Troy Comes Back to Tie Sunny Hills

Troy, which hasn’t beaten Sunny Hills since 1979, had to be content with a 21-21 tie in a Freeway League game Friday night at Cal State Fullerton.

If nothing else, Troy prevented Sunny Hills from clinching the league championship and erased some of the bitter memories of the past 13 years with what Coach John Turek called “our finest effort of the season.”

Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney knew what to expect in a game filled with emotion and big plays. “I knew it was going to be a game, I don’t care what their record was coming in here,” Devaney said. “There wasn’t any doubt in my mind this was going to be a tough game.”

It looked as if the rout was on when Sunny Hills (7-1-1, 3-0-1) scored twice in the first quarter. Lancer running back Jeff Willis, who finished with 148 yards in 12 carries, broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown run. Then he added a five-yard scoring run to give the Lancers a 14-0 lead.

Troy quarterback Brian Logan played his best game of the season, completing 11 of 17 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. The Warriors also had 140 yards rushing.

Troy (4-4-1, 2-1-1) executed two long scoring drives in the second quarter to tie the score. The Warriors went 75 yards for their first score, when Logan connected with Rob Ruzzi on a two-yard touchdown pass to trim Sunny Hills’ lead to 14-7.

Troy followed the first drive with a 77-yard march that was aided by a pass interference penalty. Troy fullback James Hartford scored on a three-yard run to tie the score, 14-14.

Troy surprised Sunny Hills in the second half when defensive back Brian Poor intercepted Lancer quarterback Bobby Sunderland’s first pass, giving Troy a first down at the Sunny Hills 41-yard line. Ruzzi scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run and Troy had a 21-14 lead.

Sunny Hills tied the score, 21-21, after a short punt by Troy’s Chris Blume. Jacob Cuccia’s 20-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter set up a wild fourth quarter.

The Lancers drove to Troy’s 10-yard line with 5:56 remaining. But Troy’s defense stopped Cuccia at the one-yard line on fourth down, ending the threat.

“We really wanted a win,” Turek said. “That was about as good as we can play. I’m really proud of the kids. Sunny Hills probably will win the championship, and the best we can do is finish third, but it was a lot of fun playing the game at Cal State Fullerton.

“We got down by two touchdowns early, but the kids didn’t quit. We rose to the occasion with the goal-line stand in the fourth quarter. This game had a little bit of everything.”

Everything, that is, except a winning team.