Atascadero’s comeback kids gear up for state tournament game against Colusa

During an Ocean League matchup against San Luis Obispo High School earlier this year, Atascadero got off to a slow start.

The Greyhounds fumbled the ball on their first possession. Immediately after, they allowed a 66-yard rushing touchdown.

On the next drive, they threw an interception and minutes later were scored on again. The team found itself down 14-0 before the first quarter ended. The onslaught continued as Atascadero fell behind 24-6 at halftime.

But the Greyhounds mounted a furious comeback in the second half. Their run-heavy offense wore out the Tigers, and suddenly the Greyhounds had all the momentum on both sides of the ball.

The final score was 28-24 as Atascadero shut out SLO in the second half while scoring 22 unanswered points.

As it turned out, that game wasn’t a fluke. The Greyhounds, who play in the regional finals of the state Division 6-A tournament Saturday at Colusa, had four wins where they were down by two or more scores at any point in the game.

“Once it happened, you hope that doesn’t happen again. But then it happened again the next week and you got to halftime, you looked at everybody and went, ‘We know we can do this right?’ We’ve done it before,” said Head Coach Vic Cooper.

Atascadero has won 9 of its last 10 games and after an 0-3 non-league start, dominated Ocean League play with a 5-1 record, falling only to Pioneer Valley in the last game of the regular season.

The Greyhounds avenged that loss in a rematch against the Panthers in the Division 5 CIF Central Section championship game, where they mounted another signature comeback win.

“I’d much rather be up by two touchdowns than down by two touchdowns,” Cooper said. “I think the combination of the kids getting that tough love and accepting it and then practicing harder … combined with my coordinators Dan Loney and Sam DeRose, who have made tremendous halftime adjustments.”

The Greyhounds are one of most run-heavy teams in the county. According to MaxPreps, Atascadero has rushed the ball 496 times this year with the national average for runs at 296. They’ve gained 3,305 yards on the season and average 6.7 yards per carry, which are both well-above the national average.

The Cooks brothers

Leading the team’s potent rushing attack are the Cooks brothers.

Senior running back Trey Cooks has 230 carries for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Kane Cooks is second on the team in carries with 125 and second in rushing yards behind his brother with 929.

Kane Cooks also keeps the defense honest with his arm. He’s completed 95 passes on 170 attempts, to go along with 14 touchdowns vs. nine interceptions.

The brothers have spearheaded the team’s comeback wins with explosive plays on offense, whether it be Kane throwing a deep touchdown pass when the defense bites up on the run, or Trey breaking tackles and fighting for every yard.

The Cooks brothers have also taken leadership positions on the team. However, they differ in their styles.

“Trey is a pretty darn good leader. He’s definitely more of a talker than Kane. Kane leads by example,” Cooper said.

Colusa matchup

The Greyhounds (9-4) will travel to Colusa High School north of Sacramento on Saturday for their first-round Division 6-A state playoff matchup.

Colusa is 10-2 and finished second in the Sacramento Valley League. MaxPreps ranks the Redhawks 387th in the state while the Greyhounds are 362nd.

“They’re fairly balanced offensively. They’re about 200 passes and 200 runs (on the year) so they’re pretty close to 50-50 run pass,” Cooper said. “If you look at them, they’ve blown out quite a few teams, and they’re playing great defense. They haven’t given up very many points at all.”

The Greyhounds’ defense headed by Diego Real, Dallas Parish, Caleby Pryor and Mason Degnan have only allowed 21 points total in their three playoff games, but the Redhawks present a balanced offense and are a challenge the Greyhounds haven’t faced much of during the season.

Although the team is capable of those comeback wins, Cooper doesn’t want the team to start off slow.

“It’s going to be wet up there, and it’s a natural turf field. It is expected to be probably sprinkling a little bit during game time, so how we handle the flooding and protect the football is probably going to make a huge statement on who wins the game.”

The game starts at 7 p.m. at Colusa. If the Greyhounds win, they will move on to the Division 6-A state championship and will play the winner of San Gabriel and Kennedy.

This story was originally published December 2, 2022 at 3:01 PM.