Mission Prep, Atascadero win to remain unbeaten in league play

Mission Prep got off to a slow start and Arroyo Grande put up the first points of the game, but the Royals’ offensive trio of Colby White, Drew Harrigan and Jamar Howard ultimately carried the team to a 41-35 victory Friday night to remain unbeaten in Mountain League play.

The Royals (6-2, 4-0) secured the win despite struggling to find their rhythm on offense early in the game.

Receivers dropped catches and the offense committed multiple penalties that set them back.

For its part, Arroyo Grande (3-5, 2-3) marched down field but then turned the ball over in the red zone on an interception that bounced into defensive back Jayden Nozil’s hands.

In the second quarter, running back Junior Herlihy scored on the ground for the Eagles. But Howard responded with a kickoff return to the 40-yard line to inject life in the Royals.

After two offensive penalties, White kept the ball two plays in a row for huge yardage and completed a pass to fullback Issac Townsend that ended with a face mask penalty on the defense.

Harrigan then ran the ball into the red zone, and Townsend finished off the drive with a touchdown to tie it up. White and Howard connected for a deep-ball touchdown in the second quarter to to put the Royals up by 7 going into the half.

While the Eagles capitalized on the Royals’ slow start, they went on to turn the ball over four times throughout the game. The team fumbled the ball three times on promising drives.

Harrigan added another touchdown in the third quarter with 6:13 left to put the Royals up 21-7, but immediately after, receiver Caleb Clark returned the ball 85 yards to the house to bring the Eagles within a score.

But the turnover issues popped up again as Arroyo Grande fumbled a snap and the Royals recovered.

After getting another defensive stop, the Eagles fumbled the ball in the redzone, and the ball was recovered by Royals’ safety George Kardashian. On the following possession, Howard beat two men downfield for a 90-yard touchdown to make the score 28-14.

The Eagles refused to go away as receiver Damien Santos made a contested catch to set up a touchdown for Herlihy to bring the Eagles within a score again.

Howard then made another big play of his own when White hit him on a fade route with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Royals failed the point after attempt, and Clark once again ran back the ball on kickoff for another touchdown for Arroyo Grande.

Harrigan then beat the defense up the middle for a 46-yard score. And Herlihy scored again for the Eagles, but with a minute left, the Royals recovered the Eagles’ onside kick to seal the game.

“We were very flat tonight. They had energy,” said Mission Prep Head Coach David Schuster. “I don’t really know why this was but definitely we just felt off. But that’s not to take anything away from AG the way they played.”

From the start, the Royals made uncharacteristic mistakes, from catching the ball to performing on special teams.

“They played us very hard. Pretty much the entire game, every single aspect of the game was in doubt and they took away a lot of our key play, and really kind of made us do some other things so I bring credit to him,” Schuster said.

The Royals leaned on their key offensive pieces to get them the win. White kept the team steady when the momentum was against the Royals by making plays to keep the offense on the field.

“I’m kind of the one that’s keeping them together,” he said. “So once we were able to kind of figure things out and just smooth, that’s when we kind of pick things up. So I was happy with the way I played.”

White and Howard connected multiple times throughout the night for big plays.

“We’ve been brothers forever,” said White about his connection with Howard. “We just have that chemistry. We click. ... It’s easy for me to get him the ball.”

Howard finished with three touchdowns to go along with a key third down catch when the game was in the balance.

“J.J. did an incredible job. They were leaning hard on Tyler Garrett, especially after Tyler’s big game against Lompoc, and that opened up opportunities for J.J. and he took advantage of it,” said Schuster.

Harrigan was another catalyst on the offensive end with his ability to make plays after contact and run hard.

“He’s just an iron horse. He comes in all the clutch moments. He’s running people over. He’s always giving his best 110%. So I mean we’re grateful for him,” White said.

Arroyo Grande is home next week against Santa Ynez, while Mission Prep travels to Righetti in Mountain League play.

Atascadero 42, Morro Bay 28

Atascadero (5-3, 4-0) defeated Morro Bay (5-3, 2-2) 42-28 to remain unbeaten and in first place in Ocean League play.

The Greyhounds put up a 28-point second quarter that boosted them to a 35-7 third quarter lead, according to MaxPreps. The Pirates responded with a 21-point second half to narrow the score, but the Greyhounds ultimately came out on top.

Atascadero got two scores from Trey Cooks, to go with touchdowns from Kane Cooks, Diego Real and Mason Degnan, who broke off a 58-yard run to the end zone in the third quarter.

Morro Bay’s Nicky Johnson threw touchdown passes to Manny Diaz and Shawn Shaffer, and Nami Hoag scored twice on the ground with runs of 21 and 6 yards.

Atascadero next faces Cabrillo, while Morro bay hosts Templeton.

Paso Robles 21, Santa Ynez 16

Paso Robles (5-3, 3-2) grinded out a 21-16 win against Santa Ynez (5-3, 2-2) on the back of their strong defense.

Both teams had trouble scoring the ball, and the score heading into the fourth quarter was 10-7. But the Bearcats scored two touchdowns in the final quarter for the win.

Linebacker Kyler Tweten knocked down two passes, and cornerback Hayden McKanna and defensive tackle Rudy Contreras both had a sack each.

Running back Leo Kemp pounded the ball on the ground, rushing for over 225 yards. He also broke out for a 50-yard run to close out the game.

Paso Robles is at home against Nipomo next week.

San Luis Obispo 34, Santa Maria 14

After a slow first half where both teams scored 7 points apiece, San Luis Obispo (7-2, 4-1) scored 20 points in the third quarter to defeat Santa Maria (3-6, 1-4) 34-14.

Running back Luca Cuccaro had two touchdown runs, one near the goal line and the other for 69 yards.

Quarterback Jace Gomes scored two touchdowns on the ground for 85 yards and 15 yards. He also connected with receiver Miles DeBrum for a 45-yard score.

“I’m very proud of how our team responded to adversity tonight,” said Head Coach Pat Johnston via text. “Santa Maria is a very tough team to beat, and we had to fight hard to pull away in the second half.”

San Luis Obispo has a bye next week.

Pioneer Valley 28, Templeton 21

In a back-and-forth affair, Pioneer Valley (2-6, 1-3) beat Templeton (5-3, 2-2). Both teams traded scores in the first half to make it a 14-14 game, but then no team scored until 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers put up two scores to the Eagles’ one score and won the game.

Templeton plays at Morro Bay next week.

Lompoc 49, Nipomo 0

Lompoc (6-2, 3-2) dominated from start to finish against the winless Nipomo (0-8, 0-5), scoring in every quarter. The game was highlighted by a 21-point second quarter from Lompoc.

Nipomo is on the road at Paso Robles next week.

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 11:49 PM.