Prep football: Nipomo, Mission Prep face off in key Northern League game

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

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

So far, Mission Prep has defeated two Northern League contenders, Santa Maria and Morro Bay. On Friday night, Mission Prep (4-3, 2-0 Northern) will host the last real hurdle in a bid for a repeat Northern Leauge title in Nipomo (3-4, 1-0 Northern). Mission Prep quarterback Bryce Fledderman had an amazing performance in a win over Morro Bay last Friday and faces a Nipomo defense that has been giving up big plays all season. If Nipomo’s offense can have a repeat performance of last week when they dropped 42 on Templeton, they might have a shot. If not, it could be a long night. It would help if Nipomo running back Michael Jordan is able to return to the field. He missed the Templeton game after suffering a scary concussion against Arroyo Grande two weeks ago. His status for Friday is questionable, according to Nipomo head coach Tony Dodge.

Righetti at Arroyo Grande, 7 p.m.

Arroyo Grande (6-1, 1-0 PAC 5) has won six in a row looks to be hitting its stride. Coming out of a bye week, the Eagles face a Righetti (1-6, 1-0 PAC 5) team that had its only win this season against winless San Luis Obispo. Arroyo Grande should roll and use the game to finalize a plan for next week’s big test against Atascadero.

Atascadero at San Luis Obispo, 7 p.m.

Atascadero (4-3, 1-0 PAC 5) is finally getting healthy, a scary thought for the rest of the PAC 5. The Greyhouds handled Righetti and shouldn’t have a problem with San Luis Obispo (0-8, 0-2 PAC 5). Atascadero’s main goal will be to stay healthy heading into its final two games against Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles, respectively.

Santa Maria at Morro Bay, 7 p.m.

Morro Bay (4-3, 0-1 Northern) ran into a Mission Prep buzz saw at the end of an emotional week. This week, the Pirates face a resurgent Santa Maria (4-4, 1-1 Northern) that nearly beat Mission Prep two weeks ago. Morro Bay has continued to run the ball well, but it will need to get its passing attack going a little bit if it wants to compete against Santa Maria. Even the running game will struggle if Morro Bay running back Brandon McGinley, who left last week’s game with an ankle injury, isn’t 100 percent. In that case, the Morro Bay defense, that will welcome back linebacker Myles Minnis after suspension, will need to rebound after giving up 49 points to Mission Prep.

Templeton at Laguna Hills, 7 p.m.

It’s been a long season for Templeton (1-6, 0-2 Northern ) already, and the Eagles will have a lengthy 4.5-hour bus ride down to play Laguna Hills (4-3). It will be hard for Templeton to win its second game of the season if the offense doesn’t step up. Templeton is averaging just less than 13 points per game this season, least of any team in the Northern League by 59 points.

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Prep football: Nipomo, Mission Prep face off in key Northern League game."