It took a couple of days, but the Dos Pueblos football team earned its first victory of the season, beating Buena 42-28, in a game that started at the Chargers’ Scott O’Leary Stadium on Friday night and finished at San Marcos’ Warkentin Stadium on Saturday evening.
DP running back Chase Johnson had productive 2 1/2 quarters on Saturday, rushing for 104 yards on 12 carries, catching two passes for 34 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
Overall, he ended up with four TDs as he scored one on Friday before a row of stadium lights went out and forced the game to be stopped with 6:08 left in the second quarter and DP leading 21-14.
After scrambling to set up a resumption of the game at San Marcos, DP started on offense with a second down and 13 from its 40-yard line. The Chargers scored in four plays: Zaden Battle ran for 10 and 32 yards and Johnson finished the drive with runs of 13 and 15 yards. Tiago Carmona kicked the PAT for a 28-14 advantage at 4:48 of the second quarter.
Johnson scored again with 18 seconds left in the quarter on a pass from quarterback Grady Felix. He caught it in the right flat and bolted 9 yards to give the Chargers a three-touchdown lead, 35-14.
“The O-line was doing their job and I was getting the ball and making reads based on my receivers’ blocks,” said Johnson of his ability to make big plays. “The team was playing perfect, the blocks were perfect and I just did my job.”
DP coach AJ Pateras praised the work Johnson has put in to become an impact player.
“He’s a great kid. He’s worked incredibly hard in the off season. He’s had mentors before him: Caleb Williams and some of those guys… Andrew Cook. He’s just motivated. As long as he stays motivated and stays coachable, he’s going to be a really good back for us this year,” said Pateras.
The DP coach admitted the lighting issue created some chaos. Asked if it disrupted the team’s usual Saturday routine, he said: “I think we were all psycho about that.”
The players watched film of Friday’s action on Saturday morning and then went home to rest.
“I didn’t change anything,” said Pateras. “It didn’t change the game plan. It was just about trying to get better at the things we’re trying to do. Then the kids got rest and I think that was a big factor.”
The coach was happy to see his offense score right away when play resumed.
“I think (Friday) night the kids were frustrated. They were frustrated with the stop, they were frustrated with themselves, the way the middle of that second quarter started to go. I think they were very motivated. They’re a really good group of kids that want to do well.”
The offense got a big boost with the return of senior lineman Wyatt Mitchell and Marcus Carbajal, who were sidelined for the opener at Santa Ynez. With those veterans back, DP controlled the line of scrimmage against Buena.
“You get Wyatt and Marcus back and all of sudden everybody gets a little more confident,” said Pateras.
Johnson felt things started clicking on offense.
“We were a lot more locked in in our blocking. They were doing their job a lot better — the blocks were amazing. We were playing way better as a team,” he said.
After a five-minute halftime, neither team scored in the third quarter.
Buena put together a 77-yard drive toward the end of the quarter and running back Christopher Slate finished it with a 1-yard touchdown at 11:10 of the fourth quarter. Dylan Ragazzo’s PAT team made a 35-21 game.
The Bulldogs tried an onside kick but it was recovered by Rylan Tupper at the 50. The Chargers kept the ball on the ground and Johnson broke off a 31-yard run for his third TD of the night.
Buena scored its last touchdown with 32 seconds left.
DP’s next game will be at Santa Barbara High on Friday night.
Pateras likes how the non-league schedule is really challenging his team.
“The non-league schedule is amazing,” he said. “You get an old Channel League rival (Buena), you get Santa Ynez, a local rival, and you get a city rival next week. If you can’t get up for these games, especially these seniors, then you’re playing the wrong sport.”
