Sunny Hills Rolls Over Fullerton, Clinches Title Tie

Sunny Hills High School, the defending Freeway League champions, clinched at least a tie for the league title with a 28-0 victory over Fullerton Friday night in front of 3,500 at Buena Park High.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Lancers (6-3, 4-0 in league) over Fullerton, which dropped to 7-2 and 3-1. Fullerton and Buena Park, which play next Thursday, are tied for second place and both are bound for the playoffs.

The Lancers now have outscored their league opponents, 118-6. The only touchdown they have allowed in those games was scored two weeks ago by Troy.

“The defense has risen to the occasion all year long,” said Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney, who is guaranteed of his 10th winning season in 11 years at the school. “There’s no reason they are not going to play good football against their cross-town rivals.”

That they did.

The Lancer defense was outstanding throughout the night, allowing Fullerton 64 yards rushing and 58 passing and sacking Indian quarterback Daniel Chacon six times. Jeff Hicks had three of those sacks, Clayton Lau had two, and Mark Veronda added another.

On offense, Sunny Hills relied on senior running back Mike Sullivan, who rushed for 106 yards in 13 carries and two touchdowns.

Sullivan set the stage for the Lancer rout on the opening kickoff, which he returned 31 yards to the Fullerton 38-yard line.

From there, Sunny Hills marched the remaining 62 yards on 11 plays, opening the scoring on a two-yard run by Sullivan with 7:30 left in the first quarter.

The Lancers increased their lead to 14-0 with 8:10 left in the second period on a one-yard sneak by senior quarterback Hakeim McKenzie. The touchdown was set up on the previous play, a fourth-and-five situation from the Fullerton 36-yard line. Running back Kenny Overby connected with wide receiver Stephen Choe on a 35-yard flea-flicker.

Sunny Hills needed only one play on its next possession to take a 21-0 halftime lead.

Sullivan broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and sprinted along the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left in the half.

The next touchdown showed that Sunny Hills was both good and lucky on this night.

On a fourth-and-five from their own 28-yard line, punter Steve Ashton took the snap from center, but decided not to try to punt because of heavy pressure from a Fullerton defender. He then took off up the right sideline and didn’t stop until he had scored a 72-yard touchdown with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

Overby, the other half of a dynamic rushing tandem with Sullivan, gained 46 yards in 11 carries.

Chacon, the running quarterback, had better luck passing the ball than he did rushing. He completed all eight passes he attempted for 58 yards but was held to minus 16 yards on the ground.