October 23, 2026 - 10:27 pm

Five players scored touchdowns and Julian Mejia turned in a huge performance on defense as Sunrise Mountain survived a shootout and earned a 46-42 home victory over Valley for the Division III Superintendent’s Cup title on Friday.

“It’s amazing,” Sunrise Mountain coach Patrick Achord said. “It’s never happened, the first one in school history.”

The Miners (9-1) advanced to the Class 4A state championship game in 2023, but securing the CCSD Independent championship is the closest thing the school has to a state title.

“For us to get our first state championship considering the amount of years that the school as gone either 0-for or just losing records … this is huge,” Achord said.

Malachi Thomas had a receiving touchdown and a rushing score for the Miners, who were in control for most of the game, but never were able to score the knockout blow.

“It was an amazing ballgame,” Achord said. “Valley’s a tough team.…