LOMPOC — The Chargers needed 10 seconds to find the end zone, and they kept coming back for more.
Josh Bartley returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and rushed for two more as Dos Pueblos picked up its first win of the season on Friday, a 41-16 decision over Cabrillo at Huyck Stadium.
Bartley, a junior running back, ran for 79 yards on 15 carries while senior quarterback Michael Spiritosanto racked up 98 yards on 15 carries of his own. Senior linebacker Alex Peña had a monstrous night on defense, recovering a fumble and intercepting a pair of passes. He returned his second pick 43 yards for a touchdown, making it 28-7 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
DP came into the season with high expectations but was 0-2 heading into Friday.
“It’s a big relief, actually. There wasn’t that much worry, but if we keep doing what we’re doing we’ll be sure to get more W’s,” said Peña.
Cabrillo (1-2) fumbled six times, losing two of them, to go along with two interceptions. The Conqs went 0-for-11 on pass attempts in the game, while DP (1-2) went 7-for-11 with 63 yards through the air. For the most part, it was a hard-nosed, up-the-gut rushing showdown. At the end of the first quarter, Cabrillo was in the midst of a stretch of 14 consecutive running plays. Eight of them were straight up the middle by T.J. Babauta, the game’s leading rusher with 115 yards on 24 carries.
“I have confidence that if we’re playing a team and they wanna play smashmouth, I’ve got confidence in my defense… These guys wanna hit. They love to hit,” said DP assistant coach Nate Mendoza.
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Cabrillo coach Craigg Knowles boiled the loss down to three things.
“It was turnovers, big plays and not tackling on defense. That was about all it was,” he said.
Bartley’s second touchdown was a 26-yard run with 4:19 left in the first quarter, pushing the score to 14-0. Cabrillo quarterback Jeff Aldridge got the Conqs on the board with a five-yard run midway through the second quarter, but Spiritosanto responded with a two-yard bulldozing effort with 2:32 to go, sending the game into halftime at 21-7.
Peña’s interception return opened the scoring in the third quarter, and Cabrillo fired back when Jalen Davenport broke free on a 41-yard touchdown run to put the hosts back within two touchdowns at 28-14. Bartley opened the final period with a seven-yard slashing score before Cabrillo got two points back on a safety with 8:09 to go. The Chargers ended the night’s scoring when Ben Adams scooted 62 yards for the final touchdown.
Cabrillo faces a stacked Arroyo Grande team next week, while DP hosts Lompoc.
DOS PUEBLOS 41, CABRILLO 16
Dos Pueblos…14 7 7 13 — 41
Cabrillo…0 7 7 2 — 16
FIRST QUARTER
DP — Bartley 85 kick return (Bornand kick), 11:50.
DP — Bartley 26 run (Bornand kick), 4:19.
SECOND QUARTER
C — Aldridge 5 run (Dalton kick), 6:02.
DP — Spiritosanto 2 run (Bornand kick), 2:44.
THIRD QUARTER
DP — Peña 43 INT return (Bornand kick), 10:14.
C — Davenport 41 run (Dalton kick), 2:32.
FOURTH QUARTER
DP — Bartley 7 run (kick missed), 11:01.
C — Safety, 8:09.
DP — Adams 62 run (Bornand kick), 4:53.
TEAM STATISTICS DP, CAB
First Downs……………………………15, 12
Rush Yds/Att……………………….176-38, 176-49
Passing Yds……………………………..63, 0
Pass Comp-Att-Int………………7-11-0, 0-11-2
Total Yards…………………………………239, 176
Fumbles-Lost…………………………….3-1, 6-2
Penalties-Yards……………………..4-40, 1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – DP: Bartley 15-79, Spiritsosanto 15-98, Yamamoto 6-8, #6 2-(-9). CAB: Whittaker 7-13, Babauta 24-115, Watson 5-4, Barazza 5-17, Aldridge 7-28, Fienga 1-(-1).
PASSING – DP: Spiritosanto 5-9-39, Soto 1-1-24, Adams 1-1-0. CAB: Aldridge 0-11-0.
RECEIVING– DP: Silva 1-14, Arias 2-18, Gomez 1-24, Burke 1-4, Bartley 1-3, Yamamoto 1-0.
Records– DP 1-2, CAB 1-2
