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Raiders storm past Farmersville to earn Homecoming victory
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
There have not been many bigger game, if any, in the short history of the Sunnyvale football program than the one played Friday night.
The Raiders officially started their quest for the first playoff berth in school history with its District 6-2A Division I opener.
Its opponent was a Farmersville team that is new as a district rival, but a team that has forged some successful seasons in recent years.
To top it off, Sunnyvale was celebrating its Homecoming that night.
With all that at stake, the Raiders shined, as they overcame an early deficit to roll over Farmersville for a 33-18 victory at Raider Stadium.
Sunnyvale improves to 5-0 for the first time in school history and is 1-0 in district play going into Friday's contest on the road at Caddo Mills.
The Raiders absorbed a pair of haymakers early on against the Farmers, but refused to buckle.
Farmersville opened the game with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Chris Stanley to Jaelon Clark to grab a quick 6-0 lead.
Sunnyvale answered on a 36-yard field goal by Casey Crenshaw, but the Farmers again struck with a big play when Andrew Simons broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run that made it 12-3.
At that point, the Raiders tightened the screws defensively and the offense went to work.
Crenshaw booted his second field goal of the half, this one from 32 yards out, and Abdul Khalif scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to give them a 13-12 lead going into halftime.
Sunnyvale maintained the momentum in the second half, as Ryan Cottingame snuck in from a yard out to push the advantage to 20-12.
The Raiders then took control in the fourth, as Cottingame threw touchdown passes of five and 24 yards to Josh Quinn to make it 33-12.
Farmersville would score once more late in the fourth quarter but it would not make a difference.
It was another well-rounded effort for a Sunnyvale team that has followed that same formula for success through the first half of the season.
Cottingame has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 983 yards and 12 touchdowns compared with only three interceptions.
Quinn has been one of the most dangerous targets in the area, turning 10 of his 25 catches into touchdowns, while Daniel Mullican has also been reliable with 16 catches.
Khalif's touchdown run last week was his fifth of the season to go along with 367 yards.
The defense shook off the two early long touchdowns to slam the door against Farmersville. They allowed only six points in the final three quarters, as the Farmers finished with 310 yards and three turnovers.
And then there was the special teams with Crenshaw, who had two field goals and three extra points, and the special teams defense, which held Farmersville on all three two-point attempts.
That is a scary proposition for Caddo Mills on Friday. Caddo Mills has some playmakers in quarterback Damian Newby, running back Daxx Hill and wide receiver Dakota Monroe, but they will be facing a Sunnyvale defense that is allowing only 13.2 points per game.
VOLLEYBALL
The Sunnyvale volleyball team evened its District 12-2A record at 3-3 on Tuesday with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-10 victory over Van Alstyne.
The Raiders had been coming off another sweep in their 25-19, 25-18, 26-24 win on Homecoming against Farmersville on Friday.
Of Sunnyvale's three district losses, two have come at the hands of undefeated Pilot Point and another against Caddo Mills.
The Raiders will have a chance to avenge one of those when they travel to face Caddo Mills on Friday. Sunnyvale will then return home to host Leonard on Tuesday.
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