Torres High jumps out to big lead early in rout of Dos Palos in section championship game
It was already going to be a tough task to for the Dos Palos High School football team to slow down an explosive Torres offense.
Throw in a deadly combination of turnovers and short fields for the Toros and the game could get out of hand quickly.
That’s exactly what happened on Friday night as fifth-seeded Torres of Madera capitalized on interceptions, fumbled kickoffs, missed defensive assignments and bad snaps by the Broncos as the Toros dismantled No. 2 Dos Palos 69-14 in the Central Section Division IV championship game at Bill Hume Stadium.
“We made too many mental errors early and it cost us,” said Dos Palos head coach Rob Calvert, whose team had an 11-game winning streak snapped. “Against a good team in a situation like this, we can’t afford to do that and unfortunately we did, and it cost us and we got down early.”
The Toros (10-3) turned those Broncos miscues into a 49-0 lead with 5 minutes and 36 seconds still left in the first half.
After driving 50 yards in eight plays on their first drive for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead, Torres needed just seven more offensive plays to stretch the lead to 42-0 with just under 8 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Toros had three one-play scoring drives and two other drives that needed just two plays to reach the end zone.
“Our offense just put the ball in the end zone and they couldn’t stop it,” said Toros running back Joseph Bass, who scored three touchdowns.
The nightmare start for the Broncos began with quarterback Peyton Van Worth throwing an interception on Dos Palos’ second possession as Torres senior Jose Soriano made the pick to set up the Toros offense up near midfield.
One play later, Bass broke free for a 60-yard touchdown to extend the Toros’ lead to 14-0.
Down two scores, Calvert opted to go for it on fourth-and-one at the Broncos own 19-yard line and they were stopped on a quarterback sneak.
Torres running back Amani Sua made the Broncos pay with an 18-yard touchdown run on the next play to give the Toros a 21-0 lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
Dos Palos tried to punt its next possession, but the snap sailed high the Torres offense took over at the Broncos’ 23-yard line.
Two plays later, Sua scored on a 1-yard run and the Toros were ahead 28-0 early in the second quarter and the rout was on.
“Great game tonight, wonderful performance by our team,” said Torres coach Joe Marquez. “I couldn’t be happier with the way we performed. It started with our line offensively and defensively. I feel like we dominated the entire game.”
Bass and Sua had both already surpassed 1,000 yards rushing this season coming into the game.
Bass rushed for 175 yards to go along with the three touchdowns on 15 carries. Sua added 118 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 13 carries.
“We just got beat up in the trenches, that was the bottom line,” Calvert said. “We just got pushed around. They were a more physical team than we were. We physically couldn’t match up with them.”
The Broncos finally got on the scoreboard when Van Worth scored on a 23-yard touchdown run with 8 seconds left in the first half to make the score 49-7.
Van Worth added a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jacquez Jones in the third quarter for the Broncos’ other score.
However, the Toros were soon celebrating a section championship in just their third season of playing varsity football.
“It hasn’t hit me, but it will tonight when I get home,” Bass said.
The Toros will advance to the regional bowl game next week. The Broncos season comes to an end.
“They battled every week,” Calvert said. “They showed up every week and gave me everything they had so I’m very proud of them.”
