Dos Pueblos couldn’t recover from an early 14-0 deficit and suffered a 34-14 football loss at Cabrillo on Friday night.
Cabrillo quarterback Brett Gregory ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Conquistadores, who led 20-7 at halftime.
Manny Nwosu ran for a touchdown and sophomore quarterback threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Josh Flora for DP (0-2).
The Chargers failed to convert on a fourth-down play at midfield on their first possession and that gave Cabrillo momentum. The Conquistadores responded with a drive that resulted in a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Cabrillo (2-0) got the ball back and was face with a third-and-15 situation. Gregory found Steven French on a fade route and hit him for a 35-yard touchdown play and a 14-0 lead.
“We guys all over him. It was just a great catch and a great throw,” said DP coach Nate Mendoza.
Five into the game, DP was down 14-0.
“The kids had a tough time handling somebody hitting them in the mouth like that so quickly. So we struggled with that,” said Mendoza.
It also didn’t help sophomore quarterback Kellen Roberts, who was making his first varsity start in place of injured Barrett Burnes.
“That’s what we didn’t want was to put him in a hole,” said Mendoza. “That’s the kind of pressure he doesn’t need. We didn’t our sophomore quarterback a favor by getting into a hole early.”
The Chargers suffered another blow when tight end and defensive end Austen Pearce left the game with an injury.
Mendoza said Cabrillo did a nice job keeping his team off balance and Gregory made it tough with his ability to scramble.
Down 20-7 entering the third quarter, Dos Pueblos put together a good drive to start the second half. A holding penalty pushed the Chargers back and they fumbled on the next play.
“This game is about momentum and we kept giving it to (Cabrillo),” said Mendoza.
