It wasn’t pretty, but the Dos Pueblos football team found a way to finally beat Buena. The CIF-SS Division 10 second-ranked Chargers used a solid running game and Marcellous Gossett’s blocks of an extra-point and field-goal attempt to escape with a 20-16 victory in a Channel League game at Scott O’Leary Field on Friday night.
Dos Pueblos (6-1, 1-0) overcame a slew of penalties, an out-of-sync passing game and a bad snap on a punt late in the game to beat the Bulldogs (3-5, 0-2) for the first time in four years, start league play on a good note and extend their winning streak to six games.
The two huge defensive plays by Gossett turned out to be the difference in the game as it subtracted a potential four points from the scoreboard. The score was 13-3 when he blocked Andrew Tilkins’ 37-yard field-goal attempt early in the fourth quarter. Later in the quarter, after the Bulldogs scored to pull within 20-16, he rushed in from the right side and snuffed the PAT.
“It’s the biggest difference because a field goal wins it for them,” DP coach Nate Mendoza said of Gossett’s two blocks.
“It was really exciting; I was amazed,” said Gossett, who’s having a stellar season at defensive end.
On the field-goal attempt, he said he slipped through the blocker to reach the kicker. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to get there and all of a sudden I felt the ball hit my palm and I was like, ‘Oh.’ It was an amazing feeling.”
Buena still had a shot at a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs got the ball back at their 30 with 2:19 left. Quarterback Coby Barbar, who replaced injured starter Brian Yanez in the second half, guided Buena to the DP 35. After a short completion on first down, he threw three straight incomplete passes and the Chargers took over on downs and ran out the clock.
“It was nerve-racking. My heart was beating so fast,” said Gossett of the frantic finish.
The Chargers opened the game with an impressive drive, utilizing the running of Blake Erwin. The drive stalled at the Buena 11 and Josh Feldhaus kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Buena tied the score on a 25-yard field goal by Talkins at 11:50 of the second quarter.
Dos Pueblos continued to keep the ball on the ground, and Irvin Miguel bolted 17 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Miguel bounced and slipped off defenders on his way to the end zone for a 10-3 lead.
“The offense was out of sync tonight but at least we were able to run the ball when we needed to, and I’m just happy we had no turnovers,” said Mendoza.
Erwin led the DP rushing attack with 118 yards on 20 carries, while Miguel gained 58 yards on 7 rushes. The Chargers rushed for 204 yards. Quarterback Kellen Roberts completed 14 of 24 passes for 103 yards.
DP’s defense set up another score as it stopped Yanez for no gain a fourth and 10 from the DP 46.
Roberts completed passes of 13 yards to Daniel Arzate and 28 yards to Cyrus Wallace to move the ball to the Buena 13, where the drive stalled. Feldhaus booted a 31-yard field goal for a 13-3 advantage at the end of the second quarter.
DP was driving on its first possession of the second half, but consecutive penalties pushed the Chargers back and they ended up punting.
“Penalties were kind of the name of the game tonight,” Mendoza lamented.
The defense rescued the Chargers. Gossett blocked a Bulldogs field-goal attempt, providing a spark for the offense. Roberts passed to Arzate in the flat and he took the ball 29 yards to the Buena 47. Erwin followed with runs of 19 and 6 yards to take it down to the 12. On first down, Roberts lofted a perfect pass to a well-covered Wallace for the touchdown and a 20-3 lead.
Buena responded with a 79-yard drive, aided by two 15-yard penalties against DP. Barbar completed four passes on the drive and scored the touchdown on a 1-yard run to make it 20-10 with 7:44 left in the game.
Barbar threw for 122 yards.
“That kid came in and fought hard and made the plays he needed to,” said Mendoza of Barbar.
“I thought our back-up did a good job throwing the ball and controlling the tempo of the offense, which was a really good bright spot for the night,” Buena coach Tim Gutierrez said.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs tried an onside kick. In a wild scramble, the ball squirted away from a DP player but the player was able to pulled it back into his body. Initially, the officials said Buena recovered the ball but after conferring they ruled the ball belonged to the Chargers.
“There’s no firm call there at all, it’s a guess,” said a disappointed Gutierrez. “That’s just not the right call there.”
DP went three and out and put itself in a bad spot when the punt snap sailed over the punter’s head. Buena took over at the 9 and Gaytan scored on a first-down run with 5:15 left to make it 20-16.
Gossett denied the Bulldogs from narrowing the deficit to a field goal with his tremendous defensive play.
“We came out victorious and I’m very proud of the defense to take care of the game at the end,” said Mendoza.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.