Sunny Hills Wins First of Season

Sunny Hills running backs Kevin Haiola and Adam Rodriguez combined for 220 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Lancers beat Sonora, 27-10, in a Freeway League game Friday night at La Habra High.

Haiola rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Sunny Hills got its first victory of the season. “We knew we had to come out strong and win tonight,” Haiola said.

After a scoreless first quarter, Sonora linebacker Ralph Fernandez intercepted a Chris Zeller pass and returned it to the Lancer 10. However, the Sunny Hills defense stiffened and the Raiders (2-5, 1-1) had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Chris Rico.

On the Lancers’ next possession, Haiola outran the Sonora secondary en route to a 61-yard touchdown to give the Lancers a 7-3 lead.

Sunny Hills increased it lead 1:28 later when linebacker Guy Porter intercepted a Clint Patton pass and raced in from 30 yards.

Midway through the third quarter, Rodriguez increased the Lancers’ lead to 20-3 when he scored from 37 yards. Rodriguez finished with 66 yards in 11 carries, including a touchdown.

With 4:51 left in the game, Haiola secured the victory as he scored his second touchdown on an eight-yard run to make it 27-3.

Patton tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to David Cunningham late in the game to close out the scoring.

“They hammered us,” Sonora Coach Mark Takkinen said. “After losing last week, [Sunny Hills] came in here like a wounded animal backed into a corner. They had to defend themselves. Give Tim [Devaney] and his team all the credit, they were prepared.”

The Lancers’ defense, led by Jason Hayward and Jeff Burton, recorded six sacks and held Sonora to 20 total yards in the first half.