Dos Pueblos senior Anthony Spiritosanto and the Chargers are undefeated in Channel League play with one game to go. Spiritosanto and LeShon Bell lead the Chargers with seven rushing touchdowns.
Local high school football fans got their wish.
There was talk at the beginning of the season that the Channel League regular season finale between rivals Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos could be for the championship.
Well, the title game is on.
Santa Barbara (7-2, 2-1) visits DP?s Scott O?Leary Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. to play the Chargers (7-2, 3-0) for the league crown. Dos Pueblos is going for its second title in three years while Santa Barbara is looking to end a 12-year drought.
“I kind of thought about it at the beginning of the year, Santa Barbara Week 10,” said Chargers head coach Nate Mendoza following his team’s win over Buena on Friday. “We knew they were going to be tough this year.”
As the unbeaten team, DP is sitting pretty in terms of making the playoffs. Santa Barbara, on the other hand, finds itself in a precarious position. If it wins, it shares the title with DP and earns the league?s No. 1 seed for the playoffs. A loss and a Ventura win over San Marcos would leave the Dons in a three-way tie for second with Ventura and Buena at 2-2.
In the case of that scenario, the tie would be broken by coin-flips.
“We’ve got everything to lose and they’ve got everything to gain,? said Santa Barbara coach Doug Caines. “DP can lose and still be fine in terms of the playoffs and league championships, and if we lose, we potentially could have neither.”
The Dons took a huge hit two days before the game when senior quarterback Shawn Ramos was suspended for the remainder of the season for violating a school policy. Ramos had completed 66 percent of his passes and showed great leadership on the field.
James Hale, who plays at wide receiver, is the backup quarterback. Brent Peus is being brought up from the JV team.
The Dons have some game-breakers on offense. Speedy receiver James Stevens is a big-play threat. He caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in last Friday?s win over Ventura. Jason Jimenez and Rudy Corrales lead the rushing attack.
The Dons will be facing an aggressive Dos Pueblos defense, led by middle linebacker Nico Bornand.
The Santa Barbara defense will face a DP attack that pounds the ball with running backs Anthony Spiritosanto and Dylan Rohde. Quarterback LeShon Bell, also a running threat, has two big passing targets in Bornand and Robert Gulvan.
If the game comes down to a field goal, both teams have outstanding kickers: Bornand for DP and Matt Medina of Santa Barbara. Medina kicked a school-record 51-yard field goal in the win over Ventura.
Local football fans are in for a treat.
“It’s gonna be a great one,” Mendoza said.
Other events worth checking out:
Thursday
High school boys water polo ? Santa Barbara at Dos Pueblos, 3:15?p.m. — With Santa Barbara already clinching the Channel League title, this game will be a good tune-up for both teams before the CIF playoffs. The Dons won the first meeting 14-8. Santa Barbara is ranked second in CIF Division 2. College men?s basketball: La Verne at UCSB, 7?p.m.— The baby-faced Gauchos make their first public appearance in this exhibition game against a Division 3 school. UCSB has only one senior on its roster ? point guard Nate Garth ? and nine freshmen. The young Gauchos do have a budding star in 6-7 sophomore power forward Alan Williams.
Friday
College women?s soccer: Biola at Westmont in GSAC semifinals, 2 p.m. — After finishing second in the regular season, the Warriors earned the right to host a conference tournament semifinal game at Thorrington Field. They?ll play the highest remaining seed from Tuesday?s first-round matches. High school football: Bishop Diego (9-0) at Mission Prep (8-0), 7 p.m. — The Cardinals don?t get a break after beating Nordhoff for the Tri-Valley League championship last week and taking over the No. 1 spot in the CIF Northwest Division rankings. They finish their regular season schedule at San Luis Obispo Mission Prep, the No. 1 team in the CIF Northeast Division. High school football: Carpinteria (5-4, 1-2) at Oak Park (4-5, 1-2), 7:30?p.m.— Carpinteria coach Ben Hallock is calling his team Road Warriors because it has to win on the road for the second straight week to have a shot at an at-large berth for the CIF playoffs.
Saturday
High school football: Orcutt Academy (5-4) at Cate (7-1), 2 p.m. — This is a first-round game in the CIF Division 1 eight-man playoffs. Cate, the Condor League champions, beat Orcutt Academy during the regular season, 48-12. College men’s soccer: UCSB at Cal Poly — The Gauchos forfeited their participation in the postseason as result of a player’s physical assault on the referee following last Sunday’s overtime loss to UC Davis. In this regular season finale, they can spoil the Mustangs’ hopes of making the Big West Tournament.
Sunday
High school football — Pairings for the CIF playoffs will be announced. Bishop Diego could be the top-seeded team in the Northwest Division.
