Warriors, Chargers fit to be tied

The perfect season is gone.

The unbeaten record remains.

Righetti made four turnovers. Three led to Dos Pueblos scores, one ruined the Warriors' last drive and Righetti settled for a 20-20 Homecoming tie in a non-league game Friday night.

Righetti is 4-0-1. Dos Pueblos is 2-1-1.

Chargers linebacker Ryan Shotwell shot down Righetti's victory chances. He ran an interception back 75 yards for the Chargers' second score. Then he sacked Righetti quarterback Jonathan Dally for a 10-yard loss to spoil a Righetti fourth-quarter drive.

And then he blocked Clayton Rios' extra-point kick after Warrior back Mark Malangko tied the game at 20-20 on a tackle-breaking 41-yard run with 9:57 left to play.

"Our defense played well enough to win the game," Righetti linebacker-fullback Luke Deras said. "We just had too many mistakes on offense."

In fact one of those mistakes happened on Righetti's third play. Ben Grover fumbled at his 33 after catching a pass for six yards. Linebacker Eddie Atellan scooped the ball up there and ran the ball to the 21. Anthony Munoz scored from the 2 four plays later.

"That's a good team," Righetti coach Greg Dickinson said, referring to Dos Pueblos. "Obviously St. Bonaventure leads that league. But they'll be competitive.

"But you can't make as many mistakes as we did against a team like that. We had nine turnovers at (Chino) Ayala and won, but we had Ryan Mole then."

The Warriors' star back broke his collarbone two weeks ago. "It'll be another week," before his team gets an indication of how much longer Mole will be out, Dickinson said.

After Shotwell stepped in front of Malangko on a short pass and sprinted 75 yards to paydirt, Armando Sanchez's extra point kick went straight into the Righetti rush.

Dos Pueblos had the last chance to win. John Ramirez intercepted Dally's pass at the Chargers 6 with 1:06 left to play. Twenty five yards in penalties helped the Chargers out, but a holding penalty on Dos Pueblos put the ball at the Righetti 47 instead of the 24 for Dos Pueblos' last play.

Warrior defensive back Tyler Hogan, a newcomer, knocked down the last pass.

Some of the Chargers coaches were livid after the game and yelled at the officials as they sprinted off the field. In fact, as a precaution, Righetti Athletic Director Eric Albright called for security near the visiting locker room. There had been no incidents at press time.

Malangko ran for 203 yards, his second straight game over 200 yards. Before his 41-yard touchdown run, he also scored from 6 and 20 yards out. Rios' second extra point kick gave Righetti a 14-13 halftime lead.

But Malangko fumbled after a 4-yard gain as the Warriors were driving on their first second-half possession. Dos Pueblos linebacker Michael Venegas recovered at the 50, and Moriarty eventually scored on a 9-yard keeper with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Deras and Travis Mac Donald led a Righetti defense that played by far its best game. Chargers quarterback Kellen Moriarty threw for 161 yards and Dos Pueblos had 273 yards of total offense. But Dos Pueblos did not score a point without an assist from Righetti's offense.

In particular, Righetti's downfield pass coverage was much improved over what it had been. "We've really been going over the secondary in practice," said Deras.

Moriarty's scrambling plagued Righetti most of the first quarter. Then Danny Lauer and Josh Thornton led a rush that forced Moriarty out of the pocket and into more unproductive plays more often.

"Our whole line just got a better rush," said Mac Donald. "Mistakes on offense just lost - kept us from winning the game."

Righetti's defense held up even without starting linebacker Sean Noel. "He has a high ankle sprain," Dickinson said. "He may be out two weeks."

The Warriors, thin as it was before the season started, have seen their ranks thin still more. "The 'Dirty 30' may be the 'Tiny 20' soon if this keeps up," said Dickinson. "We may be going to the KCOY sports desk looking for players."

At halftime senior Tomia Clark was crowned Righetti's 2003 Homecoming Queen.

October 4, 2003