Dos Pueblos football suffered its first Tri-County League loss in heartbreaking fashion on Friday night in Simi Valley, falling to Royal High by a score of 21-17 in the final minute.
Royal (7-0, 2-0 TCL) continued its undefeated season with the win, while the Chargers (4-3, 1-1 TCL) had their three-game win streak snapped with the loss.
The Chargers dominated the time of possession in the opening quarter, scoring on a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Chase Johnson and shutting out Royal to take a 7-0 lead into the second.
The Dos Pueblos defense continued to stand strong throughout the second quarter, and the 7-0 advantage held as the game went to halftime.
After the Highlanders punted on the first possession of the second half, the Chargers marched down the field and Johnson rushed in his second touchdown of the night to extend the lead to 14-0.
Royal responded with a long drive down the field that ended in a passing touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7 with five minutes left in the third.
The game then flipped to the fourth quarter, where the Highlanders evened the score at 14-14 with another touchdown pass with about 11 minutes on the clock.
Dos Pueblos answered back with a strong drive deep into Royal territory that ended with a 25-yard field goal by Tiago Carmona to regain the lead at 17-14 with 5:15 left in the game.
The Highlanders then executed a strong drive down the stretch, getting into Charger territory and scoring on a short rushing touchdown to take a 21-17 advantage with 41 seconds remaining.
Dos Pueblos’ miracle drive attempt fell short, giving Royal the league victory.
The Chargers are back at home to take on Santa Paula next Friday at 7 p.m. at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
