SLO, Atascadero, Arroyo Grande all post wins. See full SLO County prep football results

All of San Luis Obispo County’s top-performing teams collected victories this week — and many by large margins.

Arroyo Grande, Atascadero and Mission Prep all won with strong defensive efforts that saw their opponents held to single digits.

San Luis Obispo withstood a late surge by Pioneer Valley to win by 14 points, while Morro Bay put up four touchdowns on Santa Maria.

Templeton was the top scoring team this week, hanging 61 points on a winless Cabrillo squad on Thursday night.

Arroyo Grande 38, Nipomo 8

In the first quarter against its cross-town rival, Nipomo’s freshman quarterback Blayne Lowry scrambled to his right out of the pocket as multiple Arroyo Grande defenders pursued him.

He threw on the run for an incompletion.

After the play was over, an Eagles’ defender told Lowry he was “scared.”

“Ain’t nobody scared,” responded Lowry.

The comment was a fitting summary for a Nipomo team that came out fighting against a tough opponent for the second week in a row.

In the end, the Eagles (5-1, 3-0 Mountain) came out on top 38-8, but the revamped Nipomo program (2-4, 0-3 Mountain) under new head coach Stephen Field showed moments of being competitive against a team contending for a league title.

On the offensive side of the ball, Lowry finished with one passing touchdown to senior John Schultz and a 2-point conversion, but he constantly flashed his combination of arm talent and ability to extend plays with his scrambling.

“He’s a very natural football player,” Field said. “He’s got a sense of physicality to him that most quarterback don’t have, especially a freshman quarterback.”

Field also noted Lowry’s advanced understanding of football for someone his age, while pointing out the amount of upside he’s shown.

The Titans held the Eagles to seven points in the first quarter, one week after holding Mission Prep scoreless in the first half.

The Titans’ defense recovered a fumble in the 8th minute and also forced the Eagles to punt multiple times in the first half.

However, as the game wore on, Arroyo Grande showed why it’s contending for the Mountain League championship.

Senior quarterback Drake Missamore connected with senior receiver Junior Herlihy for a touchdown in the red zone early in the first quarter.

Missamore connected with sophomore receiver Caleb Clark for a another strike to put the Eagles up 14-0.

Following a field goal from senior kicker Cooper Hartford to make the score 17-0, Herlihy added touchdowns in the second and third quarters to give the Eagles a 31-0 advantage.

Junior running back Joe Ramirez went on a 35-yard scamper to increase the lead.

In the fourth quarter, Lowry connected with receiver Kyle Thorpe to get Nipomo on the scoreboard. Lowry scrambled close to the goal line before following the play up with a jump pass to Schultz.

Senior receiver Ben Ruvalcaba completed the 2-point conversion from Lowry.

“We’re continuing to get better,” Eagles Head Coach Mike Hartman said. “There’s lessons to be learned in preparation and how we go about our business.”

With a win over St. Joseph in the previous week, the Eagles are in position to finish with a high seed in the Mountain League.

“There are still improvements to be made, but we’re getting there,” Hartman said. “Each team sort of takes on their own personality as the season progresses and you figure it out.”

Arroyo Grande is at Righetti on Friday, while Nipomo is at Santa Ynez.

San Luis Obispo 35, Pioneer Valley 21

The Tigers (4-3, 2-1 Ocean League) got a big win on the road after seeing their 21-0 lead cut to 21-14 against the Panthers (4-3, 2-1).

Celebrating his birthday, SLO quarterback Jace Gomes had two rushing scores, a 28-yard touchdown rush to put the Tigers up 28-14 and a 1-yard sneak in the first half.

Isaiah Hernandez put SLO up 34-14 on a 25-yard scoring run and had another 5-yarder, adding to his prolific ground attack.

Finnegan Hickey broke loose for a 75-yard rushing score on a sweep.

”That kid is having a heck of a year,” said San Luis Obispo Coach Pat Johnston of Hickey. “He’s done some amazing things for us week in and week out.”

Johnston said he was proud of how his squad kept their composure after giving up two scores to make it a seven-point difference in the third quarter.

