The Righetti Warriors didn't suffer from a power failure Friday night at Warrior Stadium.

Unfortunately, the radio station broadcasting Righetti's 36-14 victory over the Dos Pueblos Chargers did.

The high voltage power line that broke - knocking out power to 5,500 PG&E customers in northeast Santa Maria Friday night - knocked radio stations KUHL-AM and KTME-AM off the air.

The Warriors (2-3) used several lightning strikes of their own to power to a 29-0 lead - all but wrapping up the team's second victory of the season midway through the third quarter.

With the Warriors star running back Chad Stephens on the sideline nursing a strained MCL in his left leg, running backs Ryan Switzer and Cody Denham stepped in and stepped up their game.

"All our guys played very well," said Righetti coach Gary Wilson. "Ryan, Cody, Kyle (Leon). They really picked us up tonight. Our offensive line is improving every week. They really opened up the holes for our running backs. Steve Alurak, Kevin Harmon, Wade Batchlor, Adrian Ruiz and Daniel Easley - week in and week out, they're getting better. We didn't have Chad, but these guys opened some big holes and gave our backs some room to run."

Switzer carried the ball 16 times - good for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Denhem added 81 yards on 15 carries and also picked up a TD.

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All everything player Adam Wilson electrified the crowd with a 70 yard punt return for a touchdown. Wilson also caught three passes - good for 20 yards - picked up 34 more on three running plays and made several big hits as a defensive back.

Quarterback Trevor Elswick also raised the level of his game a notch - completing 11 of 16 passes for 132 yards with no interceptions.

The Warrior defense pulled the plug on the Chargers (0-3-1) - holding Dos Pueblos to minus-74 yards on the ground.

Through the air, the Chargers two quarterbacks - Conner Rehage and Gary Braun - did pick up 194 yards and two touchdowns but most of the yardage, and both TDs, came after they had already fallen behind 29-0.

"Our defense, especially the backs, pressured them one every play," said Wilson. "We got after them. We were standing pretty firm. The coaches told the kids all week, you've got to come out and hit - if you do, everything will be just fine."

"We thought we could take advantage of Righetti through the air," said Dos Pueblos coach Jeff Uyesaka. "We dropped a few passes tonight that I think we should have caught."

Righetti came out with its eye on the endzone.

DP took the opening kickoff, began moving up field but fumbled on the fifth play of their first drive - the Warriors' Todd Noel covering the fumble at the Chargers' 32 yard line.

Mixing the run with the pass, Righetti went 32 yards on nine plays - with Switzer powering the ball over from the one-yard line - to put the Warriors on the board.

Martin Luque's point after gave Righetti a 7-0 lead with 8:21 remaining in the first quarter.

As the second quarter began, Righetti marched from their own 45 down to the DP 18 when their drive stalled.

Out came Luque who nailed a 35-yard field goal to put Righetti up 10-0 with 10-minutes left in the half.

The Chargers stalled on their next possession and punted the ball away.

Wilson caught the ball on a bounce at his own 35 yard line and raced right through the heart of the Chargers' defense - all the way down to the DP 36.

Six plays later - facing fourth and goal from the 10 - Luque came on and split the uprights for his second field goal, this one a 25 yard shot, to give Righetti a 13-0 lead with 6:29 left in the half.

With 3:30 remaining in the half, Dos Pueblos punted the ball away.

Wilson hauled it in at his own 30 yard line and this time no one was going to catch him - he headed into the crowd in the middle of the field, cut to his left and he was off to the races - finishing in the end zone with a 70 yard touchdown.

With Luque's extra point, the Warriors were ahead 20-0 heading into the locker room.

"We were worried about number 20 - Stephens," said Uyesaka. "But those backups did a good job filling in for him tonight. My hats off to Righetti. You've really got to give credit to those kids."

The Warriors defense next stepped into the spotlight.

Midway through the third quarter they chased DP's quarterback Rehage into the endzone where linebacker Kyle Leon nailed him - the sack good for a safety and two more points for the Warriors.

Wilson took the ensuing DP punt at his own 40, picked up 13 yards and gave Righetti the ball at the DP 47.

On the next play, Switzer took the hand-off from Elswick, headed to his left turned up the sideline and was gone - a 47 yard touched that - with Luque's PAT - put the Warriors up 29-0.

Dos Pueblos finally got its air attack going as the third quarter was winding down.

With :57-seconds to play in the third, Rehage hit George Silva with a 10-yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion was good and DP was on the board - 29-8 - after a 9 play, 65-yard drive.

The Chargers got the ball right back after a successful on side kick.

Again Rehage went to the air - five straight passing plays with the final one going to Paul Starr for a 29 yard TD.

The two-point conversion failed but DP had cut the score to 29-14 and there were still :15 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Warriors didn't left the Chargers get any closer.

Beginning the next drive at their own eight yard line, Righetti marched 92 yards on eight plays - with Denham closing out the drive with a 20 yard touchdown run.

Luque's final PAT closed out the scoring and the Warriors closed out the Chargers 36-14.

"We're still searching for our first win," said Uyesaka. "Overall, we played a good game. We'll come out again next week against Rio Mesa and I know the kids will give us another good effort."

Righetti hosts Hueneme next Friday night, their final preseason game before PAC-5 action gets underway.

"This was a big win foe us tonight," said Wilson. "We've got another tough test next week. Hueneme is another run and gun team."

Oct. 1, 2005