Dominant red-zone defense boosted the Dos Pueblos High flag football team to a 21-0 victory over rival San Marcos on Thursday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
The visiting Royals repeatedly marched down the field, but the Chargers repeatedly stiffened near the end zone, thwarting scoring opportunities in a crucial Channel League contest.
“Bend but don’t break, that was it. We tried to frustrate Victoria Aldana as much as we could, but she is special,” said Dos Pueblos coach Doug Caines of the San Marcos quarterback. “I was super proud of the way we hung on in the red zone. We had three or four really good stands.”
The quarterback-wide receiver combination of Ruby Streatfeild and Brooklyn Hedricks accounted for nearly all of the offense as the duo combined for three touchdowns through the air.
“I trust her. I know she is going to get the ball to me, and I know she trusts that I’ll catch it,” said Hedricks of her relationship with Streatfeild. “Even outside of football, we’ve been hanging out every day at lunch, and we actually have a few classes together.”
The Dos Pueblos offense got rolling on its second drive of the game. On fourth-and-8 from the 28-yard line, Streatfeild scrambled to her left, buying time as Hedricks uncovered down the field and caught the ball behind the San Marcos defense in the end zone with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter.
The Chargers converted the ensuing extra point on an option pitch to Paige Ferro to take a 7-0 lead.
The Royals responded with an 11-play drive, but on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Aldana was intercepted in the end zone by Tabby Weller.
Dos Pueblos made the most of the turnover, capping a nine-play drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Streatfeild to Hedricks, followed by a one-point conversion pass to Jane Gibson that increased the Chargers’ lead to 14-0 with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
Disaster struck for San Marcos on its ensuing drive as freshman standout Bella Bazylewicz suffered what appeared to be a severe leg injury on a deep pass down the sideline. She was helped off the field after a delay and did not return to action.
The Royals marched to the red zone again, but Aldana’s fourth-down pass from the 11-yard line fell incomplete as the first-half clock expired.
“We just didn’t finish the drives. I wouldn’t be surprised if we outgained them tonight. Unfortunately, you don’t win games by gaining yards; you win games by scoring touchdowns,” said San Marcos coach Walter Bazylewicz. “We didn’t finish drives tonight, but we were proud of our effort, and there were some good things out there.”
San Marcos had perhaps its best drive of the game on its first possession of the second half, but on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Aldana’s run up the middle and reach for the end zone was ruled short, and Dos Pueblos took over on downs.
The Chargers put the game away on their next drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Streatfeild to Hedricks with 11:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.
With the victory, Dos Pueblos improved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Channel League play. San Marcos dropped to 11-6 overall and 0-2 in Channel League play.
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