Sports

Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008

Atascadero runs to title over Paso Robles

With Tenhaeff leading the way, Atascadero beats Paso Robles and takes the PAC 7 championship

Comments (0) |

Nick Tenhaeff more than demonstrated why he is a game-changer against one of the PAC 7’s toughest defenses.

The Atascadero High senior running back has slashed his way through some lesser defenses this season but Friday night his challenge was overcoming a stingy and physical Paso Robles team.

With the offensive linemen and his fullback plowing Paso Robles defenders out of the way, Tenhaeff carved up the Bearcats.

He had running lanes all night, especially off the right side, and he burned Paso Robles for 239 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Tenhaeff’s effort and that of the blockers in front of him, helped Atascadero win a third consecutive PAC 7 title with a 38-21 victory over Paso Robles.

“We ran to the right side a lot tonight and the hole was there every play of the night and we got a lot of yards,” Tenhaeff said. “It worked great.”

Tenhaeff had eight runs of 10 yards or more, including runs of 26 and 22 yards. With the running game clicking, all Atascadero coach Vic Cooper had to do was continue feeding the ball to his star running back.

“He’s a stallion so if you’re going to a big race you want to have your best horse,” Cooper said. “He had a great night, but I think it’s a team effort. He will be the first one to tell you he isn’t going to do it without his fullback in front of him or that offensive line.

“I just think that tonight our line finally caught up to our backfield. I’m very, very happy with how physical our offense played tonight.”

Successfully running the ball meant few passing chances for Greyhounds senior quarterback Bradley Smet. He dropped back only eight times, completing five throws for 34 yards and an interception.

His interception came two plays after Paso Robles closed within 24-21 with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.

That handed the ball back to the Bearcats on their 44-yard line. But the drive had stalled after the first three downs, leading Paso Robles coach Rich Schimke to make an interesting play call on fourth-and-15 on their 39-yard line.

With nearly seven minutes remaining in the game, Schimke elected to keep his offense on the field and go for the first down. A pass attempt down the right sideline by junior quarterback Thomas Bernal fell incomplete, handing the ball back to Atascadero.

“I had trust in my guys,” Schimke said. “It was something that we had that was open and I had trust in my guys. We just missed it and threw it a little bit too far. If we get it, it would have been a great play.”

Deciding to go for it rather than punting gave the ball back to the Greyhounds well inside Paso Robles territory. From there, Tenhaeff and Atascadero were able to close the door on the Bearcats.

Tenhaeff had runs of 5, 4, 5 and 22 yards, and he finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown scamper through the right side. The touchdown sealed the game, bringing the score to 31-21 with four minutes remaining.

“Coming out as big underdogs we showed everybody, man, don’t doubt Atascadero,” Greyhounds fullback and linebacker Trevor Holloway said.