Arroyo Grande defeats SLO in rivalry game, as Atascadero and Mission Prep also win

In Week 3 of SLO County high school football, Arroyo Grande spoiled San Luis Obispo’s celebration of 100 years of Tiger football by dominating the home team in a 23-0 shutout.

Atascadero and Mission Prep came out with wins while Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Templeton came out on the short end.

Nipomo tied its game against Pioneer Valley when the Panthers declined to play in overtime during an out-of-league game.

Arroyo Grande 23, San Luis Obispo 0

Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo high schools have faced off as rivals for nearly a century of hard-fought football games.

On Friday, the Eagles claimed the latest bragging rights with a 23-0 win on SLO’s field. Arroyo Grande (2-1) balanced their passing and run attack well and pressured SLO’s star senior quarterback Jace Gomes throughout the game on defense, taking command of the game early and holding a 17-0 lead at the half.

”Our defense played amazing,” Arroyo Grande Coach Mike Hartman said. “Shutouts are special things, especially in an AG-SLO game, and especially against a quarterback as good as Jace.”

San Luis Obispo (2-1) was looking to excite its home crowd on the 100th anniversary of the Tigers’ football program (in that history SLO and AG have played 96 times), as well as a school Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

But Arroyo Grande quelled the excitement by forcing three interceptions from Gomes, snagged by defenders Noah Webber, Caleb Clark and Jack Folkrod. The Eagles also forced a fumble as the Tigers attempted to get on the board on the Eagles’ side of the field in the third quarter.

”I’m super proud of our kids bouncing back after a tough loss last week against a really good Newbury Park team,” Hartman said. “We learned how to prepare, to come back and block out the noise, and just get ourselves ready to come out and play tonight. Our kids were flying around on defense, and it was fun to watch.”

On the offensive end, Arroyo Grande scored on rushing touchdowns from Zack Tayman and Rocco Koory, a touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Wulff to star junior receiver Caleb Clark from about midfield, and a field goal by kicker Dustin Reed.

”The whole week, we just predicated it on being more gritty than them, just wanting to play all four quarters,” Tayman said. “And if we knew if we could stop their offense, even on a night like this, when they have so much energy coming in ... if we could silence the crowd, that’s a big win for us.”

Wulff, the son of Cal Poly football coach Paul Wulff, said that SLO is always a rivalry game and one the two teams look forward to.

”Obviously, this is a big rivalry,” Sam Wulff said. “We’ve played so many times, but we had a really good game plan coming into this. They threw in some wrinkles that made it a really tough game. It was really fun.”

Wulff said that talking football with his father has helped.

”I’m very grateful to be able to come home, and he’s there for me and I can always count on that,” Wulff said.

Hartman said of Clark: “He has been talented since he came up with us as a freshman, and his work in the weight room this off season was fantastic, and you can see that he’s playing more of a role on defense. ... On offense, every time he touches the ball, it’s a potential big play. That’s dangerous.”

On Wulff, Hartman said: “Sam is a very serious human being, and he loves the game of football. He works very, very hard at being good at the game of football.”

Arroyo Grande has a bye next week. The Eagles’ next game is at home against Righetti on Sept. 20. SLO will travel to Nipomo on Friday.

Atascadero 35, Roosevelt 27

Atascadero got off to a fast start in the first period on the road at Roosevelt.

The Greyhounds (1-1) ran up 21 unanswered points before the home team found the end zone. After a scoreless second quarter, the Rough Riders pulled closer with a third quarter touchdown.

But the Greyhounds followed up the Rough Riders’ score with one of their own to extend the lead to 28-13. The Rough Riders tacked on one more touchdown before the third quarter ended, but failed on a two-point conversion.

Once again, though, the Rough Riders found the end zone and cut the Greyhounds’ lead to 28-27, but one more rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter put Atascadero up 35-27 for good.

Receivers Damon Mitchell and Josiah Gaona hauled in a receiving touchdown each. Running back Austin Smith had one rushing score, while quarterback Michael Trejo had two rushing touchdowns and two scores in the air.

Over the past few weeks, first-year head coach Dan Loney said he has been proud of how his team has overcome adversity.

“We had a couple kid go down with injuries and had to shuffle things around,” Loney said.

Despite the Rough Riders hanging on in the game, Loney said his team “kept coming back and just had a will to win.”

The Greyhounds have been known to fight through deficits and other obstacles in the past few seasons.

In 2022, the Greyhounds rattled off multiple wins in a row in games they were down multiple scores in the second half. In 2023, the Hounds were also able to win multiple closely contested games.

Even with only a handful of starters coming back and many newcomers, the team has maintained its ability to fight.

Loney credited the team’s attitude and experience on the coaching staff as to why they’ve had success in recent years.

Nest up, Atascadero hosts South of Bakersfield on Friday.

Madera 42, Paso Robles 21

The Bearcats came off a 7-0 hard-fought win against Garces Memorial last week to face another Central Valley school in Madera.

But despite keeping the game close in the first half, five touchdowns from Izaak Lopez lifted the Coyotes to the 42-21 win.

