Football: Sickles 27, Sunlake 14

LAND O’LAKES — Sickles overcame having four offensive linemen out due to injury on Friday night, rushing for 358 yards against district opponent Sunlake on its way to a 27-14 victory.

Sunlake (3-3) had momentum and the lead entering the fourth quarter as sophomore quarterback Kevin Spillane hit junior John Leslie for a 19-yard touchdown to go ahead 14-13. Things took a turn for the worse after Spillane threw an interception to Sickles defensive back Parker Snead with around nine minutes left, and the Gryphons closed things out on a 14-0 run.

Senior Jalen Joye punched it in from 19 yards out and senior passer Brandon Dessi hit Carson Cates for a two-point conversion to make it a 21-14 game with just under seven minutes to play. A poor punt on the ensuing drive for Sunlake set up junior Kohl Robertson’s third score of the night to make it 27-14 with five minutes to play.

“This was a bunch of guys refusing to lose tonight,” Sickles coach Patrick Murphy said. “We put the ball in the hands of our playmakers … and the defense played lights out at times. It was a complete team effort.”

The key to victory for the Gryphons (5-1) was success on the ground, running the ball 36 times between Joye (202 yards, one touchdown) and Robertson (142 yards, three touchdowns). Dessi only threw the ball 10 times, with four of the targets going to junior Tre’son Everette.

“I love every one of them and they blocked their tails off tonight and I can’t think of anyone better (to run behind),” Joye said after his 200-yard performance. “This game tested our team as a whole and we showed that we can play with anyone in our district.”

Things got off to a slow start for both teams, as Sickles turned the ball over on a fumble only seconds after Joye gained 38 on a carry to get the Gryphons into Seahawk territory. But two first-half touchdowns by Robertson gave them a 13-7 lead going into the half.

Sunlake saw success via the air, as Spillane found junior Maguire Anderson for a 32-yard score on a wheel route in the second quarter to tie things at 7-7. The Seahawks defense was able to keep things in check in the first half by forcing turnovers, including a diving interception by junior Elijah Mayfield just before halftime to prevent Sickles from extending their lead.

Spillane completed 15 of 24 passes for Sunlake, primarily targeting Anderson (62 yards) and Leslie (54 yards). Jacob Schwarz saw the majority of the workload in the first half with 32 yards, but Zach Spicer took over in the second half and finished with 62 yards.