After seven consecutive losses to rival Dos Pueblos, the San Marcos High football team broke through with a 34-14 victory over the Chargers on Friday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
San Marcos quarterback Josh Engel tossed three first-half touchdowns to receivers Patrick Kelly, Owen Lauderdale and Luke Crawford. Senior running back Andre McCullough rushed for 156 yards on 18 carries, including a 43-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.
“Our guys really came out with a lot of swag, which I wanted to see and had some fun,” said San Marcos coach Ralph Molina. “Boy, we executed.”
Perhaps even more impressive than the balanced offensive attack that San Marcos displayed was the smothering defense that held Dos Pueblos scoreless until late in the third quarter.
Lauderdale was all over the field defensively for San Marcos and blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt by Dos Pueblos star kicker Greg Tripathi.
As a result of his efforts in all three phases of the game, Lauderdale received the Jeff Hasselmeyer Battle for the Goodland Award.
“He’s been our most consistent defensive player from day one,” Molina said. “He just flies everywhere. Sometimes he overdoes it and you tell him to slow down.”
Dos Pueblos found its footing in the second half and David Buso capped off scoring drives with touchdown runs of one and four yards.
“You’ve got to give credit to Ralph and those guys they played harder than us tonight,” said Dos Pueblos coach A.J. Pateras. “When we were able to punch back and fight back it was a little too late.”
Sophomore running back Nathan Jones gave a glimpse of his potential with a 69-yard touchdown run on a reverse with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter to close the scoring for San Marcos.
Dos Pueblos receiver Brett Jones suffered a serious wrist injury in the first half.
The Royals improved to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the Channel League. Dos Pueblos fell to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the Channel League.
Oaks Christian 24, Bishop Diego 21
Qu’Ran Gossett scored two touchdowns and eclipsed 200 yards rushing, but a holding penalty knocked the Cardinals out of field goal range in the closing moments leading to the second heartbreaking loss in as many weeks for Bishop Diego (4-3 overall, 0-2 Marmonte League).
Santa Barbara 55, Channel Islands 0
Senior running back Nathan Barrios rushed for three touchdowns. The Dons improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Channel League.
Carpinteria 14, Hoover 13
The Warriors picked up a narrow non-league victory. They will return to Citrus Coast League play next week, at home against Fillmore.
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