Dos Palos' Sparks gets dramatic 200th victory

DOS PALOS -- No. 200 was one to remember.

Dos Palos quarterback Ryan Yriarte fired a 26-yard touchdown to Jake Shelly to pull DP within 20-19 of Los Banos with 1:32 left in the game.

Mike Sparks then dipped deep into a bag of tricks he's been carrying on the sideline since 1988.

Dos Palos faked the field goal on the extra-point attempt and Yriarte rolled to his right and found D.J. Quiroz wide open in the end zone for the two-point conversion as Dos Palos won the Westside War with a thrilling 21-20 win.

The win was Sparks' 200th career victory.

"The last two years I've been driving the side roads in town," joked Sparks, referring to back-to-back losses to LB. "I guess I can drive on Main Street again."

The win set off a wild party on the field, much bigger than some of the celebrations Dos Palos has enjoyed after winning section titles.

"What a storybook ending," Yriarte said. "This is one for the record books for coach Sparks."

Dos Palos (1-1) earned the milestone win for Sparks by holding a potent Los Banos offense to just three points in the second half.

Los Banos hurt DP through the air in the first half as quarterback Ryan Carmo hooked up with Daeton West for a 44-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and later tossed a 26-yard touchdown to Gus Dicochea in the second quarter.

Los Banos had a 17-3 lead with 3:15 left in the second quarter.

However, Dos Palos stayed patient and stuck with the game plan.

Kevin Schofield pounded the Los Banos defense all night, accounting for the bulk of Dos Palos' yards.

The three-year starter racked up 142 of DP's 154 yards in the first half.

Schofield's 1-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 17-10 just before the half.

He finished with 221 yards on 48 carries.

"There's no mystery," said Los Banos coach Dennis Stubbs, whose team dropped to 2-2. "Obviously when they rested him, they basically lost yardage."

The two teams traded field goals early on in the second half.

With Los Banos leading 20-13 with 5:35 left, Dos Palos took possession of the ball at its 19-yard line.

Yriarte immediately got DP going in the right direction with a 35-yard pass to Alex Reeves that moved the ball into Los Banos territory.

A big offsides penalty by Los Banos on fourth down helped keep the drive alive and five plays later, Yriarte found Shelly for the touchdown pass.

Sparks had made the decision to go for two points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

"We're not going for a tie," Sparks said. "We had three different plays, it was just a matter of calling the right play."

Quiroz was all alone in the end zone. He intercepted a Carmo pass on LB's next play to seal the win.

It was a wild scene as the Dos Palos fans stormed onto the field, including cheerleaders carrying a banner that congratulated Sparks on his 200th win.

"It was going to feel good whenever it happened," Sparks said. "I'm glad it didn't take too long. I've always played down this game my whole life.

"We've struggled the last couple years. We haven't had something to really celebrate in a while. So a win like this is good for everybody."

This story was originally published September 18, 2010 at 2:12 AM with the headline "Dos Palos' Sparks gets dramatic 200th victory."