Tim Dominguez gave Rio Mesa the finishing touch on a 17-14 come-from-behind win Friday night over visiting Dos Pueblos. Dominguez, a junior kicker, made a 26-yard field goal as time expired to give the Spartans the victory over the Chargers.
Dos Pueblos found the end zone first when Josh Bartley scored on a 1-yard run with 8:44 left in the second quarter. The quick, shifty Bartley gained 120 yards on 23 carries. The Chargers led 7-0 at the half.
Wrout’s third quarter catch and run woke up a slow-starting Rio Mesa squad. Wrout took a pass from Trenton Thornton and seeing a defender coming up fast, knocked him to the ground, and then knocked back a second on-coming defender for a 6-yard gain.
The play moved Rio Mesa to the Dos Pueblos 24-yard line, and helped set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordan Nunnery to tie the score at 7. Nunnery led Rio Mesa with 80 yards on 19 carries.
“Our coach kept telling me to break it outside because I have the speed and that was just (my) reaction,” Wrout said. “My arm stuck out and I put the guy to the ground. I was happy. I got pumped up.”
Dos Pueblos retook the lead when Nicolai Bornand caught a pass over the middle from Jake Roberts and sprinted upfield 47 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, 14-7.
The Spartans rode the Wrout’s legs to put together a tying drive early in the fourth quarter.
Wrout had runs of nine and 17 yards and a 13-yard reception as part of an 11-play drive that started at Rio Mesa’s 12-yard line. The drive culminated with Wrout taking a handoff and busting outside for a 6-yard touchdown run.
The game nearly ended in a tie. In league play, a tie would automatically mean overtime, but in this non-league contest Dos Pueblos didn’t agree to a potential extra session. Rio Mesa cornerback Darion Zimmerman made it a moot point.
Dos Pueblos had possession with just over a minute left, but Roberts threw a pass along the left sideline that Zimmerman picked off and returned to the Chargers’ 16-yard line. Wrout ran for nine yards, but a false start penalty pushed Rio Mesa back to the 12-yard line. Nunnery picked up three-yards, and Rio Mesa coach Bob Gregorchuk let the clock tick down to 2.1 seconds before calling timeout.
Dominguez calmly made the 26-yard kick that had Rio Mesa players running and jumping off the sideline in celebration.
“I’m proud of him,” Wrout said. “He’s only a junior. He’s got a lot of big things to come for him.”
It was another disappointing finish for Dos Pueblos, which slips to 0-5. For a winless team, Dos Pueblos pushed a lackluster Rio Mesa in the first half.
–Jeffrey Dransfeldt, Ventura County Star
