. Unfortunately for Cienega, it was whistled as an incomplete pass. Instead of the score turning to 24-17, Lang ran a jet sweep on the very next play and it was 31-10.

Linebacker Jack Pieri was the Vikings' leading tackler against Notre Dame with 14 tackles and he had close to that many in this one. The 6-foot, 180-pound son of the head coach was all over the field meeting ball carriers. He also jumped in front of a short pass attempt and took it 30 yards to the end zone to finish out the scoring.

"The defense stepped it up big time this week," Lang said. "The pick-six at the end was huge."

The final aspect that has to be touched on is the special teams for Sunnyslope. With kickoffs by Lang constantly crossing the end zone, along with punts from Haen following either good field position, or a couple first downs, Cienega started nine of its 11 drives from its own 20-yard line.

Cienega played a lot of juniors. And they're a group not used to being dominated. Two years ago as freshmen, the Bobcats went 6-2. Last year, many of them were on an undefeated JV squad. It was also a group that gained some confidence after a 48-7 win against Cholla last week.

"It was a punch in our face a little bit," Cienega head coach Pat Nugent said. "We were pretty excited about our O-Line and D-Line. We've got to get better. The No. 1 team in the state is coming next week."

That would be Centennial, which is coming off a 71-21 loss to Mater Dei (the No. 2 team in America, according to USA Today's national rankings).

While Nugent was pleased with the way the Bobcats changed it up defensively in the second half, the way the game went wasn't something he was accustomed to. Cienega is 33-5 over the past three seasons.

"We don't walk off many fields saying the other team's better than us," Nugent said. "But tonight, there was no question they were better."

The victory for Sunnyslope also means there will be some modifications in the uniform department per school tradition.

First Quarter:
Sun - Niko Haen 3 yard run (Kyle Cunanan kick), 8:37
Cien - Sebastian Felix 34 yard pass from Daniel Montana (Juliano Reis kick), 3:16
Sun - Josh Lang 12 yard pass from Haen (Cunanan kick), 0:44
Second Quarter:
Sun - Cunanan 31 yard FG, 8:22
Cien - Reis 27 yard FG, 2:47
Sun - Aizik Robles 3 yard run (Cunanan kick), 0:32
Third Quarter:
No Scoring
Fourth Quarter:
Sun - Lang 12 yard run (Cunanan kick), 11:04
Sun - Jack Pieri 30 yard interception return (Cunanan kick), 9:44