For the first time since 2001, Dos Pueblos is headed to the CIF football finals.
The second-seeded Chargers edged out No. 3 Valley View (Moreno Valley) in a 38-30 nail-biter on Friday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium to advance to the Southern Section Division 10 title game.
Dos Pueblos has won 12 straight games and can take home a CIF championship if they push that streak to 13.
They’ll play at Quartz Hill for the title on either Friday or Saturday night.
Dos Pueblos started off the semifinal game hot, forcing a quick Valley View punt and promptly driving 61 yards in five plays. Quarterback Jake Ramirez fell into the end zone on a sneak from 1 yard to put the Chargers on the board.
The Eagles responded quickly, driving 76-yards on eight plays to tie the game on a 2-yard run up the gut by Rudy Lovato.
Running backs Erick Lopez and Rob Alfaro carried the ball nine times for 41 yards on the ensuing Chargers’ drive, with Alfaro punching the ball in from the 1 to put Dos Pueblos ahead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
(Tyler Schillinger/DP News)
Ramirez connected with wide receiver Cyrus Wallace for 10 yards on a crucial third-and-eight to extend the drive.
After General Woods returned the kickoff to the Dos Pueblos 24-yard line, Valley View turned the ball over on downs rather than kicking a 32-yard field goal.
When Valley View got the ball back, running back Justin Keeling fumbled a handoff from quarterback Jacob Barlage on first down, and Charger Jacob Velasquez fell on the ball, setting up a Jesse Mollkoy 28-yard field goal to put Dos Pueblos up 17-7.
Valley View responded with a field goal of its own, as Ricardo Chavez nailed a 27-yarder to pull the Eagles within 7.
With 3:56 remaining in the half, Dos Pueblos executed a near-perfect 11-play, 73-yard drive, capped off by Alfaro’s 5-yard run to leave the Chargers up 24-10 entering the break.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, the Chargers didn’t waste any time. Ramirez connected with Wallace on a short pass to the right that the senior receiver took 31 yards for the score, putting Dos Pueblos up 31-10.
Ramirez finished with 202 yards passing on 11 of 20 attempts. He added 55 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Wallace hauled in nine catches for 142 yards.
“Real proud of the way Jake commanded, especially in this type of atmosphere,” said Dos Pueblos head coach Nate Mendoza.
Valley View managed to score with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter to make it a two-possession game (31-17) entering the fourth. Keeling carried the ball for four yards and the score. The running back carried the ball 33 times for 183 yards on the night, giving him 2,866 rushing yards on the year.
With just over four minutes remaining, playoff-football chaos broke loose.
Barlage found receiver Ramon Clark wide open on a busted coverage for a 25-yard touchdown to bring the Eagles within one score.
On the first play of the next drive, Ramirez sailed a deep ball to hit receiver Dillon Roberts in stride for a 51-yard strike that sent the packed home crowd into a frenzy.
“I was looking for Cyrus over the middle,” explained Ramirez. “I saw my junior Dillon Roberts, he broke open on a post. I saw him wide open and got the ball to him.”
“Jake came through with an outstanding throw and Roberts … what a catch,” said Mendoza of the play. “We decided to take a shot. We felt like we needed to move the chains and it ended up being a touchdown.”
The Eagles got the ball back with 3:50 remaining, and confidently and efficiently drove the field and scored on Lovato’s second 2-yard touchdown of the game. Chavez’s point after was blocked at the line of scrimmage, and Dos Pueblos’ Baylor Huyck snagged the ensuing on-side kick.
With two-minutes remaining, the Chargers were only able to kill 20 seconds of clock, as Valley View had all three timeouts remaining. Mollkoy then came up with a huge punt that pinned the Eagles at their own 8-yard line with just under 90 seconds remaining.
Mollkoy made five extra points and one field goal on the night and landed two punts behind the Eagles’ 10-yard line.
Valley View made it interesting, as Keeling broke free for 26 yards and receiver Robert Heiermann caught an 11-yard pass.
But Dos Pueblos’ defense came through at the end. Justin Padilla broke free and hit Barlage for a 6-yard sack on first down, and Barlage threw back-to-back incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs.
Ramirez took a kneel-down as the DP sideline erupted in celebration.
“We don’t rely on one guy ever,” Mendoza claimed. “On any given night, it could be somebody’s turn. What makes me most proud is that we’re not a one-man show or even a two-man show and we just play team football and the kids love each other and it shows.”
Dos Pueblos travels to Lancaster next Friday to take on Quartz Hill for the Division 10 championship.
Quartz Hill downed undefeated and top-seeded Apple Valley, 21-14.
“We’re undefeated on the road, it’ll be a little more pressure,” explained Ramirez. “We’re excited and can’t wait for it.”
“We’re excited,” echoed Mendoza. “We’re 6-0 on the road. This team is all about getting past adversity, and we are looking at that as something that motivates us.”
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.