From 0-7, to three straight wins and a trip to the CIF playoffs.
Dos Pueblos picked the right time to turn its season around. The Chargers completed their improbable run to the playoffs by blanking San Marcos 28-0 to claim the first Battle of Goodland Trophy and the City Championship on Thursday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
Josh Bartley rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown as the Chargers clinched second place in the Channel League to earn an automatic playoff berth in the CIF Western Division playoffs
Bartley was named winner of the Jeff Hesselmeyer MVP Award, named for the popular San Marcos and Dos Pueblos coach who passed away in July. The senior running back set the tone in the first half by rushing for 106 yards.
“To end the season the way we did, is a testament to their perseverance going through tough times,” Dos Pueblos coach Jeff Uyesaka said of his players.
“We were just trying to win a game,” he said about being 0-7. “We weren’t even thinking about the playoffs. We were just trying to do our thing. If you came to our practices, you wouldn’t know we were 0-7.”
Nico Bornand, the Chargers’ junior linebacker, kicker and punter, said the team stayed positive when it was losing all those games.
“We tried getting our heads away from that going into league. We just looked forward and we never looked back,” said Bornand.
Bornand’s kicking leg was an effective weapon against San Marcos speedster Andrew Thayer. He kept the return specialist in check most of the night by hitting kickoffs into the end zone and getting good hang time on his punts.
Dos Pueblos quarterback Armando Arzate attempts a pass in the first quarter. (Vince Agapito photo)
Dos Pueblos scored its first touchdown early in the second touchdown. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Bartley crashed into the line and fumbled into the end zone, but offensive lineman Isaac Escobar pounced on the ball for the score.
The Chargers quickly got the ball back at their 46, after their defense held the Royals to three-and-out. Bartley swept left for a 20 yards and Anthony Spiritosanto followed with a 14-yard run. Bartley capped the drive with a 4-yard run for a 14-0 lead at 6:53 of the second quarter.
“We really wanted to stop the run a lot better than what we did,” San Marcos coach Dale Perizzolo said “In the first half, we didn’t really stop it all. They just kept running off tackle. In the second half, they just kept grinding and pounding and pounding.
We kept making mistakes; the mental mistakes killed us.”
The DP defense dominated San Marcos in the first half, holding the Royals to 38 yards. The defense, however, suffered a blow when senior Isaac Gomez suffered a broken leg.
The Royals moved the ball a little better in the second half, with sophomore quarterback Wesley Ghan-Gibson throwing on almost every down. He completed 13 of 40 passes for 133 yards and three interceptions.
“Wesley has a lot to learn about playing at this caliber. He’s only a sophomore,” Perizzolo said. “DP has a really good defense; they don’t allow a whole lot of points. Keeping us to a goose egg with Thayer, Wesley and Ricky (Valensuela) … we got some good athletes and their defense stepped up and made it happen.”
San Marcos’ defense played better in the second half against Bartley.
“Their defense came after him,” Uyesaka said. “They took a lot of things away. That’s a tribute to their game plan and coaching staff. I got say congratulations to San Marcos — they didn’t give up. We had to keep our guys in for quite a long time. We couldn’t stop pushing because they have so many weapons.”
Dos Pueblos started to pull away in the third quarter when quarterback Armando Arzate rolled to his right and hit Bornand for a 45-yard pass touchdown play to make 21-0 at the 8:36 mark.
“It was good toss by the quarterback, the line held their blocks … it was just overall a good play,” said Bornand.
San Marcos’ best chance to score came after Valensuela recovered his second fumble of the game at the DP 28. A 14-yard completion from Ghan-Gibson to Eric Avila put the ball down to the 12. After a five-yard penalty, the Royals threw three incomplete passes, and a fourth-down completion to Travis Osborn came up six yards short of a first down.
The Chargers put the game out of reach when Spiritosanto burst off left tackle for a 65-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
“This is a game I think coach Hess would be proud the way both teams played and the way the kids played. It’s all about that,” Uyesaka said. “The trophy was appropriate; I think the heart and soul of the competition, the spirit of game here in Goleta, was fun and did him right in his memory.”
DOS PUEBLOS 28, SAN MARCOS 0
San Marcos…0 0 0 0 — 0
Dos Pueblos…0 14 7 7 — 28
Second quarter
DP—Escobar recovered fumble in end zone, Bornand kick, 11:51
DP—Bartley 4 run, Bornand kick, 6:53
Third quarter
DP—Bornand 45 pass from Arzate, Bornand kick, 8:36
Fourth quarter
DP—Spiritosanto 65 run, Bornand kick, 9:01
‘2nd Consecutive CITY CHAMPS !’
Is what the article should have been titled. Give DP their much deserved props
2011-2012–YEAR OF THE DOS PUEBLOS CHARGERS!!!!!!!
DP rules the Good Land (including Santa Barbara) in football, girls volleyball, boys water polo and it’s only November.
GO CHARGERS!!!!
You forgot the Dos Pueblos boys cross country that qualified for the cif finals and joined other DP teams that have excelled this year.
San Marcos is the only team to three peat City Champion (90-92) since the whole City Championship started in 71 when all three teams began to play every year. DP has a chance, but SB will be much better. The class of 93 at SM never gave up a single point to DP in four years, just sayin.
This article and this conversation is about what happened the day before yesterday—this year.
It’s about what is happening now–not what happened in the past.
What happened 20 years ago happened 20 years ago when the kids who just played the game this week weren’t even born.
Congrats to the 1992 Royals and those that were on the team back then. But for a 40 year old ex-football player remembering his glory days and taking away from the accomplishments of this years DP team is sad to read.
Just saying.
I’m simply stating the FACT that next years DP team has a CHANCE to three peat and a stat that has REFERENCE to the DP/SM rivalry. It can be done for the second time, but I feel will be tough. Don’t get so bend out of shape. 35 yrs old my friend. nice try on the 40 though. Good luck to DP in the playoffs.