After Madera punched in a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter, Paso Robles quarterback Marcus Garcia completed a deep pass to Emmett Dobroth for a 60-yard touchdown on the next drive.

Garcia threw an interception with five minutes left before halftime, but the Bearcats (1-2) defense held strong and got a stop. With under a minute remaining, Garcia rushed the ball in for an 8-yard score to put the Bearcats up 14-7.

However, Lopez of Madera then caught a 15-yard passing touchdown. And on the Bearcats’ next drive, Lopez scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give the Coyotes a 21-14 lead.

Bearcats running back Yannis Gelos rattled off a 65-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game, but Lopez once again found the end zone. This time he scored on the ground.

Lopez scored another time late in the third quarter on a 1-yard rush to make the score 28-21.

For his fourth touchdown of the game, Lopez scored on an eight-yard run, giving the Coyotes a two-score lead. The Bearcats attempted an onside kick early in the fourth quarter, but it was recovered by the Coyotes.

Lopez added another rushing score for his fifth of the game.

In the first three games, the Bearcats were tested by three Central Valley teams.

Paso Robles gets to play more familiar competition on Friday when the team travels to Righetti.

Mission Prep 58, Kern Valley 0

The Royals didn’t get off to the start they wanted two weeks ago against Sante Fe Christian, when they were held scoreless in a 24-0 loss.

After the game, Head Coach David Schuster said his team didn’t execute to the level they need to. The Royals (1-1) had a bye last week but came back refocused on Friday.

Quarterback Thomas Glenn threw four touchdowns and scored one on the ground as the Royals trounced Kern Valley 58-0.

“For two weeks, we were focused on a lot of good fundamental football,” Schuster said. “We worked on trying to simplify the offense and get concepts understood. I was happy to see that it took place.”

On the receiving end of Glenn’s touchdown passes were Mason Taylor, Jayden Nozil, Vinny Orlando and Ronnie Kardashian. On a trick play, Orlando also threw a touchdown to Joe Villa for a score.

On the ground, Kardashian ran in a score. Brennan Augistine had two rushing touchdowns of his own.

The Royals will head to Santa Ynez next Friday. Schuster said the Pirates were one of the youngest teams they faced last season, but the game came down to the final play.

“That’s what we’re more expecting the game to be like,” Schuster said. “We’re going to really need to focus on good execution.”

Wasco 32, Morro Bay 28

The Pirates and Tigers battled until the last few minutes of the game, but in the end Morro Bay fell to Wasco 32-28.

The Pirates (1-2) saw a big game from tight end and safety James Nickel. The 5-foot-11 senior had three touchdown receptions and made significant plays on both sides of the ball.

Nickel got the first score of the game after the Tigers scored and missed a 2-point conversion. He added another score in the second quarter on a pass from quarterback Sands Doughtery.

The Pirates went into halftime with a 14-12 lead. And with five minutes left in the third quarter, Nickel snagged another score to give Morro Bay a 21-12 lead.

But the Tigers stayed in the game.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wasco scored and failed on a 2-point conversion. They then recovered an onside kick and scored in two plays to go up 25-21 after the extra point.

The Pirates responded with another passing score from Doughtery to running back Colton Janovec to give them a 28-25 lead.

However, the Tigers scored against with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter for a 32-28 lead that ultimately held up as the margin of victory when the Pirates were unable to answer and turned the ball over on downs with under two minutes to play.

Morro Bay next faces Golden Valley at home on Friday.

Nipomo 14, Pioneer Valley 14

A non-league game between Nipomo and Pioneer Valley ended in a tie.

Per league rules fpr non-league matchups, if a game goes to overtime, both teams have to mutually agree on playing the extra period.

According to Nipomo Head Coach Stephen Field, Pioneer Valley decided not to play in the overtime period. Officially, both teams are supposed to discuss the overtime period before the game, but the teams did not come to a conclusion before the game.

“We were all ready to go out and then we were informed that we were not going to have overtime,” Field said.

Nipomo Athletic Director Russell Edwards said Pioneer Valley did not give them a reason for why they didn’t want to play in overtime.

“No, no reason given,” Edwards said over text message. “Nor do they have to give us a reason. It was a non-league game. If the home teams wants to end in a tie, then that is their prerogative.”

For the Titans, running back Troy Simonson scored on a long run for a touchdown. The team’s second touchdown came on defense when senior defensive back Freddy Figueroa returned an interception off a bobbled pass.

Nipomo is still looking for its first win of the season as the Titans fell to 0-2-1.

“We’ve made some good strides at time, but we can’t seem to put it together and play with consistency,” Field said. “We continue to make mental mistakes.”

Nipomo hosts San Luis Obispo on Friday.

Coalinga 21, Templeton 14

Templeton fell to Coalinga 21-8 to fall to 1-2 on the season. The Eagles came off a 13-10 loss to Monache. The week before they defeated Hoover 33-0.

After a bye week, Templeton hosts West of Bakersfield on Friday, Sept. 20.