CHINO — Don Lugo High’s football team has a well-earned reputation for having a pass-first offense.
After all, entering Friday night’s Gano League showdown with Rowland, 80% of the Conquistadores’ offensive yards and 78% of their offensive touchdowns had come through the air.
But Friday, Don Lugo proved it can grind out wins on the ground, too.
Junior Teo Tucay rushed 25 times for 120 yards and Don Lugo came from behind to defeat Rowland, 22-15, at Don Lugo.
The victory clinched at least a share of the league title for Don Lugo (4-5 overall, 2-0 Gano) and the league’s No. 1 entry into the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. Rowland dropped to 6-3, 1-1.
“We’re obviously used to throwing the ball, but now that we can get the run game going and be dual threat as an offense, it opens up things,” Don Lugo acting head coach Daniel Fierro said.
Rowland entered the game focused on shutting down Don Lugo’s passing game, playing much of the game with only three down linemen on early downs.
Tucay, who entered the game with just 97 yards rushing this season, set the pace, while senior Adam Luna added 10 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown.
“Going into the game, they thought we were just a 7-on-7 team,” Tucay said. “We had to prove that we’re not. We ran the ball all over them.”
The 172 rushing yards as a team were a season-high, while quarterback Kalib Pacheco completed 12 of 19 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. Those were the fewest completions, attempts and yards for Don Lugo this season.
Don Lugo trailed 15-7 in the third quarter but tied the score on a Luna 3-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass from Pacheco to Caleb Calvin with 3:57 left in the third.
The Conquistadores took their first lead on an 11-yard touchdown run by Tucay with 8:46 left.
The Raiders’ best chance to tie the score came when Damien Arrieta threw incomplete on a fourth-and-15 at the Don Lugo 30 with 6:55 remaining. The Raiders had one possession after that, but never got the ball past their 37.
“They have a great quarterback, good skill guys. We just wanted to make them play left-handed so to speak,” Rowland coach Citos Marinez said. “We pride ourselves in playing championship defense and they put us in position (to win). To me, this game came down to that first (Don Lugo) touchdown. We know we need to win in the red zone. They scored on fourth-and-goal. That got them kick-started.”
Rowland’s offense struggled in the first half, with a 60-yard touchdown to Aidan Opatkiewicz accounting for the bulk of the offense. Bryce Johnson helped the running game get going in the second half, when he gained 52 of his 63 rushing yards.
