Prep football: Paso Robles unleashes ‘The Beast’ in win over Atascadero
“The Beast” snarled and showed its fangs. It twisted and flexed and pushed past challengers in the chilly North County night.
When given the chance, “The Beast” ripped the hope from its opponent with one mighty swipe. For too long, “The Beast” lay dormant, forced to wait out of sight.
But on Friday night, Christian Erickson was back in the wild under the lights. And he was out for blood.
The fangs may have been artificial — sharp teeth painted on the front of Erickson’s mouth guard — and his introduction here is probably better served as a post-Halloween horror story. But Erickson evoked terror on the football field Friday night in Atascadero.
The Greyhounds had no answer for the senior running back, a player who, as you might have guessed, we’ve taken to calling “The Beast from North County.” Erickson rushed for 297 yards, scored four touchdowns and caused a key fumble that spurred Paso Robles to a 42-25 win over the Atascadero on Friday.
His offensive numbers were impressive. But his defensive play with 1:40 left before halftime changed the trajectory of the game.
For much of the first half, Erickson was matched-up almost exclusively with the best wide receiver the Central Coast has to offer — Atacadero’s Division I talent Elijah Cooks. It didn’t matter that Erickson is built like a linebacker and playing defense for the first time since his freshman year. Paso Robles head coach and defensive coordinator Matt Carroll had no problem splitting Erickson out wide to guard the 6-foot-5 senior. Cooks had two catches in the first half, when Erickson was on the sideline for a rest, but Cooks finally broke free on a seam route late in the second quarter.
“I got burned initially, and I was not letting him score,” Erickson said.
Erickson used his speed to catch Cooks 40 yards down the field and poked the ball away with an uppercut. The play prevented what surely would have been an Atascadero touchdown and a halftime lead. Instead, Paso Robles took a 14-10 advantage to the locker room, making way for a big second second half to pull away.
“He’s a phenomenal player,” Carroll said. “He’s going to go down in Paso Robles history as one of the best. Some day, that kid is going to reach the hall of fame, I believe, for Paso Robles High School.”
“He played D-line tonight. He played cornerback. He played linebacker. He did it all for us,” Carroll continued.
Some fans and coaches believe, despite the huge numbers as a running back, that Erickson would be best served as a linebacker/safety hybrid at the next level based on his size and 4.7 40-yard dash time. So far, he has some interest from Division I schools, but no official offers. For now, his main goal is to eat up yards in Paso Robles’ proficient offense. Erickson’s now has a total of 19 rushing touchdowns in eight games this season.
“He’s a hell of an athlete and a hell of a kid,” quarterback Steven Schouten said. “He puts his heart into every game, and you know he’s never going to give up and run his heart out on every play.”
Erickson had a staph infection earlier in the season that caused him to miss games against Righetti and Arroyo Grande. Paso Robles lost the game and Arroyo Grande, a team that wrapped up an undefeated league season on Friday night.
Despite missing out on a league title, “The Beast” is back, the Bearcats have a chip on their shoulders, and Paso Robles still has a chance to prove itself with the playoffs just one week away. The team will find out its first-round opponent Sunday.
“We are definitely going to take this momentum we have all the way through the postseason and get another title,” Erickson said.
This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Prep football: Paso Robles unleashes ‘The Beast’ in win over Atascadero."