After a slow start, the Dos Pueblos High football team clawed its way back into its season opener in the fourth quarter but failed to get over the hump in a 21-14 loss to Santa Ynez on Friday night.
The host Pirates captured the victory behind a prolific rushing attack, spearheaded by senior running back Cael DeForest, who racked up 180 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns.
“He, as much as any of those backs, is going to attribute it to the O-lineman,” said Santa Ynez coach Josh McClurg of DeForest’s big night and the run game overall. “We made a conscious effort to stress the cohesiveness of the line and being physical at the point of attack.”
Both defenses dominated early in the game. Santa Ynez was forced to punt after picking up one first down on its opening drive, and Dos Pueblos followed that up with a quick three-and-out on its opening possession.
On the ensuing Pirates’ possession, Dos Pueblos defensive back Patrick Sullivan hauled in an interception off the hands of a Santa Ynez receiver.
“He is small in stature, but he is one heck of a football player. He is one of our captains on defense, and he knows everything we’re doing,” said Dos Pueblos coach AJ Pateras of Sullivan. “Pat had a great night, but that’s what we expect from these guys, especially if they have been in the program a long time.”
Santa Ynez broke the scoreless stalemate at the six-minute mark of the second quarter by utilizing a wishbone formation. DeForest patiently followed his blocks, exploded upfield, and punctuated his 70-yard touchdown run with a flip into the end zone that put the Pirates ahead 7-0.
Dos Pueblos responded with an 11-play drive deep into Santa Ynez territory, but Santa Ynez defensive back Adrian Merritt broke up a pass by putting his helmet on the football, and the play was ruled a fumble that the Pirates recovered.
The turnover provided Santa Ynez with an opportunity to add to its lead just before halftime, but Sullivan ended the ensuing Pirates’ possession with his second interception of the game on a deep pass down the middle.
The Pirates extended their lead to 14-0 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter on a six-yard run by DeForest that capped a 15-play, 85-yard drive.
With 7:59 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Chargers converted a fourth-and-three from the 26-yard line with a touchdown pass from Grady Felix to Soren Smedley, who ran a crisp slant route and pulled away from the defense, cutting the Dos Pueblos deficit to 14-7.
However, the Pirates responded with a quick four-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 55-yard touchdown run by Pablo Pulido with 5:49 remaining in the game.
Just when it appeared Santa Ynez had pulled away, Felix connected with Smedley again, this time on a 54-yard touchdown pass with 4:52 remaining in the game, trimming the Chargers’ deficit to 21-14.
With the game on the line, Santa Ynez was able to drain the remainder of the clock, utilizing a hard snap count to draw Dos Pueblos offsides for the final first down of the game.
Santa Ynez will host rival Lompoc next week. Dos Pueblos will host Buena.
Bishop Diego, 37; Paso Robles, 24
Junior running back Sam Boeddeker rushed for three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Kaleo Satele passed for a touchdown and ran for another as the Cardinals pulled away for the season-opening victory in the fourth quarter.
Bishop Diego will host West Ranch next week.
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