DIVISION VII : Sunny Hills Overcomes Kennedy, Flags

Despite being penalized heavily for the second consecutive week, Sunny Hills defeated Kennedy, 28-7, in a quarterfinal Division VII playoff game Friday night at Western High.

With the victory, the Lancers advance to the semifinals next week against Garden Grove, which beat San Luis Obispo, 20-0, Friday.

The Lancers, 10-1-1 and the top-seeded team in the division, were flagged by the officials 15 times for 140 yards against Kennedy (8-3-1), but managed to avoid being hurt too badly by the penalties. They had nine penalties for 75 yards in a 27-0 victory over Pomona in the first round.

“Some of the holding calls, who knows?” Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney said. “Some of the (other) things we deserved. . . . We are just not thinking, concentrating.”

Maybe not, but the Lancers were running the ball efficiently Friday.

Led by a trio of running backs, Sunny Hills churned out 292 yards rushing and scored all its touchdowns on the ground.

Senior Jacob Cuccia, who last season played at Whittier Christian, sparked the attack with 102 yards on 17 carries. Jeff Willis contributed 95 yards on 19 carries and James Tindukasiri had 87 yards on 11 attempts. Cuccia and Tindukasiri each had touchdowns.

Tindukasiri opened the scoring, taking advantage of a Kennedy turnover that gave the Lancers good field position.

After defensive back Bobby Sunderland intercepted an option pass by Kennedy wide receiver Chris Clark, Tindukasiri scored on a four-yard run to culminate a 48-yard, seven-play drive with 8 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first quarter.

Cuccia then hiked the Lancer lead to 14-0 midway through the third quarter, and Sunderland, who is also the Sunny Hills quarterback, sneaked in from the 1 less than 30 seconds later. That play was set up when Kennedy failed to field the kickoff after the Cuccia touchdown and Sunny Hills cornerback Peter Rodriguez covered the kick at the Irish 1.

The Lancers got their final touchdown on a three-yard run by Aaron Bowers early in the fourth quarter.

Kennedy quarterback John Guthrie, who completed 14 of 28 passes for 170 yards, mostly out of a shotgun formation, combined with wide receiver Charlie Marino on a 22-yard pass play with 6:48 remaining in the game to avert the shutout. Marino made a remarkable diving catch in the back, right corner of the end zone for the score.

Even though they allowed Guthrie to throw, the Sunny Hills defense limited Kennedy to minus-23 yards on the ground. And that was good enough for a little praise from Devaney.

“I’m really pleased with the way the defense played, how they held up,” Devaney said.

SH--Tindukasiri 4 run (kick failed)

SH--Cuccia 1 run (Mercado pass from Sunderland)

SH--Sunderland 1 run (Smith kick)

SH--Bowers 3 run (Smith kick)

K--Marino 22 pass from Guthrie (Clark kick)

LEADING RUSHERS--SH: Cuccia 17-102; K: Mobley 4-11. LEADING PASSERS--SH: Sunderland 6-10-0, 56; K: Guthrie 14-28-0, 170. LEADING RECEIVERS--SH: Sanchez 3-33; K: Clark 4-51, Varga 4-50.

Attendance--1,300.