Chase Johnson rushed for 195 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Dos Pueblos High football team dominated in the trenches on its way to a 56-21 Tri-County League victory over Santa Paula on Friday night.
After a tight first half, Dos Pueblos outscored Santa Paula 35-7 after the break, executing consistently in all three phases of the game.
“We knew that they would be tough, and our guys kind of wanted to feel the game out. Santa Paula wasn’t going to let us do that,” said Dos Pueblos coach AJ Pateras, reflecting on his team’s dominance after a slow start. “I thought the response was great, and it started with the offense being able to take the opening drive down the field for the second week in a row.”
Santa Paula got on the board first when quarterback Rene Vega connected with wide receiver Imari Carveth on a short pass that Carveth turned into a 34-yard touchdown by breaking multiple tackles.
The Chargers responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Johnson with 59 seconds left in the first quarter.
After a quick three-and-out by Santa Paula, Caeden Lee returned a punt 27 yards to the 23-yard line. Four plays later, Johnson plunged into the end zone, increasing the Dos Pueblos lead to 14-7.
Johnson notched his third touchdown of the game with 3:01 left in the second quarter. It appeared Dos Pueblos would take a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, but a 56-yard pass from Vega to Isaiah Ramos brought the Cardinals to the 3-yard line.
On the next play, Vega connected with Derec Andrade in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown that cut Santa Paula’s deficit to 21-14 with 19 seconds remaining in the first half.
Johnson’s fourth and final touchdown came with 9:41 remaining in the third quarter, extending the Dos Pueblos lead to 28-14.
“We were just working on it all week. We had team meetings during lunch with the O-line. We were just really locked in with our blocking,” Johnson said of Dos Pueblos’ success in the running game. “Everybody was doing their jobs. My O-line and my receivers were helping us play as a team.”
Felipe Simonetti also had a big night on the ground for the Chargers, running right up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown to give Dos Pueblos a 35-14 lead with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Johnson didn’t play in the fourth quarter, but that didn’t stop Dos Pueblos from adding three more touchdowns.
Joan Esparza scored late in the third quarter, and sophomore quarterback Calvin Mitchell finished off a long drive with a quarterback sneak midway through the fourth quarter. Anthony Ellington scored the final touchdown with 1:28 remaining, extending the Dos Pueblos lead to 56-21.
Santa Barbara 37, Rio Mesa 0
The Dons bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to Ventura and improved to 2-1 in Channel League play with the win. Everett Rabb Preston rushed for 137 yards on 18 carries behind a dominant performance from the Santa Barbara offensive line.
San Marcos 44, Hueneme 6
The Royals (4-4 overall, 2-1 in Channel League play) have earned back-to-back wins for the second time this season. Freshman safety Joseph Nealon recorded an interception and recovered a fumble on consecutive Hueneme possessions.
Pacifica 49, Bishop Diego 24
The Cardinals have lost four straight games after starting the season 2-0.
Grace Brethren 40, Carpinteria 0
Carpinteria dropped to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the Citrus Coast League.
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