High school football: Atascadero gets narrow win over Templeton, Arroyo Grande beats Nipomo

In a battle of North County teams, Atascadero edged out Templeton on a 37-yard field goal with seconds remaining, while at the other end of the county, Nipomo tried to mount a comeback against Arroyo Grande before ultimately coming up short.

Elsewhere, Mission Prep and Paso Robles both lost to Central Valley teams.

Atascadero 10, Templeton 7

Atascadero pulled out a last-second victory against Templeton on Friday, celebrating as kicker Armand Masatagni’s game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights.

It was the third straight year the Greyhounds have beaten the Eagles by less than a touchdown.

After the kick, a dejected Templeton team walked somberly off the field as some players and a coach collapsed to the ground.

Last season, the Greyhounds (2-3) defeated the Eagles (2-3) on a last-second touchdown pass to win 20-16. In 2022 Atascadero won the matchup 27-21.

Frustration was the word Templeton Head Coach Don Crow used to describe the low-scoring loss.

“This one’s on me,” Crow said. “I got to get our kids better prepared offensively to play well. We got to score more than seven points to win.”

Mastagni played in his first game for the Greyhounds after sitting out the first four due to transfer eligibility. Last season, Mastagni was the kicker for Paso Robles High School. In his first game with Atascadero, he nailed a field goal dead center through the uprights.

“It was nice to have him out there as an extra weapon,” Atascadero Head Coach Dan Loney said. “We didn’t have to try anything we don’t do very well. We knew if we got to the 20 to 25 yard line that he can make that kick.”

Up to the final field goal, each team had only scored one touchdown.

In the first quarter, Greyhounds running back Austin Smith led a march into the red zone before muscling his way to the end zone on a 5-yard run and a 7-0 lead. Smith rushed 17 times for 72 yards in the game.

The Eagles had chances to gain ground on offense, but their drives stopped short. In the second quarter, they broke through when Braden Mott caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colter Tannehill rolling out to his left.

But that was the last score for either team for the next two quarters.

The Eagles got close to knocking in a field goal later in the second quarter, but it was blocked. The Greyhounds recovered with less than a minute on the clock, before Templeton linebacker Conner Flanagan forced a fumble to prevent any scoring.

The Greyhounds had a chance of their own to make a field goal during the third quarter, but it fell just short of the crossbar.

The game started to tighten up in the fourth quarter.

Each team on offense inched their way down the field. On one play, the Eagles attempted a pass, but the ball bounced off a receiver and into the hands of Atascadero defensive back Tyson Tenhaeff.

Over the final eight minutes, the Greyhounds controlled the clock and converted two fourth downs. Quarterback Michael Trejo converted a pass on fourth and 2. When faced with another fourth down, Trejo snuck it himself for the first down.

Then, Josiah Gaona broke the offense open on an end-around hand-off for 15 yards, which set up the winning kick from Mastagni.

“It was a lot of emotions going on,” Loney said. “You see some success after all the hard work that they’ve been putting in the last couple of weeks. It just seems like we were really snakebit. Some things just weren’t rolling our way, and tonight they did so it was a good feeling.”

In total, both teams completed only nine of their 18 pass attempts. Trejo completed five while Tannehill converted four.

“I think we’re very similar teams in the sense we run different offenses, but our No. 1 goal is to run the ball and get three or four yards and lean on our offensive line,” Loney said.

Both teams are also young and didn’t return many players from last season.

“We have a lot of kids that are learning the varsity level right now,” Loney said.

Another similarity between both teams are the coaches. Crow estimates four of the Atascadero coaches coached at Templeton prior. Many of Crow’s staff also coached at Atascadero.

“We’re good friends,” Crow said. “That’s what make it a very fun rivalry but an intense one,” Crow said. “The kids grow up right next to each other.”

Tyler Cunningham had 19 rushes for 119 yards for Templeton. Armando Soto rushed six times for 27 yards. The Eagles outgained the Greyhounds 219 to 163 yards on the ground.

The Greyhounds had one more reception, but one less yard.

“I know (Paso Robles) is our rivalry but this one is turning into one as well,” Loney said.

Atascadero next faces Santa Ynez at home on Friday, while Templeton hosts Santa Maria.

Arroyo Grande 41, Nipomo 28

The Eagles (4-1) secured their third straight victory against their South County neighbor at home.

Arroyo Grande got out to an early 27-0 lead behind touchdown catches by Garrett Lloyd and Caleb Clark, a pick-6 by Noah Weber, and a rushing touchdown by Zack Tayman, who had a second half running score as well.

Aiden Wad also had a rushing touchdown for the Eagles in the second half.

The Titans (1-4-1) got on the board with three passing touchdowns from quarterback Blayne Lowry and Nipomo scooped up a fumble and took it in for a score as well.

“The kids played great,” said Arroyo Grande Coach Mike Hartman. “These players know each other so well. Hats off to Nipomo and their coaching staff. They had a good plan and their kids played hard.”

Hartman said Nipomo Coach Stephen Field will have the team well prepared to open Ocean League action in their next contest.

“We host Paso Robles next week,” Hartman said. “There are no easy games in the Mountain League. We have to take our game to another level. It’s time to play our best football.”

Arroyo Grande hosts Paso Robles on Friday. Nipomo has a bye on Friday and next plays at Santa Maria on Oct. 11.

Central Valley Christian 35, Mission Prep 14

Miles Thompson had a 7-yard rushing score for Mission Prep (2-3).

The Royals (2-3) stayed within a touchdown at the half when they faced a 14-6 deficit.

But the Cavaliers (2-3) from Visalia blew it open in the second half at Spanos Stadium, Mission Prep’s home field. Last season Central Valley Christian finished with a 15-1 record.

Mission Prep had a 1-yard punch-in for its second touchdown.

Mission Prep next faces St. Joseph on the road on Friday.

Buchanan 33, Paso Robles 13

The Bearcats (2-4) held their own against the fifth-ranked team in the CIF Central Section, said Paso Robles Coach Matt Carroll.

“Our defense played very well in the first half,” Carroll said. “The offense started to become a little bit more consistent as the game went on. The big thing for us is that we played really consistently for four quarters, which I was really happy about.”

Paso Robles had touchdown receptions from Emmett Dobroth and Jonathan Druding against undefeated Buchanan (5-0).

“They were projected to beat us 56-0,” Carroll said. “And to the credit of our players, there was a moment in the third quarter where it could have gone either way. I was pretty happy with how consistent we were offensively. We took some shots and missed, but we got significantly better on offense, especially throwing the football.”

Paso Robles next faces Arroyo Grande on the road on Friday.