”Every team in our league is good this year,” Johnston said. “Pioneer Valley is one of those teams that does a lot of things well. They defend the pass very well, and we kept it on the ground most of the night.”

San Luis Obispo hosts Morro Bay on Friday.

Mission Prep 27, Paso Robles 6

In a game that was close midway through three quarters, the Royals (5-1, 3-0 Mountain) got the job done and remained undefeated in league midway through the season.

The Royals took a 14-6 lead with Paso Robles (1-4, 1-2 Mountain) holding its own at War Memorial Stadium.

Mission Prep pulled ahead with pivotal interceptions by Conner Lopez in the third quarter, setting up a touchdown pass from Thomas Glenn to tight end Drew Souza.

Then in the fourth quarter, Ronnie Kardashian had a pick that led to his rushing touchdown to expand the lead to three scores.

”Paso Robles was tough tonight,” said Mission Prep Coach David Schuster. “They were physical and I was impressed with the things they were doing. I’m proud of how our offensive line imposed their will and took control of the game. They were the stars tonight.”

The line consisting of Case Christianson, Gabe Rodriguez, Gabe Ahumada, Joseph Clipperton and Arman Clayton helped the Royals use a multi-faceted rushing attack after star rusher Drew Harrigan twisted his ankle and had a limited number of plays.

”Drew will be OK, but we wanted to cap his runs tonight anyway,” Schuster said.

Gabe Rodiguez and Jayden Nozil both had rushing touchdowns in the first half.

”We’re in the middle of the grind and it’s not getting any easier in league from here on out,” Schuster said. “We’re excited to get to work.”

Paso Robles’ touchdown came on a pass from James Cogan to sophomore receiver Tre Clark.

Mission Prep next faces Lompoc on the road on Friday, while Paso Robles is at St. Joseph.

Atascadero 41, Oakland 8

In a battle of two undefeated teams, the defending state champions from Atascadero came out with a convincing victory on Friday to run their record to 6-0 on the season.

The win was also the Greyhounds 11th in a row over two seasons.

Atascadero took a 28-0 lead into halftime before the Wildcats got on the board with a safety early in the third quarter. Two more third-quarter touchdowns pushed the lead to 41-2.

Mateo Cano had two scoring runs. Additional rushing touchdowns were tallied by Kane Cooks, Joseph Hyde and Chewie Avena.

Tyler Bukamier had an interception.Cooks had a very long touchdown pass to Mason Degnan as well.

“The defense was stellar,” said Greyhounds Coach Vic Cooper. “And we had four underclassmen really step up for injured players.”

The underclassmen replacements included Jeremy Hendrix, Josiah Goana, Tyson Tenhaeff, and Cole Jeckell.

Atascadero plays at Templeton on Friday.

Morro Bay 29, Santa Maria 14

On a drizzly night, the Pirates (4-2, 1-1 Ocean) doubled up on the Saints (3-4, 1-2 Ocean) to secure a league win on Homecoming Night.

Nami Hoag had two rushing scores, while Manny Diaz, the homecoming king, added one of his own. Diaz also had three interceptions in the contest.

Colton Janovec had a sack that caused a fumble that was recovered by James Nickel.

Jackson McMahon also got to the quarterback for multiple sacks and Brody Rust had five tackles.

Lucas Cords hit a 44-yard field goal. Cords is a transfer who had to sit out the first few games.

Morro Bay next travels to San Luis Obispo on Friday.

Templeton 61, Cabrillo 14

The Templeton Eagles pounded winless Ocean League foe Cabrillo 61-14 in a Thursday night game, according to MaxPreps.

The Eagles (4-2, 1-1 Ocean) turned a 14-14 first-tie into a blowout, scoring 47 unanswered points the rest of the way.

Templeton did nearly all of its damage on the ground, running up 299 rushing out of 314 total yards.

Leading the way were Wyatt Ramey with 109 yards on 11 carries and four touchdowns and Daxton Calagna with 126 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

Bo Swan and River Waltmire also scored rushing touchdowns, and Kolton Sobyra scored on a fumble return.

Templeton hosts Atascadero on Friday.

This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 10:59 PM.