Prep football: Morro Bay, Atascadero open league play

Here’s a look at this week’s high school football games involving San Luis Obispo County teams:

Tribune Sports Game of the Week: Mission Prep at Morro Bay, 7 p.m.

It has been a difficult week for the Morro Bay (4-2) football team following the loss of assistant coach Jim Atchison. The Pirates will now have to try and focus on their first league game, which comes against Mission Prep (3-3, 1-0 Northern) in a game that has huge Northern League implications. Morro Bay is coming off its worst game of the season, a 48-7 loss to Santa Ynez. The Pirates will also be without standout linebacker Myles Minnis, who is suspended after an ejection last week. Mission Prep is coming off a come-from-behind win against Santa Maria and is finally healthy. The Royals have to be encouraged by the play of quarterback Bryce Fledderman, who has performed his best in the last two games, throwing for five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Righetti at Atascadero, 7 p.m.

Coming off a welcomed bye week, a banged-up Atascadero (3-3) team will welcome a struggling Righetti (1-5, 1-0 PAC 5) team to open its PAC 5 schedule. Atascadero has been without starting running back Tysen Delkener since the second game of the season, but replacement Kobe Cross has been playing well. And the combination of quarterback Carson Rinkenberger and Elijah Cooks has been nearly unstoppable. The two have combined for seven touchdowns, and Cooks is second in the PAC 5 with 10 total touchdowns.

San Luis Obispo at Paso Robles, 7 p.m.

To say San Luis Obispo (0-7, 0-1 PAC 5) is a long shot to win on the road against Paso Robles (5-2, 0-1 PAC 5) is an understatement to say the least. The Bearcats are coming off a close loss to Arroyo Grande last week and will likely take out their frustrations on the Tigers. Even if star running back Christian Erickson has to sit out again due to illness, as he did last week, Paso Robles should roll.

Templeton at Santa Maria, 7 p.m.

Templeton (1-5, 0-1 Northern) lost its fourth game in a row last week in a 42-14 defeat to Nipomo and will face an up-and-down Santa Maria (3-4, 0-1 Northern) team on Friday night led by quarterback Blake Truhitte. Templeton is still looking for a consistent offensive attack. If the Eagles can figure out their passing game, Santa Maria has shown to be susceptible to the big play.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Prep football: Morro Bay, Atascadero open league play."