Davis on the defense

Sparked by turnovers, Pirates rally past Sunnyside in fourth ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Even with a prolific offense, like the one Davis used last week to roll up nearly 700 yards at Eastmont, some nights just aren’t meant for offense.

Then what do you do?

“Relying on our offense to win the game for us — we do that too much,” said Davis senior Chris Chapman. “Tonight we learned a lesson about finding other ways to win.”

Deion Wright of Davis tries to stretch out a touchdown while being tackled by Raul Aguilar, top, and Isidro Ramirez, bottom, of Sunnyside Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Wright was stopped short but the Pirates scored shortly after. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Bogged down, offensively ineffective and trailing Sunnyside in the fourth quarter of their home opener Friday night, the Pirates called on their defense to save the day and Chapman, Cooper Kupp and a bunch of black shirts came to the rescue.

With 14 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes, a charge sparked by Kupp’s fumble return for a touchdown and Chapman’s interception, Davis rallied for a 26-18 victory over the stubborn Grizzlies at Zaepfel Stadium.

Chapman, fighting off cramps, delivered the hit that jarred the ball loose for Kupp’s scoop and scoring dash — a 25-yard sprint that put the Pirates up 24-18 with 8:39 left.

Two plays later, Chapman snagged an interception at midfield to stop a Sunnyside team that had led 18-12 just two minutes earlier.

“I think we take these guys too lightly every year,” Chapman said. “The coaches warned us and we didn’t listen. Sunnyside is tough. We couldn’t get our offense going, so we stepped up on defense.”

What offense Davis had was produced mostly by a very busy Deion Wright, who passed for 148 yards and ran for 83 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. With primary running back Austin Wagner sitting out with a concussion, Alex Sifuentes stepped in and gained 38 of his 49 yards in the second half.

Sunnyside owned the third quarter, running twice as many plays as Davis (25-12) and hurting the Pirates with its Steven Monterrey-powered Wing-T ground game. The slippery running back slashed for 77 of his game-high 123 yards in that impressive quarter, and his 29-yard field goal put the Grizzlies up 18-12 with 28 seconds left in the period.

“Defensively we played well — much better than last week,” said Davis coach Rick Clark, referring to the season-opening 54-28 win at Eastmont. “We’ve been moving pieces around and looking for the right combinations. In the fourth quarter we started making more plays.”

Kupp scored two touchdowns, capping the game’s opening drive with a 24-yard reception, and finished with five catches for 57 yards. In addition to the big defensive plays by Chapman and Kupp, Orion Karn recovered a fumble in the third quarter that kept Sunnyside from a chance at an even bigger lead.

“We were fortunate. Sunnyside is a very good team and this is one of their best,” Clark said. “They’re tough and they’re scrappy. But we found a way to rally and make the comeback. We’ll take it.”

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