High school football games in late August are rarely masterpieces, but new Don Lugo head coach Pete Smolin will gladly take a gritty opening-night win over style points.

Sophomore quarterback Brandon Pinon accounted for all three Don Lugo touchdowns—two through the air and one on the ground—and junior running back Brandon Elias eclipsed the 100-yard mark as the Conquistadors outlasted the visiting Buena Park Coyotes 21-13 on Friday night in the 2026 season opener for both programs.

“I’m happy for the team that we won; our community really needed it,” said Smolin, who notched his first career victory as Don Lugo’s head coach. “It was a tough battle with Buena Park. I’m very proud of how we played, but we have to clean up and polish some things as we prepare for our next opponent.”

For much of the evening, defense and turnover opportunities dictated the flow. Buena Park made the game’s first major play when Coyotes defensive back Jorge Martinez intercepted a Pinon pass, setting up Buena Park at the Don Lugo 34-yard line. The Coyotes capitalized four plays later when kicker Pedro Azpeitia connected on a field goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.

Don Lugo responded late in the opening period. Pinon engineered a drive capped by a 23-yard touchdown strike to Savian Sumlar with 1:48 remaining in the quarter, putting the Conquistadors ahead 7-3.

Mistakes kept the score tight into the half. Don Lugo had a prime chance to extend its lead late in the second quarter, driving to the Buena Park 1-yard line behind a ground attack led by Elias, who finished the night with 105 yards on 16 carries. However, an unforced fumble on a handoff exchange was recovered by the Coyotes defense at its own 5-yard line with 29 seconds left, sending Don Lugo into the locker room with just a four-point lead.

Buena Park grabbed the momentum back early in the third quarter. Facing a 4th-and-4, Coyotes quarterback Jacob Morales found Qwantino Ornellas for a touchdown pass to cap a drive that put the Coyotes on top 10-7 with 9:34 remaining in the period.

The host Conquistadors took little time to answer. Just two minutes later, Pinon launched a deep strike to senior receiver Isaiah Montanez, who hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass with 7:26 left in the third to put Don Lugo back in front for good at 14-10. Montanez finished as the team’s leading receiver with two catches for 73 yards. Pinon finished the night 7-for-20 passing for 131 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

The Coyotes had another golden opportunity to regain the lead late in the third quarter after driving to the Don Lugo 9-yard line. But the Conquistador defense came up with its biggest play of the night, forcing a loose-ball fumble at the 16-yard line with 2:22 remaining in the quarter to eliminate the threat.

Azpeitia pulled Buena Park back within a single point, 14-13, on another field goal with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter.

Don Lugo’s offense delivered the decisive blow on the ensuing drive. Faced with 1st-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Pinon took matters into his own hands, keeping the ball on an option run and crashing into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown with 4:37 left in the contest to seal the 21-13 victory. Don Lugo accumulated 300 total yards of offense on the night.

Don Lugo will be on the road next Friday night to face the Carter Lions at Carter High School, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Lions are also 1-0 to start the season after earning a 39-12 victory in their season opener last Thursday night over Kaiser High School.

Game Photos

Photos taken by Anthony Sarinana