Paso Robles edges SLO High football 29-22 in late comeback to even record
After a crushing 44-0 defeat to open the season last week, the Paso Robles High football squad bounced back in dramatic fashion Friday, earning a 29-22 comeback win against San Luis Obispo on the road.
The Bearcats (1-1), who lost to St. Joseph High last week, found themselves down 22-7 to the Tigers (0-1) at the half after sophomore SLO High quarterback Darian Mensah connected with junior wide receiver Blayke Perry on a 67-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
The Mensah and Perry combo opened the game with a 44-yard touchdown, putting Paso Robles on their heels with deep ball connection.
But the Bearcats clawed their way back by pounding the run, getting two rushing touchdowns from Leo Kemp (13 and 7 yards) and another from Jake Morones (3 yard run), who also punched in a two-point conversion on the ground to make it 22-22 with 11:56 remaining.
The game winning drive came from a 21-yard passing touchdown from Paso Robles’ Derek Tidwell to senior Gabriel Tavares with about 5 minutes left.
SLO High attempted a long pass to try to even the score in Paso Robles’ half of the field, but the Tigers came up empty on a long fourth down pass that fell incomplete.
Mensah finished with three passing touchdowns, including a 10-yard strike to Max Threlkel in the second quarter.
SLO’s Gavin Righetti recorded an interception and made several key tackles in the game.
Running game was key for Paso Robles
But it was the perseverance of the Bearcats that kept on finding ways to move the chains and drive holes through the SLO High defense that gave Paso Robles the edge.
“Our biggest position group that we have is our offensive line,” said Paso Rolbes High Coach Matt Carroll. “We’ve really invested in them. We’ve really invested in our tights ends and blocking. So we just let them lead the way.”
Carroll said the speech in the second half to the defense was “know your job, do your job and do better” and they responded by shutting out the Tigers.
“After last week, we told them, if you lose one game, don’t throw it all away,” Carroll said. “You have to move on to San Luis.”
Kemp said that once the Paso Robles coaches and players figured out what schemes SLO High was using, they adjusted successfully.
“They gave us some looks that we didn’t expect to open the game, and we were getting stuffed at the start,” Kemp said. “Once it became apparent what we had to do, it became a lot easier to find holes, and man some of those runs were huge...We’re Paso football, it’s pound, pound, pound.”
Morones said that after being down 15 at the half, coaches really motivated the players to come out strong in the second half.
“They told us what we needed to do and motivated us,” Morones said. “I thought we just came out with a lot of energy....It was so much fun.”
SLO High takes the field for first time
San Luis Obispo High School Coach Pat Johnston said his players made some opening game mistakes, but he was pleased his squad got to take the field for the start of their five-game season.
“After all the waiting and red tape to be able just to play, I’m happy for our players to get out here and just take the field,” Johnston said. “There are some things we’ll need to tighten up and some of the typical types of things you see in first game.”
Johnston said that he’s particularly happy for his seniors to be able to have a season, calling them “high character kids.”
SLO offensive lineman Christian Jones, one of the team leaders, led the way by offering key protection for Mensah throughout much of the game. Jones, who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 300 pounds, will attend San Diego State University next year on a football scholarship.
“It feels great to get back at it,” Jones said. “My coach at San Diego State called me and said ‘Hey, if you’re going to have a season, get back in there and play.’ Fast forward to now and I get to be able to play with my brothers. I didn’t feel good about not playing. I’m glad to be able to get back here. It feels great to be able to take the field.”
Jones said he’s working on getting strong and quicker, as well as second-level blocking and finishing blocks as keys to his preparation for college ball.
Jones said keys for next week’s matchup in Santa Maria against St. Joseph will be to keep focus, while using their fire and energy.
“It will take continued energy,” Jones said. “We came out fired up in the first half, but need to maintain our focus.”
SLO County Friday football scores
St. Joseph 45, Arroyo Grande 14
Templeton 42, Morro Bay 0
Mission Prep 56, Atascadero 6
Nipomo plays against Santa Maria Saturday at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 11:44 PM.
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