A dominant defensive effort in the red zone powered Dos Pueblos flag football to a 21-0 shutout win over rival San Marcos on Thursday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
The Chargers (14-2, 3-0 Channel League) are off to a stellar start in league play, earning wins over the Royals (11-5, 0-2 CL), Ventura and Oxnard, the likely top three teams after DP in a new-look Channel League. Thursday’s win was also Dos Pueblos’ 11th in a row and its seventh shutout.
“I’m really proud of them and what they were able to do,” Dos Pueblos head coach Doug Caines said of his team early in league. “It’s hard to beat people twice, so we’re ready to reset and do it again. That’s going to be a challenge, but we’ve got to keep getting better and keep progressing.”
On the other sideline, San Marcos is now 0-2 in its first two league contests after a one-point loss to Oxnard last week.
“One practice at a time, one play at a time,” Royals head coach Walt Bazylewicz said of the mindset going forward. “We just have to refocus and keep our eyes going forward… Whether you’re coming off of a win or a loss, you have to be focused and ready for the next challenge.”
The game got off to a slow start, with the first three drives in the contest resulting in either punts or turnover on downs, including a fourth down sack by Dos Pueblos’ Makyla Watt.
The Charger offense took advantage of the momentum, working into SM territory before facing a 4th down from the 28-yard line. Caines went for it, and senior Ruby Streatfeild found a wide-open Brooklyn Hedricks behind the defense for a 28-yard touchdown. Junior Paige Ferro rushed in the extra point to take a 7-0 lead with 2:09 left in the first.
The Royals then put together a strong drive, marching down inside the DP 20-yard line as the game flipped over to the second quarter. However, the Charger defense came through on fourth down as junior Tabby Weller pulled in an interception in the back of the end zone.
Dos Pueblos stayed hot on the offensive end, needing 10 plays to get down the field and score on the second Streatfeild-to-Hedricks connection of the night. This time, Hedricks got loose down the sideline and hauled in the 18-yard touchdown.
“I live in Lompoc, so my freshman year, I knew no one, and Ruby was the first person I met and we kind of clicked right off the bat. As the seasons have gone on, I think we have just gotten closer in our friendship and dynamic on the field,” Hedricks said.
“I trust her, I know she’s gonna get the ball to me, and I know she trusts that I’ll catch it.”
Streatfeild found junior Jane Gibson for the extra point to double the lead to 14-0 with 5:25 left in the half.
The Royals had another chance to get on the board with a drive into the red zone just before the break, with junior Victoria Aldana making play after play to help the team down the field. However, they came up short once again, and the 14-0 score remained into halftime.
“Bend but don’t break was it, and we tried to frustrate [Aldana] as best we could, but she’s special,” Caines said. “I was super proud of the way that we hung on in the red zone. We had several really good stands.”
After a DP punt to begin the half, San Marcos put together its third deep drive of the night down to the Charger 1-yard line. However, Dos Pueblos junior Kindah Ahmad-Reda came up with the flag pull for a loss on fourth down to preserve the shutout.
“I’m really proud of our defense. We bust our butts every day at practice,” Hedricks said. “We trust each other, we know we’re all going to get the flag and we’re all going to get there. If someone messes up, we’re not blaming her. We’re all going to stick together in the end.”
As they had all night, the Chargers turned their strong defensive showing into points on the other end. Streatfeild and junior Paige Ferro were a dynamic duo in the option run game, getting down the field in a hurry before Streatfeild found Hedricks for their third touchdown, this one from 3 yards out.
Streatfeild tossed the extra point to Ahmad-Reda to expand the advantage to 21-0.
That proved to be the final score, as the two defenses exchanged stops down the stretch and the Charger offense continued to utilize the run game to control the clock.
“What we do, we’ve been practicing since July 6th, and I think it shows. We put in the work in the summer,” Caines said. “Every day they committed to the process, and we have seen the fruits of our labor.”
Streatfeild completed 13-of-20 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 51 yards on the ground. Hedricks was the go-to target, hauling in six catches for 81 yards and three scores.
On the other side, Aldana ended the night with 214 combined yards of offense between passing and rushing.
“We just didn’t finish drives,” Bazylewicz said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we outgained them tonight, but unfortunately, you don’t win games by gaining yards; you win games by scoring touchdowns.
“We were proud of our effort, and there were some good things out there.”
San Marcos is on the road against Rio Mesa on Tuesday, while Dos Pueblos will host the Spartans next Thursday.
