Sunny Hills Wins North of the Border

EDMONTON, Canada — Strong running and solid defense helped Sunny Hills defeat Edmonton Ross Sheppard, 36-9, Friday night at the Thunder Bowl.

Sunny Hills’ Jeff Willis rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown in eight carries, and Jacob Cuccia added 66 yards and a touchdown in five carries.

“We came into this game expecting to get a good football game,” Lancer Coach Tim Devaney said. “Brian (Buchynski, Sheppard coach) knew the kind of football that California teams play, so I knew he would be very well prepared to play, and it showed.”

The Lancers, playing by Canadian rules, took control from the beginning, scoring a single point when the opening kickoff was not returned out of the end zone, then stopping the T-Birds on a third-down fake punt attempt.

On a second and one from the T-Bird 53, Willis took a pitch and scrambled for 30 yards to the Sheppard 32. Cuccia then carried the ball twice, 31 yards to the one and from there for a touchdown. The T-Birds blocked the extra-point try.

The Lancers scored in the second quarter when quarterback Bobby Sunderland rolled right and hit wide-open tight end Brian Willmer down the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown.

The T-Birds scored just two single points in the half on missed field goals not went into the end zone and were not returnable.