Prep football: Arroyo Grande outlasts Paso Robles to open PAC 5 season
The Arroyo Grande High School football team scored 21 unanswered points on the way to a 35-28 win Friday night over Paso Robles at War Memorial Stadium.
Arroyo Grande (6-1) generated 445 yards of offense, including 291 rushing, to take early command of the PAC 5 with the victory in the teams’ league-season opener.
May I?
Arroyo Grande quarterback Sawyer May’s numbers don’t jump out and scare you — 12 of 19 for 154 yards passing and a touchdown and 12 carries for 63 yards — but it was his timely runs that helped keep the Eagles offense on the field. May converted four third downs on runs, including on a 12-yard run and a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter that kept the clock moving while Arroyo Grande protected its lead.
May also did things you have come to expect from the golden-armed quarterback: Throw a perfectly weighted 20-yard touchdown pass to Zach Bullard with eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles up 35-14 and all but end the game.
No Christian Erickson
Much to the dismay of both teams playing Friday, Paso Robles star running back Christian Erickson was not playing due to an illness. His replacement, running back Elijah Palomino, managed just 14 yards on eight carries, and the Bearcats had 91 yards rushing in the game.
Coming into the game, Erickson had 15 touchdowns on the season and was averaging 120 yards per game rushing. In total, Erickson had accounted for 39 percent of the Paso Robles offense, not to mention his contributions on defense.
“You never want to see a kid injured or hurt on either side of the ball,” Arroyo Grande head coach Tom Goossen said. “(Erickson) is a great competitor, and we know he would have made a difference in this game. Whether it would have been enough for him to get a win or not, we will never know.”
Paso Robles quarterback Steven Schouten played well in Erickson’s absence, going 24-of-38 passing for 244 yards and three touchdowns and leading the team in rushing with 56 yards and a touchdown. But Arroyo Grande safety Noah Thinger intercepted Schouten twice on crucial dives to squelch any chance of a comeback.
Sill Ejected
Paso Robles scored on its last drive of the first half and its first drive of the second half to shrink Arroyo Grande’s lead to 21-14. Things looked to be getting worse for the Eagles when top reciever Matthew Sill was ejected for mixing it up with a Paso Robles player after Sill caught a pass.
But junior Michael McLean, who had just three catches entering the game, took Sill’s spot. And on his first carry of the season, he slipped out of a tackle and went 30 yards for a touchdown to give Arroyo Grande a 28-14 lead at the end of the third quarter.
By rule, Sill will miss the Eagles’ next game.
What’s Next
Paso Robles (5-2) has now lost its last two. Luckily, its next two games are against 0-6 San Luis Obispo and 1-5 Righetti. Erickson said he might also miss next week’s game, but he should be healthy for the Bearcats’ next biggest game of the season — the regular season finale against Atascadero in three weeks.
Arroyo Grande gets a bye next week before facing Righetti in two weeks.
This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Prep football: Arroyo Grande outlasts Paso Robles to open PAC 5 season."