Paso Robles tops Atascadero in rivalry game as SLO, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo and Templeton also win

San Luis Obispo County’s marquee matchup Friday night was the annual North County rivalry game between Paso Robles and Atascadero, won by the Bearcats, who forced three turnovers en route to a 30-15 victory.

Elsewhere, San Luis Obispo, Templeton and Nipomo all were winners, while Mission Prep had a difficult game against El Modena. Morro Bay fell to SLO at home.

All schools have one more week left before the start of league play.

Paso Robles 30, Atascadero 15

From the opening kickoff, there was an extra level of energy between North County rivals Atascadero (1-3) and Paso Robles (2-3).

Blocks were held even after the whistle blew. On kickoffs and punts, players tussled on the ground and had to be separated.

In the end, the Bearcats came out on top, 30-15, as the Paso Robles defense forced three crucial turnovers, including one fumble recovery from Matthew Ammann for a touchdown, helping to avenge the Greyhounds’ win last season.

“I like that we were resilient,” Paso Robles Head Coach Matt Carroll said. “I think we grew up a little bit tonight.”

The Bearcats have a young team that has been tested early this season. They’ve played three strong Central Valley teams and Righetti.

“We’re young and we’re learning,” Carroll said. “We gained a lot of experience tonight. They don’t have very many battles and games under their belt. Well, this was an important one tonight, and we got to learn from it.”

Even in winning, the Bearcats made numerous errors throughout the night. They missed extra points and wasted timeouts in the confusion of who was supposed to be on the field..

But when it mattered, the Bearcats made plays.

When the Greyhounds were hunting for their second score of the night in the second quarter, defensive back Talen Freitas intercepted a pass and kept the game at 7-6.

Bearcat quarterback Marcus Garcia finished with a passing touchdown, but he made plays with his feet to extend drives and possessions.

After Freitas’ interception, Garcia faced a third down and received the snap in the back of his end zone.

The Greyhounds’ defensive line pushed up field, but Garcia navigated through the sea of bodies and found open space up the right sideline. He gave his team a first down and better field position.

In the first half, both teams had long drives but couldn’t capitalize, and they went into halftime still in a tight game at 7-6.

To open the third quarter, the Paso Robles defense stepped up again, forcing a fumble in the first minute.

Garcia connected with Jonathan Druding on an out route to go up 12-7 after they missed the extra point.

The Greyhounds responded with a touchdown from Josiah Gaona. Gaona found himself open on a corner route and scored on a 38-yard touchdown.

Earlier in the game, Gaona made a contested grab over a defender despite defensive pass interference on the play, which set up a four-yard score from Austin Smith.

After touchdown put Atascadero up 15-12, the Greyhounds got another stop and a big punt return set them up at the Bearcats’ 25-yard line.

That’s when Ammann scooped up a fumble from Trejo and took it to the end zone to give the Bearcats an 18-15 lead.

The Bearcats offense then started to find its rhythm.

As Garcia evaded the rush, he found receiver Trey Clark for a 20-yard gain. Running back Kassim Williams followed the play with a large gain of his own.

Even when Garcia seemed to be stuck, he wiggled his way out of situations.

On one near sack, Garcia found Druding in the middle of the field. With only a few yards to go, the Bearcats handed the ball off to Brandon England, who scored on a run to the left, giving Paso Robles a 24-15 lead.

The adjustment for the Bearcats, according to Carroll, was leaning more into their passing game.

“We mixed up our formula,” Carroll said. “We usually run first, pass second. But we passed first and ran second.”

England scored on a similar play again on a run to the left to close out the scoring at 30-15.

Last season, the Bearcats missed the CIF playoffs. With a new team, Garcia’s goal is for his team to make it back to CIF.

“We’re hungry,” Garcia said.

For the Greyhounds, they’re still trying to find their footing in Atascadero Head Coach Dan Loney’s first season at the helm. The team had good moments moving the ball and on defense, including multiple sacks, but the errors cost them.

“We made mistakes and they capitalized on those mistakes,” Loney said.

Next up, Atascadero is on the road at Templeton on Friday. Paso Robles is at home against Buchanan.

San Luis Obispo 34, Morro Bay 14

The Tigers (4-1) won for the second week in a row against a county opponent after edging Nipomo last week.

