No Worries for Sunny Hills After Victory Over Troy

Friday night’s Freeway League game between Sunny Hills and Troy high schools offered a match-up of contrasting offenses.

Sunny Hills had an impressive offense, according to its coach. Troy did not. The result was a 31-6 victory by Sunny Hills in front of 2,500 at Fullerton High. That was predictable, given the statistical disparity.

Sunny Hills rushed for 247 yards and passed for 113. Troy ran for 24 and threw for 119. For those scoring at home, that’s a 360-to-141 yard advantage for Sunny Hills.

The worries that Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney expressed about Troy’s potent passing game in the days before the game proved unfounded.

Maybe Devaney was just sandbagging. You know, building up an opponent then burying it.

Sunny Hills built a 28-0 halftime lead, largely on the strength of running by Kenny Overby and Mike Sullivan, but also thanks to a Troy offense that was off target.

By halftime, Troy quarterback Greg Windle was seven for 17 for 69 yards. At one point, he misfired on six straight. Coming into the game, he had completed 53.3% of his passes.

Troy crossed midfield just twice, and the Warriors didn’t get a first down until there was 1:00 left in the first quarter.

Sunny Hills had no such offensive trouble.

Overby scored on runs of six and four yards. Between, quarterback Hakeim McKenzie scored from two yards out and Sullivan ran 16 yards for another.

“The first half was the best we’ve played all year,” Devaney said. “Likewise, it helps any time you can keep a guy (Windle), with the season he’s had so far, down like that.”

The second half was only marginally better for Troy.

A brilliant diving catch by Steve Friedrich at the Sunny Hills 18-yard line set up Troy’s only touchdown, a 13-yard run by Ryan Russell.

Matt Young’s 33-yard field goal with 2:14 left in the third quarter only added the lopsided score.

“This was a must win for us,” Devaney said. “We can’t (goof) around any more. It’s time to say, ‘OK, let’s turn the switch on.’ We’ve worked and worked (on being consistent offensively). Now, it’s time to press the right buttons.”

Sunny Hills (4-3, 2-0) played with a sense of urgency. Troy (3-4, 1-1) played is if it didn’t want to be there. Sunny Hills’ halftime lead had a lot to do with it, though.

Sullivan had 119 yards in 15 carries, Overby gained 106 more in 18 carries and McKenzie completed six of nine passes for 113 yards.

Windle completed 13 of 27 passes for 119 yards with two interceptions. Friedrich, the county’s fifth-leading receiver, had three receptions for 50 yards. Russell gained 34 yards in eight carries.