Two second-half touchdown passes from Kacey Hurley to Kindah Ahmad-Reda broke open a tight game as the Dos Pueblos High flag football team opened the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs with a 20-0 victory over visiting Etiwanda on Wednesday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
The Chargers will now travel to Edison of Huntington Beach for a Quarterfinal clash on Monday. Edison upset its Sunset League rival, Newport Harbor, to advance.
“Ultimately, we talked about overcoming adversity, and we found a way,” said Dos Pueblos coach Doug Caines. “{Hurley} did a good job of finding her receivers and trusting her girls.”
Dos Pueblos set the tone with a sensational opening drive. The Chargers converted a 4th-and-11 from the 31-yard line with a 21-yard pass from Hurley to Carly Letendre.
On the very next play, Hurley lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone that Taylor Grant snagged with one hand, keeping her feet inbounds for a spectacular touchdown that gave Dos Pueblos a 6-0 lead at the seven-minute mark of the first quarter.
That was the lone scoring play of the first half as both defenses stiffened.
Midway through the second quarter, an interception by Etiwanda’s Mykayla Weathersby was returned to the Dos Pueblos 11-yard line. However, the Chargers’ defense held firm and forced a turnover on downs to preserve their 6-0 lead.
Dos Pueblos methodically marched down the field on a 14-play, 66-yard drive to open the third quarter, capped by a nine-yard touchdown pass from Hurley to Ahmad-Reda on fourth-and-goal. The score increased the Chargers’ lead to 12-0 with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter.
“Football is a game of matchups—sometimes you have to take some shots,” Caines said. “We think that between Taylor {Grant}, Brooklyn {Hedricks}, and Kindah Ahmad-Reda as three vertical threats, those girls can win jump balls against most other teams, and that was proven today.”
An errant snap into the end zone on Etiwanda’s ensuing drive increased the Dos Pueblos lead to 14-0, and the Chargers tacked on another touchdown on an eight-yard pass from Hurley to Ahmad-Reda, making it 20-0 with 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Dos Pueblos defense finished strong to preserve its eighth shutout of the season. With the victory, Dos Pueblos improves to 23-2 overall.
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