New Dos Pueblos High School football coach A.J. Pateras put kicker Gregory Tripathi on the spot last Tuesday, playing a hunch that Friday’s football game against Royal would come down to a last-second boot.
Tripathi followed up Tuesday’s dress rehearsal with a star performance at Scott O’Leary Stadium, kicking a 34-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 17-14, overtime victory.
The victory was Pateras’ first at DP (1-3).
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and a close game,” he said. “We knew it was going to come down to something like that.
“Greg … that kid is working all practice to try to find ways to improve his leg strength and find ways to put it where he wants to,” Pateras said.
He put the pressure on Tripathi during Tuesday’s workout, saying a group of his teammates would have to run if he didn’t make a practice-ending field goal.
“We lined up all the kids and we had them yelling and screaming and cheering, just how it was tonight … and he nailed it,” Pateras said. “The kids were pumped that they didn’t have to run.”
Tripathi’s kick capped a defensive tussle in which Royal (2-2) edged the Chargers in total yardage, 202-190. Tackle Merrick Foster, one of the few seniors on DP’s defense, led a stout effort for Pateras’ crew.
“Last week opened some kids’ eyes on what we do and how we do it,” he said, referring to a 37-12 defeat at Buena. “This week, we reset on defense and went back to the basics.
“We felt we had a package that would be OK to defend them, and our kids definitely responded to the coaching.”
The Highlanders scored on their first possession, driving 54 yards on six plays. They lined up for a 25-yard field goal on fourth down and seven yards to goat the DP 8, but then changed their minds at the last second. Evan Nagy came through by throwing a touchdown pass to Jack Jessing in the right corner of the end zone.
The Chargers, however, allowed Royal just two more first downs in the final 18½ minutes of the first half.
DP, which called Cameron Lee’s number on its first 16 rushing plays, crossed the Highlanders up on its 17th running play. Fullback David Buso got the quick hitter, bursting through the line and then breaking through a tackle in the secondary in a 41-yard run to the Royal 4.
It was the first carry of the season for Buso, a linebacker who wound up rushing for 49 yards on six carries. Lee led DP with 103 yards on 32 attempts.
“We’ve repped David there in practice,” Pateras said. “We’re turning into a power football team. We had a package that was designed for David in shorter yardage.
“All we said was, ‘Get behind our big guys and run hard.’ And sure enough, that’s what happens when you do those things. Things pop.”
An illegal procedure penalty pushed the Chargers back to the 9, but a pair of runs by Lee got the ball to the 2-yard line with 36 seconds left in the half.
Pateras went back to Buso, who pushed the ball just short of the goal line on third down, and then into the end zone on fourth down with just 14 seconds on the clock.
Tripathi, whose conversion kick tied the game at 7-all, gave Royal another swift kick. He pinned the visitors inside their own 1-yard line with a 39-yard punt midway through the third quarter. DP’s defense held the Highlanders again, turning the ball over to the Charger offense at the Royal 42.
Cairo Rios made a diving catch of Jordan Rico’s 18-yard pass and five runs by Lee covered the rest of the yardage. Lee’s 6-yard TD plunge put DP ahead 14-7 with 2:37 left in the third period.
“He’s a beast — I love that kid,” Pateras said of his workhorse tailback. “He’s a goofy kid … always smiling. He’s making me have more fun. He’s always like, ‘Coach, I’m sore,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but do you know how sore they are?’ He’s becoming our bell cow and he sets the tone.”
Royal tied the score at 14-all with 5:04 left in regulation. Nagy faked the Charger defense with a play-action fake and then dashed untouched around the right end and into the end zone on a 16-yard keeper.
The Highlanders got the ball back at midfield with just under two minutes on the clock. But Brett Jones, a 6-foot-3 defensive end, got it right back for DP by out-jumping several Highlanders to intercept a pass that had been deflected by a blitzing Reese Hafner.
“Brett was our practice player of the week (of defense) this week,” Pateras said. “He got the hard hat for defense because of how hard he worked.”
A pass interference penalty gave the Chargers a shot at a 49-yard field goal with six seconds left, but Tripathi’s kick sailed wide left. The junior kicker made good on his second chance, however.
“The best thing about being a coach of high school kids is you have to put faith in them,” Pateras said. “Sometimes they make mistakes and you get frustrated, but that’s the beauty of being a teacher and a parent. You get to see them grow.
“Greg had an opportunity tonight and he missed, and I had no doubt that when we got back into that situation, he wasn’t going to do it again.”
Royal had the first possession in overtime. Buso made his presence felt again, however, by throwing Cezhon Gayton for a one-yard loss on second down at the 7. Nagy then dropped the football while rolling out to pass on third down, and Cory Kazzi tackled him at the 19 for an 11-yard loss.
That forced the Highlanders’ Carter Newbern to attempt a 36-yard field goal, and his line-drive boot sailed well under the crossbar.
The Chargers passed up a similar field goal on four-and-inches from the 15 on their overtime possession. They went to Buso for the tough yardage and he got it for them with a 3-yard gain and a first down at the 15.
Royal, however, made good use of a DP penalty and a stacked defensive line to push the Chargers back to the 17 by fourth down. Tripathi was still able to drill the game-winning, 34-yard field goal straight through the uprights with plenty of distance.
Next up is Friday’s short trip to crosstown rival San Marcos.
“Rivalry games are sweet … We’ll be excited,” Pateras said. “But I’m going to enjoy every bit of tonight, and every bit of tomorrow and the next day. When it’s time to really dial into San Marcos, I will switch gears.
“But I’m going to enjoy tonight a little bit.”