Jackson Glines returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown and minutes later Erik Sotelo blocked a punt for another as the 13th ranked Yosemite Badgers defeated the Dos Palos Broncos 42-12 in Badger Stadium last Friday night.
"Tonight our special teams and defense won the game," said Yosemite running back and linebacker Jayme Lee. "We were getting through their offensive line before they could set up their blocks."
The Broncos (2-6, 0-4 NSL) got on the scoreboard first with five consecutive runs by Kevin Schofield for 28-yards and a 27-yard pass from Ryan Yriarte to Hector Gomez.
After that, the Badgers shut down the Dos Palos offense allowing only two long field goals by kicking specialist Humberto Del Rio.
"The 47 yarder ties a school record," said Broncos head coach Mike Sparks. "He also, holds the career record with 21."
While the Yosemite (5-3, 3-2 NSL) offense controlled the football scoring on four of seven drives, the Badgers' defense set the tone of the game, sacking Yriarte six times for 68 yards and picked him off once and allowing just 137 yards of total offense by the Broncos.
"We shot ourselves in the foot with the muffed punt return, the personal foul (first and 10 from the 25), four fumbles (two snaps), the interception, the blocked punt (for a TD), the punt return (for a TD) and the missed kicks (four points)," Sparks said.
"Too many mistakes against a good team and not enough firepower to make comebacks. Yosemite makes these things happen.
"The Badgers' offense playing at home, gained 320 yards of total offense against the Broncos utilizing six different running backs while its defense gave up 199 yards on the ground (40 carries).
Yosemite which has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Broncos, has gotten three straight games where the defense has played exceptionally well with 14 sacks for 122 yards and four interceptions.
Yosemite has won six of the last seven meetings, giving Yosemite head coach Aaron Eames a 7-6 record over Dos Palos.
"We dictated the pace of the game - keeping our offense on the field (possess the ball) while keeping theirs OFF the field," said Yosemite quarterback Jesse Lownsbury.
"To win the time of possession battle is really our goal each week." Lownsbury finished with 11 completions in 21 attempts for 209 yards and a pair of 15-yard touchdowns to Jackson Glines and John McNamara. It was McNamara's 10th touchdown reception of the season.
