San Marcos' Kyle Miller pounded the Chargers for 162 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday night
San Marcos kept things simple on Thursday night, and it worked.
The underdog Royals handed the ball off to running back Kyle Miller 36 times, and the senior turned it into 162 yards and touchdown runs of one and two yards in a 14-7 win over Dos Pueblos at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
Like the play-calling, Miller’s running was also simple. Aside from a spin move that led to 20 yards on his very first carry, he got the ball, held on and ran up the gut.
It was a blue-collar effort that left him ecstatic but exhausted.
“I could barely breathe by the end, but I just wanted to hold onto the ball. However many yards I got, we just couldn’t give the ball up and we didn’t,” he said. “The O-Line did an awesome job of pushing their guys back. This was their game. They did all the hard work.”
San Marcos coach Jeff Hesselmeyer, who was a longtime coach at DP until 2001, got an ice bath from his team after the game.
He kept his comments as simple as his game-plan.
“It’s a special game. It’s always a special game and our kids really played great tonight. I couldn’t be more proud of them,” he said before trotting off the field that he’d spent so many years coaching on.
Neither team turned the ball over in the contest, although there were 12 total punts.
“My hat’s off to them. The difference in the game was that there were no turnovers for them,” said DP assistant coach Nate Mendoza. “We usually collect a few fumbles a game, but they held onto the ball and ran the heck out of the ball. They ran between the tackles the whole game. It was just smash-mouth football by San Marcos.”
Dos Pueblos’ night on offense was a bit more erratic, particularly on a bizarre possession that closed the third quarter after Miller scored the final touchdown of the game. A wayward snap sent the Chargers back 15 yards and set up a third-and-25 back at their own 11. Quarterback Zack Boytis then found Eric Arroyo deep across the middle, which Arroyo ran with for a 54-yard gain.
Boytis scrambled away from the San Marcos pass rush on the next play and completed a short toss to Michael Spiritosanto, who ran down near the goal line. A holding penalty deep in the backfield, however, turned it into a 20-yard loss for DP. Two plays later on third-and-30 Boytis had to once again run backwards to avoid the rush and was called for intentional grounding, backing the ball up 30 more yards.
The Chargers were back to where they were before Arroyo’s catch, facing fourth down and 60 yards to go.
“A fourth-and-60? I’ve never seen that before,” said Mendoza.
The Chargers, who were without the services of running back Anthony Houston due to injury, had one more possession but were forced to punt on their own 33.
San Marcos quarterback James Crook completed a 10-yard pass to Kevin Blum that kept the ensuing Royals drive alive. San Marcos ran out the clock by handing the ball off to you-know-who eight times, gaining three first downs along the way. The second was converted on a critical sneak by Crook at the DP 45-yard line.
DP’s touchdown came on a majestic 38-yard Boytis pass that found Branden Tangel streaking down the sideline, making it 7-7 with 2:01 left in the first half. Miller’s first score was a one-yard run with 5:34 left in the first, and his second was a two-yarder with 2:54 remaining in the third.
The loss prevented Dos Pueblos (3-5, 1-2 Channel League) from clinching the city championship. If San Marcos (2-6, 1-2) beats Santa Barbara in “The Big Game” on November 13th, the Royals will win the title. If the Dons take out the Royals, there will be a 3-way tie for the city crown.
SAN MARCOS 14, DOS PUEBLOS 7
San Marcos…7 0 7 0 — 14
Dos Pueblos…0 7 0 0 — 7
FIRST QUARTER
SM — Miller 1 run (Gutierrez kick), 5:34
SECOND QUARTER
DP — Tangel 38 pass from Boytis (Micheel kick), 2:01
THIRD QUARTER
SM — Miller 2 run (Gutierrez kick), 2:54
TEAM STATISTICS SM DP
First Downs…………………………… 16 7
Rushing: Car./Yds……………… 55/244 23/58
Passing: Comp-Att-Int………… 2-5-0 7-16-0
Passing Yds…………………………….21 135
Total Yds…………………………………265 193
Fumbles/Lost……………………………1-0 2-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING– SM: Miller 36-162, Hernandez 4-40, Clark 10-31, Crook 1-3, Keefer 1-3, Duran 2-5. DP: Spiritosanto 15-47, Boytis 3-(-5), Thomas 2-8, Harris 1-0, Taylor 1-4, Micheel 1-4.
PASSING– SM: Crook 2-5-0-21. DP: Boytis 7-16-0-135.
RECEIVING– SM: Arroyo 5-78, Thomas 1-19, Tangel 1-38. DP: Kirkwood 1-11, Blum 1-10.
Kudos to D.P., both the team and their coaches for keeping the sportsmanship in high school sports.
It was my kid who had the 36 carries for SM and as I watched the game on Cox channel 8 this week I noticed something I had missed from the stands. A couple of times, a DP player would help my kid up after the tackle. Almost all of the DP and SM kids were team mates for a year or two in the SBYFL days, so they all know each other. Still though, you don't see that kinda sportsmanship too often these days. Way to go DP!
Kudos to D.P., both the team and their coaches for keeping the sportsmanship in high school sports.
It was my kid who had the 36 carries for SM and as I watched the game on Cox channel 8 this week I noticed something I had missed from the stands. A couple of times, a DP player would help my kid up after the tackle. Almost all of the DP and SM kids were team mates for a year or two in the SBYFL days, so they all know each other. Still though, you don't see that kinda sportsmanship too often these days. Way to go DP!