Dos Pueblos Flag Football Remains Unbeaten with 32-6 Victory over Rio Mesa

A battle of unbeaten teams produced a lopsided result as the Dos Pueblos High girls flag football team defeated visiting Rio Mesa 32-6 on Thursday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium. 

Liliana Rodriguez tossed four touchdown passes to four different receivers and the Chargers’ defense repeatedly stiffened in the red zone to thwart a potent Rio Mesa offense.

“The Ventura kickoff classic put together the best 16 teams in the area, and they’re going to be there on Saturday with the top four teams along with us, San Marcos and Westlake,” said Dos Pueblos head coach Doug Caines of Rio Mesa. “They’re definitely a good football team.”

With the victory, Dos Pueblos improved to 5-0 overall this season and 1-0 in Channel league play.

“I told them at the start of the season that we will go as far as they go in terms of their preparation,” Caines said. “I’m a varsity football coach. We’re doing varsity football, and they accepted that challenge all summer. To see it show up tonight like this against a really good football team speaks to their level of preparation.”

The Chargers opened the scoring with 18:20 remaining in the first half when Rodriguez connected with Kacey Hurley in stride on a crossing route. The ensuing extra point attempt was no good, giving Dos Pueblos a 6-0 lead from 13 yards out.

After a quick Rio Mesa three-and-out, Dos Pueblos marched down the field again and capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown from Rodriguez to freshman Kindah Ahmad-Reda. The ensuing extra point increased the Dos Pueblos lead to 13-0 with a bit more than 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

“It’s really exciting because our team is so diverse and they are all different in their own way,” Rodriguez said. “They’re able to bring that into the game and show it out on the field.”

Rio Mesa scored its lone touchdown of the game on a 17-yard pass from Jocelyn Sanchez to Jordyn Keys, cutting its deficit to 13-6 with nine minutes remaining.

However, Dos Pueblos immediately responded with a 10-play drive that culminated in a one-yard toss from Rodriguez to Carly Letendre to go ahead 19-6 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.

The Dos Pueblos defense came up big on the next Rio Mesa possession as Brooklyn Hedricks snagged an interception on the first play of the drive.

An interception in the end zone by Emily Raymond just before halftime was a huge momentum shift that helped Dos Pueblos run away with the game.

In the second half, freshman Hannah Remick entered the game for stretches at quarterback and connected with Sterling Streatfeild on a four-yard touchdown pass with 21 minutes remaining in the game.

The Chargers closed the scoring with a four-yard touchdown pass from Rodriguez to Hanna Kaminsky with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the game. A successful extra point increased the margin of victory to 32-6.

Dos Pueblos will compete in the final four of the Ventura Kickoff Classic this weekend with a chance to stake a claim as one of the top teams on the Central Coast.