Mission Prep stays undefeated, A.G. wins a thriller in Week 3 of SLO County prep football
Coming off a big win in Week 2 against Central Valley Christian, Mission Prep’s football coach David Schuster said the Royals were admittedly a bit complacent to start a home game against winless St. Francis of Watsonville.
But after a narrow 14-7 lead at the half, Mission Prep (3-0) regrouped in the locker room to turn on the jets in the second half, scoring four touchdowns to storm ahead of the Sharks and remain undefeated.
“St. Francis came out extremely tough, and we have deep respect for them,” Schuster said. “They threw down a little bit in the first half. Our kids didn’t have the same focus coming off the CVC win and hit a little bit of a lull. ... At halftime, we said let’s get back to business and let’s get after it and put the game away.”
The Royals won 42-7, highlighted by receiver Tyler Garrett’s three touchdown catches and pummeling runs from senior Jack Susank, who broke several tackles on the night and tallied two rushing scores.
Royals quarterback Colby White took advantage of Garrett’s 6-foot-4 frame to pinpoint high passes that were too much for the smaller defenders.
“That’s pretty much how it works for our team,” Garrett said. “Colby throws really accurate passes up high and I get up there. It’s fun. This is the best group of guys I’ve ever played with.”
Sophomore Drew Harrigan also punched in a long scoring run for the Royals in the first half.
Susank credited the offensive line’s protection, including on a second half run in which he said several players “helped push me into the end zone.”
“The real difference in the game was the battle on the line,” Susank said. “They really came through in the second half, and it wouldn’t have been the same game without them. ... And Colby White is a great quarterback and an all-round great guy and great leader.”
Susank added, “We’re hoping to keep it going and get better every game.”
“We’re trying to live in the moment,” he said.
Offensive lineman Caleb “Tako” Alalem, who has college aspirations, said that he and the rest of the line have worked hard to get stronger and quicker in blocking technique.
“We have a tight bond on the O-line,” said Alalem, a Hawaii native.
Schuster said this team is the “best team I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
“We have depth at every position, and we’re extremely strong,” the coach said. “I don’t think people understand how strong we are on both sides of the ball. We have talent. Colby White has been extremely special. It’s a special team. We’ve returned everybody from the spring and we just feel this could be a team that does something really cool this year.”
Arroyo Grande 48, Lompoc 47
Playing at home, the Eagles (2-2) beat Lompoc in a thriller.
Coach Mike Hartman called it a “crazy game” that saw an outpouring of offense and went down to the wire — yet it took a defensive stand by the Eagles to hold off Braves’ final drive.
Hartman said the Eagles have beaten Lompoc, a traditional high school football powerhouse, in their last three matchups in 2018, 2019 and this season.
“These were two teams playing good offense against each other, and the D played pretty well,” Hartman said. “We faced some adversity yesterday because we had seven kids out due to (COVID) contract tracing. It was no fault of their own, but we were scrambling a little bit.”
Hartman said running back Zech Goen scored on a short touchdown to put the Eagles up 48-47.
The Eagles failed on a two-point conversion attempt, but held the Braves scoreless at midfield as the clocked ran out.
Kaden Tynes had multiple touchdown catches, including an 80-yard scoring reception, and quarterback Max Perrett had a strong game throwing, Hartman said. Damian Santos also hauled in a scoring catch.
Arroyo Grande moves on to face Torres of Madera in a home non-league matchup on Friday in Week 4.
San Luis Obispo 35, Kennedy 13
San Luis Obispo got out to a 21-7 halftime lead and didn’t look back, scoring 14 more in the second half in a Saturday game.
The Tigers (2-1) won on the road in Fremont against Kennedy (0-2) behind three touchdown rushes from quarterback Blayke Perry, including a long of 45 yards and two running scores from Luca Cuccaro, including a 27-yarder, according to MaxPreps.com.
The Tigers face Nipomo away on Sept. 24 in the following scheduled game.
Fresno 20, Morro Bay 13
Dylan Turner caught a touchdown and rushed for a score as the Pirates fell a touchdown short on the road.
“We couldn’t execute efficiently, so we’ll have to go back and work on some things,” said Coach Jake Goossen-Brown said. “We have two more preseason games before league. We have some work to do, but we’ll be alright.”
Morro Bay (1-2) faces Nipomo on the road Friday in Week 4.
Templeton 7, Pioneer Valley 0
Templeton (2-1) scored a rushing touchdown in overtime and held the Panthers (0-3) scoreless on defense to record a narrow win.
The Eagles (2-1) face West of Bakersfield in a home non-league matchup on Friday.
West (Bakersfield) 19, Atascadero 13
Atascadero (1-2) lost a close non-conference road game in Bakersfield to West (3-0) on Thursday.
Running back Cole Tanner had a touchdown catch in a game that was loss played in more than 100-degree heat.
The Greyhounds move on to play Paso Robles on the road in a non-league game on Friday in Week 4.
Paso Robles vs. Sunnyside (game canceled)
The Paso Robles team was on the road in Fresno on Thursday to play Sunnyside.
But the game was canceled at the half due to lightning precautions, according to the Bearcat Athletics Twitter feed.
The game started late due to the heat. After kickoff, the teams played up to the half before the action was called off and the game declared a “no contest.”
The Bearcats (1-2) face Atascadero at home on Friday in Week 4.
Coast Union vs. Orcutt Academy
The Broncos face Orcutt Academy Saturday at 7 p.m. at home in a non-league game in eight-man football.
Nipomo (bye week)
Nipomo faces Morro Bay at home on Friday in Week 4.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:57 PM.
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