Dos Pueblos flag football is making a statement in the Goodland.
After a thrilling 15-14 win over San Marcos last week, the Chargers turned around and emerged victorious in another Channel League clash on Tuesday, this time pulling out a 36-33 last-second win over Ventura on a windy night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
Dos Pueblos (13-1, 4-0 Channel League) now stands alone atop the league standings following its dramatic win over the previously-undefeated Cougars (3-3, 3-1 Channel League).
“We were able to overcome the adversity of a big-time game and a big-time moment. That’s just kind of been our rallying cry all year,” Chargers head coach Doug Caines said.
“People don’t realize four or five of the top teams in the state, in the nation, playing right now, are over here. Camarillo’s good. Ventura’s good. San Marcos is good. DP is good. Oxnard’s good. There are some (great) football players up here, and I’m just happy to be a part of great flag football in the state.”
After a clutch 4th down stop in front of its own endzone, Dos Pueblos found itself trailing 33-30 with possession of the ball and 3:30 to make its way 75 yards down the field for a chance at the go-ahead score.
Quarterback Kacey Hurley then went to work, orchestrating a 10-play drive down the field that featured a 17-yard catch by Brooklyn Hedricks and several chunk plays from Ruby Streatfeild.
With 37 seconds on the clock, Hurley took the snap from the Ventura 15-yard line, scrambled away from pressure and lofted a pass to Taylor Grant, who got behind her defender. Grant snagged the ball out of the air to give her team a 36-33 advantage with 27 seconds left.
“[Hurley] was in my classroom before 8:00 a.m. this morning, watching film with me. She made sure she was prepared,” Caines said. “She did not have a great game, but that’s the difference between great quarterbacks and good quarterbacks. A great quarterback will find a way to win, even when they don’t have a great game.
“I’m so proud of her. We are having to live and learn with her first-year QB mistakes, and I have no problem with that because she is such a stud… She takes the team on her back, and it’s not always necessarily with throws; it’s the leadership and resilience.”
Hurley ended the night completing 22-of-31 passes for 238 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Meanwhile, Grant hauled in six catches for 87 yards and two scores, including the game-winner.
The game started fast, as the Chargers took the opening drive and ripped off eight plays to get down the field before Alma Basave punched in a 1-yard rushing score for a 6-0 lead.
Ventura responded with an efficient scoring drive of its own as Ava Ortman connected with Kaiya Cooke for the touchdown. A successful one-point conversion gave the Cougars a 7-6 lead at the 4:05 mark.
After a DP punt on its next drive, Ventura picked up right where it left off and Ortman scored on a 9-yard rush to bring the lead to 13-6 early in the second quarter.
The Charger offense then got back on track, as Hedricks came up with a huge 27-yard catch over a defender to set up a 6-yard touchdown pitch and catch from Hurley to Grant. The extra point failed, keeping the Cougars in front by a score of 13-12.
The back-and-forth continued as the Cougars ripped off another long scoring drive, with Ortman and Cooke connecting in the endzone for the 19-12 advantage with 2:31 left in the half.
DP got in one last scoring drive before the half came to a close thanks to a big 36-yard pitch and catch from Streatfeild to Grant, which set up a 5-yard score from Hurley to Carly Letendre. The extra-point attempt was once again unsuccessful, giving Ventura a 19-18 halftime lead.
“We had one of the sloppier games we’ve ever had,” Caines said. “We handled the adversity. It’s never gonna be perfect. Our job is to make sure that we put great execution on the tape.”
The Ventura offense came out of the break and didn’t skip a beat, cruising down the field and Ortman once again found Cooke for the touchdown and the 26-18 advantage.
The Chargers punched right back on their first drive of the half as Hurley evaded the pressure and found Kindah Ahmad-Reda in the endzone for a 13-yard score to cut the deficit to 26-24 at the 4:20 mark of the third.
The Cougars once again had no problems getting deep into DP territory on the next drive. However, as time was winding down in the third quarter, the Charger pass rush got to Ortman and she forced up a tough pass across the field.
Ahmad-Reda then swooped in front of the receiver, hauled in the interception and raced down the field. She left every Ventura player in the dust on her way to a 70-yard pick-six to give her team a 30-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“Kindah is so talented, but sometimes she rests on her laurels,” Caines said. “So she was giving up a bunch of curls that she shouldn’t have all night, and I told her to run your grass and they’ll throw it to you.
“She ran her grass and they threw it to her… What a game-changing moment to flip the momentum and everything. It was spectacular. It was awesome… I always respect her for taking the coaching with grace and trusting the process.”
Ahmad-Reda also had eight catches for 83 yards and a touchdown to go along with her pick-six.
Ventura bounced right back with its longest scoring drive of the night, needing 13 plays to get down the field and score on Ortman and Cooke’s fourth touchdown connection of the night to jump out in front 33-20 with 6:16 on the clock.
DP then turned the ball over on the ensuing drive, giving the Cougars a chance to put the game on ice deep in Charger territory.
However, the DP came through with a big stop on 4th down to force the turnover on downs and set up the game-winning touchdown drive.