The No. 15 Canyon del Oro Dorados used all three phases of the game to defeat the No. 40 Pueblo Warriors 37-13 on Friday night.
CDO (5-3, 4-1 4A Kino) returned to Dorado Stadium for its final home game of the season after a tough 50-6 road loss against No. 5 Mica Mountain (8-0, 5-0) last week.
While a loss could start a downward spiral for some teams, it did just the opposite for the Dorados.
“They came back and they are ready to work and our goals are still on the table for us and our guys are really, really starting to kind of blossom, a lot of the younger guys,” CDO coach Scott McKee said about his team bouncing back from the loss against Mica Mountain.
CDO head coach Scott McKee talks about his team’s solid 37-13 win over Pueblo and the adjustments made after last weeks loss to Mica Mountain. @cdo_football @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/9MOnqwsLKJ
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
On the team mentality, senior defensive lineman and center Gabe Ruvalcaba said, “We just have guys who want to work, guys that are committed to this program and I think that’s what got us the win. Guys that just try and try and try.”
Senior running back Nick Mondragon added, “That’s football though, you know, you take your wins and losses. That’s life. You just got to learn to accept and you got to learn how to move on. It’s all about what you do when things go wrong. How do you react when things don’t go your way or things don’t go as planned and tonight you saw that we came out with the win at home in our last game.”
Mondragon had a big night against the Warriors (2-6, 0-3).
With Evan Greer out for the game, Mondragon was the main ball carrier for the Dorados, notching 16 carries for 78 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns.
One of those touchdowns came after the Dorados blocked a Pueblo punt with 3:18 left in the quarter.
With 1:32 left in the fourth quarter, the CDO lead was extended to 21-0 after quarterback Gavin Bower hit receiver Lucas Cachoeira in the corner of the end zone.
Cachoeira had three receptions for 90-yards and one touchdown.
The Dorados used their two-minute drill to perfection to go up 28-0 at the half.
Quarterback Peyton Strang threw a bomb to Cachoeira for a 55-yard gain, setting up a Strang to Cash Dickey touchdown as time ran out in the half.
Dickey ended the night with two receptions for 11-yards and two touchdowns — one on offense and one on defense.
The Dorados used Strang and Bower at the quarterback position during the game.
Pueblo got on the board with 9:25 left in the third quarter when running back Jeremiah Sandoval powered into the end zone, cutting the Dorados lead to 28-7.
In the first quarter, Pueblo had a touchdown called back due to holding.
Pueblo’s Roman Otero hits Jeremiah Sandoval for an apparent TD.. called back for holding. It was a nice throw, catch and run though. @AllSportsTucson @cdo_football @PuebloFootball pic.twitter.com/gMZM9SxVUe
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
A Pueblo safety with 2:24 left in the third quarter extended the Dorado lead to 30-7.
Dickey got a pick-6 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter putting Canyon del Oro up 37-7.
“I was just kind of dropping back into coverage and I think Booth (Mason Booth) got a piece of him so the ball and it was just right there. I saw Elijah (Eli Unsworth) to my side and obviously I wanted to go to that side, great blocker, so I just ran behind him, the path kind of opened,” Dickey said of his pick-6.
CDO kicker Reece Douglas was perfect on the night hitting all five of his extra-point attempts.
With 43.4 seconds to go in the game, Pueblo’s running back Fernando Garcia broke free for a touchdown. The Warriors went for a two-point conversion but the pass was incomplete.
“You know it was important that we got our seniors (the win); we finished 4-1 at home, which was important,” McKee said about getting the final home win of the season for the Dorados.
On next week’s game against Sahuaro, of which he coached from 2009 to 2021, McKee said, “We know they are steadily improving. They have athletes across the board. (Coach) Al Alexander is doing a great job down there. They have all the things they need to be successful and they are just starting to turn the corner. You know we have two young groups there we are going to meet in the middle here and hopefully we are ready to play.”
Next up:
CDO travels to Sahuaro (3-5, 2-4)
Pueblo visits Catalina Foothills (1-7, 1-4)
Media Highlights:
CDO Senior DL/C Gabe Ruvalcaba give credit to the Pueblo Warriors offense, how his team keeps fighting and how the Dorados are exceeding expectations from the beginning of the season. @cdo_football @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/93i4YezYyx
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
Senior RB Nick Mondragon talks about how Pueblo swarmed the ball and the team’s attitude in wins and losses. @cdo_football @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/pNNafVr0Iv
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
CDO junior Cash Dickey talks about his pick six in the Dorado’s 37-13 win over Pueblo. @AllSportsTucson @cdo_football @CashDickey12 pic.twitter.com/U6MHER3UPW
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
That’s game.
CDO takes care of business at home defeating Pueblo 37-13. @AllSportsTucson @cdo_football @PuebloFootball pic.twitter.com/GYCqYpZLVh
— Lori Burkhart (@loriburkhart) October 26, 2024
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