Templeton tops Morro Bay, while Atascadero and Mission Prep remain unbeaten in league
From the start, Templeton (6-3, 3-2) controlled its match-up against Morro Bay (4-5, 2-3), coming out on top 27-9 on Friday night.
The Eagles put on a strong performance in the run game, defense and even special teams.
In the second quarter, Dylan Krilling returned a punt for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 20-0 lead.
“Tonight, especially early, we got up. That punt return really gave us that ... advantage. And we just kind of kept it and we pulled away,” said head coach Don Crow.
The punt return encapsulated the night for the Pirates, who, according to head coach Robert Doughtery, “didn’t have a lot of urgency.”
“It seemed like they played with more urgency than us, and I think that’s where we lost that game more than anything is that we didn’t look we didn’t look like we wanted it really bad at times,” he said.
The Pirates had the offensive talent to move the chains but couldn’t capitalize on their drives insdie the red zone.
Quarterback Nicky Johnson slung the ball down field and made plays scrambling in the pocket, while running back Nami Hoag was a workhorse all night. It took multiple Eagle defenders to take him down.
But Johnson and Hoag both had a turnover apiece. Johnson had an interception and Hoag had a fumble, and the team overall didn’t click on the offensive end.
The Eagles relied on a the running game, pounding the ball on the ground.
Reciever Jan Martinus had two touchdowns playing out of the backfield even though he is listed as a receiver. He was able to find good yardage time and time again. Landen Miller punched in the first touchdown of the game to make it 7-0.
Ultimately, it came down to the defense for the Eagles.
They held the Pirates to a field goal in the waning seconds of the first half while the offense put up 20 points. Both teams were scoreless in the third, but then Martinus added his second touchdown of the day to make it 27-3.
Johnson and receiver Aiden Blackwood connected for a passing touchdown late, but the Eagles were up too much to overcome at that point.
It was a emotional night for the Pirates as it was Homecoming, a rivalry game, and also an important game for seeding.
“Homecomings can be good or bad sometimes. You’re just distracted with other stuff going on. It’s Homecoming weekend. It’s great, but it also can be dangerous for some teams,” said Doughtery.
“It was the players. It was the coaches. It was all of us who let this team down.”
The teams have matched up the last 16 years and were stuck even at 8-8. The Eagles gave themselves the edge tonight making the series 9-8.
The Eagles and Pirates were both apart of a three-way tie for third place in the Ocean League. Templeton gives now has the third place edge after Friday’s game.
“They’ve got a really good football team,” Crow said. “Nicky Johnson is a heck of a quarterback and his receivers are really good. And they battled their butt off on their home field. But you know, our kids played really well tonight.”
Templeton is at San Luis Obispo next Friday, while Morro Bay finishes the regular season at home against Cabrillo.
Atascadero 45, Cabrillo 28
The Greyhounds (6-3, 5-0) remained undefeated in Ocean League play with a high-scoring road win.
The team scored 31 points in the first half en route to the victory.
Running back Diego Real accounted for the Greyhounds’ first two touchdowns via rushing scores, accompanied by Trey Cooks, who carried the ball into the end zone three times.
Dallas Parish had a scoring reception for the Greyhounds’ last touchdown.
The Greyhounds look to close out the league title next week against Pioneer Valley, as SLO trails in second place with just one loss in league.
Paso Robles 34, Nipomo 12
Paso Robles (6-3, 4-2) comes out on top against Nipomo 34-12 (0-9, 0-6).
The Bearcats took a 27-12 lead in the first half. Nipomo tried to turn things around with an onside kick right out of halftime, but Paso Robles recovered the ball.
Quarterback Tyler Luna connected with running back Leo Kemp for a 25-yard passing touchdown to give the Bearcats 34-12 and lead and put the game out of reach.
The Bearcats made plays all over the field. On top of Kemp’s reception, Trevor Lambeth blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. Lambeth also had an interception. Running back Connor Bowman had three runs for over 25 yards and a touchdown.
Paso Robles hosts Arroyo Grande in its final regular season game on Friday while Nipomo concludes at home against Righetti.
Arroyo Grande 62, Santa Ynez 21
The Eagles (4-5, 3-3) scored 35 points in the second quarter en route to a blowout win over Santa Ynez on Friday night.
In total, Arroyo Grande found the end zone nine times, spreading the wealth around to eight different players, according to MaxPreps.
Most of the scoring came on the ground.
Junior Herlihy got things going in the first quarter with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, followed shortly after by a 3-yard score by Joshua Brock.
When the clock turned to the second quarter, things really got going.
Drake Missamore ran 29 yards for another touchdown that pushed the score to 21-0.
After Santa Ynez got on the scoreboard, Ben Walz answered with a 5-yard touchdown on the ground.
Then, Missamore hit Brandon Butler on a 60-yard touchdown pass, before Tristin Moser connected with Caleb Clark on a 25-yard score.
Finally, Missamore punched it in again with an 8-yard rushing touchdown.
That made the score 49-7 at halftime.
Arroyo Grande finished out its scoring with two more touchdowns in the second half, a 40-yard run by Walz and a 35-yard run by James Lyman.
Arroyo Grande also had a big game on defense, collecting three interceptions from Moser, Tanner Quaresma and Jacob Angulo. Moser’s came on the Pirates’ 5-yard line and set up the Eagles’ second touchdown.
Arroyo Grande’s last regular season game is on the road against Paso Robles as the team battle for the third and fourth place posiitons in the Ocean League.
Mission Prep 27, Righetti 19
Mission Prep (7-2, 6-0) sealed its game against Righetti (1-8, 0-6) on the road with a late drive.
Up 20-19 in a tight contest with a few minutes to go, Royals’ quarterback Colby White connected with Tyler Garrett on a key first down in Warriors’ territory. Then running back Cole Tanner put Mission Prep up for good with a 7-yard scoring run with 1:14 left.
As Righetti mounted a drive down 27-19, Tanner then intercepted a pass in the end zone in the closing seconds to seal the game.
The Royals, undefeated in the Mountain League, have a home showdown next week against St. Joseph, also 5-0, to decide the league title and playoff positioning.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 11:34 PM.