Dos Palos turns botched field goal into touchdown late for semifinal victory over Exeter

The Dos Palos High School football team practices their “fire drill” multiple times every week.

They practice it so the players know what to do so they can react and not panic when there is a botched snap or something goes wrong on an extra point or field goal attempt.

The drills paid off as the No. 2 seeded Broncos were able to turn a botched field goal attempt into a touchdown as senior Drake Hennagan reacted quickly, turning from holder to quarterback and finding teammate Anthony Del Rio in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

The Dos Palos defense stopped No. 3 Exeter at the Broncos 20-yard line with just over 1 minute left in the game as Dos Palos held on for a 28-21 victory in the Central Section Division IV semifinals on Friday at Bill Hume Stadium in Dos Palos.

“We work that two, three times a week,” said Dos Palos head coach Rob Calvert, whose team improved to 11-1 on the season. “It’s a fire drill. I’d like to say I called it but I didn’t, but it worked out.”

The Broncos will advance to their first section championship game since 2019 when they host No. 5 Torres on Friday. Torres upset undefeated No. 1 Shafter (11-1) 43-42 in overtime in the other Division IV semifinal game.

“We’re happy to be back here,” Calvert said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. We know either team we play is going to be a very tough game.”

The Broncos went through an emotional roller coaster of a game to put themselves in position to win their first section championship since 2006.

It was a game that saw no points scored in the first or third quarters, but 42 points scored in the second quarter alone, including three touchdowns in the final 32 seconds of the first half.

Broncos senior Peyton Van Worth threw two second-quarter touchdowns to help Dos Palos take a 14-7 lead late in the first half.

Then the craziness ensued.

Exeter quarterback Jacob Molina connected with receiver Ruben Ruiz on a 9-yard touchdown pass to pull the Monarchs even at 14-14 with 32 seconds left in the half.

The Broncos answered back when sophomore Jesus Bon returned the kickoff 55 yards for a touchdown to put Dos Palos back ahead 21-14 with 22 seconds left in the second quarter.

“My teammate Gurvinder Singh made a great block , I saw the hole and ran hard for the touchdown,” said Bon, who also hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Van Worth earlier in the quarter.

Just when it appeared the Broncos would be taking a lead into halftime, Exeter struck again as Molina hooked up with Ruiz again, this time for a 51-yard touchdown as the Monarchs pulled even at 21-21 with 3 seconds left in the first half.

“That was just crazy,” Calvert said. “As a coach that just makes you pull your hair out. You’re like you think you have an advantage, you’re going to get the ball back at the half and we give up one there and we’re tied up.”

The game remained tied at 21-21 until Dos Palos set up for a go-ahead field goal at the Exeter 4-yard line with just over 7 minutes left in the game.

Hennagan quickly realized he couldn’t handle the snap, so he stood up, rolled right and threw a touchdown pass to Del Rio, who had three Exeter defenders near him, but was able to bring down the catch for the touchdown.

“I had to come out and roll out of the pocket and end up throwing to my secondary receiver,” Hennagan said. “My first receiver was covered. I trusted him and he trusted me and we got it done tonight.”

If you ask Hennagan, he’ll tell you they’re successful running their “fire drill” almost every time in practice.

The Broncos have never had to do it with a trip to the Central Section championship game on the line.

“Those bad snaps on the PATs, that’s something you practice every day because you never know what’s going to happen,” Hennagan said. “As you can see on the scoreboard it came down to a play like that.”

There was still some nervous moments in the final seconds as Exeter moved the ball from its own 9-yard line to the Broncos’ 13-yard line with just over a minute left. Dos Palos sophomore Anthony Lish then recorded his third sack of the game to push the Monarchs back to the DP 20-yard line for fourth down.

Molina’s final pass was tipped at the line and fell to the turf as the Broncos celebrated the victory.

“You can’t take it away, it’s the best feeling in the world right here,” Hennagan said.