Sunny Hills Holds On to Share First Place

Chris Wheaton rushed for all four of Sunny Hills’ touchdowns Friday but teammate Andrew Tindukasiri had the game-clinching carry as the Lancers beat host Troy, 27-24, to earn a share of first place in the Freeway League.

Sunny Hills got the ball at its 20 after an incomplete pass on fourth and five by Troy quarterback Jordan Oliver with 6 minutes 9 seconds left in the game.

The Lancers were able to run out the clock, thanks mostly to the running of Tindukasiri. His biggest carry came on fourth and one at the Troy 49 with 1:34 remaining.

Tindukasiri burst through the right side and finished with an 18-yard gain. The Lancers then downed the ball three times to end the game.

Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney said punting was never considered.

“The defensive coordinator said, ‘Don’t punt the ball’ � Devaney said.

Tindukasiri finished with 55 yards but it was Wheaton who got the Lancers into the end zone.

He finished with 185 yards in 26 carries and also scored on a two-point conversion. His longest scoring run came from 40 yards out with 19 seconds left in the half. The score put the Lancers ahead, 19-14, but Troy (5-5, 2-3) rallied for a touchdown.

Sunny Hills (6-4, 4-1) was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the failed conversion try and kicked the ball out-of-bounds on the kickoff.

Troy got a first down at midfield as a result and Brett Murray ran 29 yards to the 21. The Warriors called timeout with 10 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, Oliver lofted a pass into the end zone and tight end Mark Ahlberg, who is 6 feet 6, reached over two defenders for a touchdown and a 21-19 Troy lead.

Ahlberg caught four passes for 108 yards.

Sunny Hills took the lead back when Wheaton scored from 21 yards with 10:13 left in the third quarter. He also scored on a two-point conversion to put Sunny Hills up, 27-21. Wheaton also had runs of 13 and 23 yards in the drive.

“This just adds to our confidence. We’ve been preparing for this game all year,� Wheaton said.

In another Freeway League game:

La Habra 28, Sonora 27--Sonora (2-8, 0-5) came two points shy of picking up its first league victory against the Highlanders (3-7, 2-3).