Colbin Garrison rushed for touchdowns of 11 and 8 yards. After being out last week with a calf injury, Tigers’ senior quarterback Jace Gomes returned to action and scored on a 26-yard run.

Jacob Garcia also notched a touchdown run of nine yards to cement the SLO win. Aiden Dellinger had a field goal in the contest.

For Morro Bay (2-3), quarterback Sands Dougherty had a rushing score and connected with Ryder Busch on a 17-yard pass into the end zone.

“There were a lot of penalties and it was a bit sloppy one,” said SLO Coach Pat Johnston. “We’ve been battling some injuries, and we’ll use our bye week coming up to get some guys healthy and fix some little and big things before going into league.”

Johnston credited Carter Sutcliffe and Roman Lowell for their impactful roles on the line.

Owen Fawcett, another key lineman, should be back from injury after the bye.

Both San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay have the next week off.

Arroyo Grande 42, Righetti 27

The Eagles (3-1) took care of business at home against a Warriors team that was playing good football, entering the contest 4-0.

Arroyo Grande jumpstarted the offense with a 67-yard scoring throw from quarterback Sam Wulff to receiver Caleb Clark on the second play of the game. Wulff also connected with Tristan Coates on a scoring pass.

The Eagles also had multiple touchdown runs from Zack Tayman and three interceptions in the game.

“Righetti was playing with a lot of confidence coming into this game,” said Arroyo Grande Coach Mike Hartman. “We worked on things in practice that we were able to execute in the game. We balance our attack with passing and running, and then slowed it down in the second half to run some clock.”

Hartman said that next week’s game versus Nipomo will honor the 17 Strong Foundation, which supports adults ages 18 to 40 facing a life-threatening illness, like cancer, on a vacation or experience designed to “celebrate victory over disease.”

Run by the parents of the late Arroyo Grande High football and baseball player Ryan Teixeira, fans can contribute at the game to help the cause

Mission Prep 21, El Modena 48

The Royals fell at home to a high-level El Modena team that featured Division I prospects.

“There’s three touchdowns in that game that were just simply they got a dude we got no answers for,” Head Coach David Schuster said.

While the Royals (2-2) lost by mutiple scores, Schuster is proud of the way his team fought and physicality they showed.

“I felt like we were the more physical team,” Schuster said. “They executed far better than we did.”

Joe Villa, Jayden Nozil and Deuce Kellog all had touchdown receptions in the loss.

The Royals have two more difficult opponents ahead of them in Central Valley Christian and then St. Joseph’s to kickoff league play.

“We built the schedule this way,” Schuster said. “It was purposeful. ... We’re going to have to get really good, really fast.”

Execution is something Schuster has emphasized every week so far.

“There’s no answer other than work,” he said. “The amount of work you’re willing to put in, and then I think this is when senior leadership becomes really big.”

Mission Prep is at home against Central Valley Christian on Friday.

Templeton 52, West of Bakersfield 0

The Eagles had no problems against West in Bakersfield as six different players scored.

It was a bounce-back game for Templeton (2-2), which lost two close games previously.

According to Head Coach Don Crow, the defense has been a strength of the team. It held Monache and Coalinga to 20 and 21 points, respectively. The offense, however, had been a work in progress.

Not so on Friday.

Tyler Cunningham, Mark Mitchell, Armando Soto and Harrison Bays all scored rushing touchdowns, including two for Soto. Braden Mott had an interception returned for a touchdown. Jaron Sampson had a touchdown reception.

“We had to move some guys and get some pieces to the puzzle,” Crow said. “I think we solved that puzzle during our bye week.”

Templeton next hosts Atascadero on Friday.

Last season, Templeton held a lead for most of the game, but the Greyhounds made a comeback win. In the last three years, all their matchups have been one-score games.

Now, due to the changing league structures, Templeton and Atascadero are in different leagues.

“That’s usually a hard fought northern county game,” Crow said. “We’re expecting nothing different than that.”

Nipomo 13, Santa Ynez 7

The Titans (1-3-1) pick up their first win of the season, one week after the power went out during their game against San Luis Obispo.

Quarterback Blayne Lowry had a touchdown pass to Juan Zarate.

Running back Nick Evans scored on a 50-yard run.

Nipomo is at Arroyo Grande on Friday.