Caruthers scores in final seconds to defeat Dos Palos to win section championship
Trailing by three points with just under 5 minutes left, the pressure was on the Caruthers High offense.
The Blue Raiders were 67 yards away from a Central Section championship.
“We practice this all the time,” said third-year varsity player Bobby Staley. “We knew we were going to score.”
Caruthers did just that, stringing together a 12-play drive, including two key fourth-down conversions. Staley’s 2-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 14 seconds left gave the top-seeded Blue Raiders a thrilling 27-22 win over No. 3 Dos Palos in the Division V championship game on Friday night.
Caruthers (13-1) won its second section championship in three years and seventh in school history.
“Nothing had to be said,” said Caruthers coach Brandon Ward about the final drive. “We just had to remind them we were going to go down and score. There was no way around it. There was no panic in their eyes.”
The jubilation on the Blue Raiders’ sideline was matched by the pain on the Broncos’ side of the field after Dos Palos had battled back from a 12-point deficit at halftime to take a 22-19 lead with 4:58 left in the game.
Dos Palos running Tyree Martin continued his torrid postseason, rushing for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Martin has rushed for 735 yards and eight touchdowns in the Broncos’ four playoff games.
“Every time he touches it he has a chance to break it,” Ward said.
Dos Palos’ Ryan Ramirez scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to pull the Broncos’ within 19-14 with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
After the Broncos defense got another key second-half stop, Dos Palos marched 68 yards on 13 plays with Martin capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run for his second score of the game. The Broncos tacked on a two-point conversion for a 22-19 lead with 4:59 left.
The Broncos were that close to their first section championship since 2006.
“We had a great second half,” said Dos Palos coach Rob Calvert, whose team finished 12-2. “I’m proud of our guys. We came out in the second half and did what we needed to do. We just came up one stop short.”
Martin and many of his teammates fought back tears after the game.
“It’s heartbreaking to lose,” he said. “I’m proud of our team for playing tough and making it this far.”
It looked like the Broncos defense may stop the Blue Raiders on the final drive. Caruthers faced a fourth-and-7 early in the drive, but an offsides by a Dos Palos player set up a fourth-and-2. Staley then converted with a 3-yard run.
Andrew Gonzalez, who scored an 8-yard touchdown run in the first half, came up with a big 27-yard run to move the ball to the Broncos’ 11-yard line on the final drive.
Staley scored his second touchdown of the game four plays later. It was Staley’s 33rd touchdown this season.
“There was a lot of pressure but we knew were going to win because we have the best O-line in Division 5,” Staley said. “We knew we were going to pound it in.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 12:42 AM.
