SLO County football results for Week 7: Paso beats Nipomo 19-12 in close finish
In a hard-fought battle between two hot teams facing off in a critical Mountain League football contest, Paso Robles came out on top, beating Nipomo 19-12.
The game pitted a scrappy Titans team — undefeated coming in, with an experienced and skilled quarterback in senior Nate Reese — against the ground-and-pound Bearcats offense and hard-nose running style of Leo Kemp.
With Paso Robles (4-2, 2-0 Mountain League) looking to establish a fearsome front, the Bearcats got out to a 13-0 lead at the half, running the ball nearly every down to try to keep the Titans (6-1, 2-1 Mountain) on their heels.
Kemp rushed for all three Bearcats touchdowns, including a 33-yarder in the second quarter, crediting the bruising blocking of Dom Weber, Nate Guerrero, and the rest of the bulky Bearcats front line.
“Their D-lineman No. 33 (Vinny Hernandez) was a beast and Don Weber was on his on him all night,” Kemp said. “Nate’s a beast. Our O-linemen are the hardest-working people on our team, and it’s apparent because our running game is so strong.”
After the win, Weber said he was “pumped” on adrenaline.
“We have our five guys up front,” Weber said. “Coach Hamilton who came down from Esperanza, he just taught us to pound the ball. We run it down their throat. Yeah, that’s basically our identity, our whole thing.”
Looking like the Bearcats might pull away with a comfortable win after pulling out to a 19-0 lead late in the second half, the Titans’ defense made a series of stops and Nipomo’s offense started to click.
Reese bombed a 51-yard pass to Kyle Kuhn to put the Titans on the board with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter to make it 19-6 and Reese then threw another deep ball strike to Alex Terrones from about midfield to narrow the margin to 19-12.
The Titans tried a couple of unsuccessful onside kicks, and two additional Nipomo drives on offense stalled to end the game.
“We stayed together,” Reese said. “We picked it up in the second half after talking about it in the locker room and making some adjustments. We’re always trying to keep going, never give up, and keep our heads up.”
Paso Robles coach Matt Carroll credited Nipomo coach Tony Dodge for finding ways to plug running holes and adjusting in game with his defense.
“Coach Dodge does a great job coaching his team, and my hat’s off to the adjustments he made,” Carroll said.
But Carroll still wants his squad to get better: “I have to do a better job of coordinating the offense, and we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot at the worst possible times. We have to get better at that if we’re going make a run at this at the end.”
He added: “I told our guys, these guys remind us a lot of us. My hat’s off to them, they did a great job. They played till the bloody end.”
Paso Robles next hosts Pioneer Valley on Oct. 15, and Nipomo hosts St. Joseph on Oct. 14.
SLO 21, Morro Bay 7
The Tigers (4-2, 2-0 Ocean League) faced Morro Bay (3-4, 1-1 Ocean League) at the Pirates’ stadium.
Tigers coach Pat Johnston said his team played great defense throughout to limit Morro Bay’s “explosive offense,” led by Pirates quarterback Nicky Johnson and running back Dylan Turner.
The Tigers’ started freshman quarterback Jace Gomes, who connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass to Eli Smiley and a 22-yard scoring connection to Miles Debrum. Mack Garcia punched in the Tigers’ first score on a 1-yard run.
SLO moves on to play Templeton at Morro Bay’s stadium (technically a home game because the Tigers’ field is under renovation) and the Pirates face Mission Prep on the road on Oct. 15.
“We’re excited about that,” Johnston said. “We’ll recognize our seniors and everything like that as well. We’re on a mission to get better, and Templeton’s good. They always are so we have to have a good week.”
St. Joseph 39, Arroyo Grande 21
The Eagles (4-3, 1-1 Mountain League) fell behind 21-0 to the Knights (3-4, 1-1) after the first quarter in a physical, hard-fought game, Arroyo Grande Coach Mike Hartman said.
Eagles quarterback Max Perrett threw for two touchdowns, including a connection with Max Wulff, and ran for another.
“We’ll have to right the ship and play much better next week,” Hartman said. “They ran the ball well. We’ll have a good week of preparation and be ready to go next week.”
Arroyo Grande next faces Righetti in Santa Maria on Oct. 15.
Templeton 27, Atascadero 24
Templeton bounced back from a tough loss to Morro Bay to win in another close one in Atascadero.
The victory for the Eagles (4-3, 1-1 Ocean League) was highlighted by long scoring rushes from Jack Wood, who dashed for a 50-yard score and a 61-yarder to take an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, according to MaxPreps.com.
The Greyhounds (1-6, 0-2 Ocean League) had a lead going into the fourth quarter but fell behind by 3 with about 9 minutes left in the game.
On Oct. 15, Templeton faces SLO; Atascadero moves on to play Santa Maria on the road.
Mission Prep 28, Santa Maria 7
The Royals (6-0, 2-0 Ocean League) matched up against the Saints (3-5, 0-2 Ocean) in Santa Maria.
Mission Prep Coach David Schuster said his 31-player squad ran the ball well and coaches substituted in some backups to help prepare them for when they might have to step in during future game situations.
“They’re all great kids,” Schuster said. “They can all compete. At some point we’re going to be in a position where they got to step up and play and we need them comfortable enough with intense situations. They can get it done.”
George Kardashian ran for two touchdowns, Mario Luera caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Colby White, and Aiden Dahlen also had a score.
“I was extremely happy for George Kardashian,” Schuster said. “He really had a great game running the ball. I’m really pleased with his performance. He’s an extremely tough kid. David Andrade at wide receiver was in his second game back and he had a couple of catches. Then a number of our other kids really stepped up.”
Coast Union v. Riverdale Christian
The Broncos (4-1, 1-0 Coast Valley 8-man league) heads to Riverdale Christian for a Saturday road game at 11 a.m.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 11:37 PM.
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