Prep football: Arroyo Grande, Nipomo gear up for first-round home playoff games
It would be easy for the Arroyo Grande High School football team to take one look at Westlake’s 3-7 record and think the road to the second round of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs is smooth.
But Arroyo Grande head coach Tom Goossen has told his team they better buckle up for Friday’s first-round game.
“They have played some awfully good schools,” Goossen said. “It’s not going to be an easy game for us. We are in Division 2, we are in the top 30 in the state, so every game is going to be rough. And that’s what we have to deal with.”
Westlake (Westlake Village) has played some of the top teams in the state, according to MaxPreps.com, including Santa Margarita, Newbury Park and Calabasas. Although Westlake lost each game, that experience against top talent could come in handy when the teams meet in Arroyo Grande at 7 p.m.
Westlake has a strong run game, Goossen said, led by Nathan Brooks and his 11 touchdowns. But most of the Warriors’ yards this season have come through the air with a two-quarterback attack that includes junior Jake Kaplinski and senior Dax Blinn. Their favorite target is junior Michael Carner, who has 56 catches and eight touchdowns this season.
Arroyo Grande has had trouble with good passing attacks at times this season, both against Paso Robles and Atascadero, but in both games they found a way to pull out wins. Against Paso Robles, it was the strong play of defensive back Noah Thinger. Against Atascadero, it was a swarming defensive line that stepped up the pressure in the second half.
Arroyo Grande has an advantage on offense — on paper. Eagles senior quarterback Sawyer May has 22 touchdowns this season, 10 rushing and 12 passing, and sophomore James Gilmet has rushed for more than 100 yards in half the games. Westlake has given up more than 40 points per game. But Goossen said the Eagles will look outside of their two stars.
“We have to do a good job of spreading the wealth a little bit,” Goossen said of his offense. “We have to be able to run the ball and throw the ball effectively.
“It’s certainly a challenge. But what the heck, we are here, and it’s a good challenge to have.”
Here’s a look at the other CIF playoff games involving San Luis Obispo County teams:
Paraclete (Lancaster) at Nipomo, 7 p.m.
In the first round of the Division 6 CIF-Southern Section playoffs, Northern League champion Nipomo (6-4, 4-0 Northern) welcomes to town the Gold Coast League champion Paraclete (6-4, 3-1 Gold Coast).
Coming off its first-ever undefeated outright league championship, the Titans will look to continue to ride their powerful running backs against the Spirits. Paraclete has a strong defense led by defensive back Braden Smith, a Division I talent, and linebacker KJ Latu.
But Nipomo is hoping then can have a game like Sierra Canyon did last week when they gained 355 yards on the ground in a win against Paraclete. If Nipomo is able to get the run game going, it will be behind Michael Jordan and Isaac Bausley.
Bausley has rushed for more than 140 yards in his last four games, including a 271-yard, two-touchdown performance last week in a win over Santa Maria to end the regular season.
Paso Robles at La Mirada, 7 p.m.
Paso Robles will need running back Christian Erickson to have another monster game this week against defending CIF State Division III-AA champions La Mirada if it wants to have a chance to advance to the second round of the Division 3 playoffs.
Erickson had 297 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a win last week against Atascadero, but he hasn’t seen a defense like this.
La Mirada (8-2, 6-0 Suburban) is packed with next-level talent. Defensive lineman Keanu Saleapaga committed to USC before changing his mind and committing to BYU. Senior cornerback Elijah Hicks is committed to Notre Dame after being recruited by almost every major program in the country. And linebacker Chase Newman, a three-star prospect, committed to Colorado.
In short, Paso Robles (8-2, 3-1 PAC 5) will have to play the game of its life to pull out a win.
Mission Prep at Dos Pueblos (Goleta), 7 p.m.
Mission Prep (4-5, 2-2 Northern) backed its way into the playoffs by dropping the final two games of the season in heartbreaking fashion: first in a blowout loss to Nipomo and then with a fourth-quarter collapse in a loss to Templeton.
Mission Prep will have a chance at redemption against Dos Pueblos (8-2, 3-1 Channel), co-champions of the Channel League.
The key matchup will be between the offense of Mission Prep and the defense of Dos Pueblos. The Chargers defense, led by senior Isaac Lopez, has yielded less than 14 points per game this season, while the offense of Mission Prep, led by quarterback Bryce Fledderman, can be tough to stop when things are flowing.
This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Prep football: Arroyo Grande, Nipomo gear up for first-round home playoff games."