SLO wins in final minutes over Nipomo. Here are other local results

San Luis Obispo County high school football had a strong night, as five teams charted their course to victory.

San Luis Obispo rallied for a comeback win, while Paso Robles earned its first victory of the season and Templeton remains undefeated after holding its opponent scoreless. Mission Prep and Atascadero both got the job done while Arroyo Grande nearly pulled out a nailbiter.

Here are results from Friday’s SLO County action with Morro Bay taking the night off while on a bye.

San Luis Obispo 22, Nipomo 16

It was a tale of two halves between San Luis Obispo and Nipomo as SLO (2-2) fell behind 16-7 at halftime after the Titans played a strong first two quarters. The Titans limited the Tigers’ possessions on offense and contained star SLO running back Colbin Garrison.

But turning the tables, the Tigers’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half as Garrison began to find some openings and impose his will on Nipomo’s defense, ultimately scoring on a 1-yard game winning touchdown.

“It was just short yardage,” Garrison said of the final score. “The mindset was just put your helmet down and try and run somebody over. …They loaded the box a little bit more and had some running back spies. It was definitely harder to find openings. Our O-line did a great job in the second half.”

Nipomo (2-2) used its strong blocking and a balanced offense to put the pressure on the Tigers, as Titans running back Nick Evans, averaging about 170 yards per game coming in, set the tone with several first-down runs. Evans punched in a 9-yard scoring run in the first quarter, and then quarterback Griffin Groshart connected with receiver Travis Barr for an 8-yard scoring connection.

SLO was limited to 20 plays on offense in the first half. A promising first drive with a 72-yard touchdown run by Zion Hegg was called back on a hold.

SLO converted its only points in the first half on a 7-yard scoring run by Hegg.

“I think Nipomo is really good,” said SLO Coach Pat Johnston. “I think they had a great plan. They’re physical, they run the ball well, and they’re balanced. I think they’re a really good and will win a lot of games this season.”

The Titans nearly punched in three touchdowns in the first half, but were stopped at fourth and goal in the second quarter, only to follow that up with a safety to go up 16-7.

“Realistically, we just didn’t have the ball very much in the first half,” Johnston said. “We got to some things in the game plan that we hadn’t gotten to in the first half because we didn’t have that many possessions and then defense just really stepped up in a huge way.”

Johnston said even though the Tigers were stymied by the ball possession disparity, they maintained their approach.

SLO responded with a 20-yard pass from Hegg to Calvin Nemetz to close the gap to 16-14 in the third quarter.

And then shutdown SLO defense set up the game-winner, as the Titans couldn’t rally a scoring drive with less than a minute remaining.

SLO’s Hegg and Jacob Gill, who injured his ribs in a game versus Mission Oak, have been splitting time at quarterback.

“Jacob was doing a great job and he had a rib injury, so Zion was full time against Arroyo Grande,” Johnston said. “Gilly is almost there, so we’re just going to do whatever it takes to be successful in the field moving forward.”

Nipomo Coach Russ Edwards said the difference in the game was some missed assignments and SLO’s persistent offense.

“Our boys battled hard,” Edwards said. “I think in the second half we missed a block here and there. We weren’t as clean as we were in the first half. And credit to San Luis Obispo, they did a great job of being patient, running their workhorses and dinking and dunking the ball. We executed better in the first half, and they executed better in the second half.”

Edwards said with better execution the Titans could be 4-0, with a narrow loss to Lompoc, but they have to keep on working to improve and be ready for Santa Ynez next week.

“I think SLO is a really good team and Lompoc is a good team, and we played them both really well,” Edwards said. “We have to turn the page and get prepared for Santa Ynez and 3-2 sounds a whole lot better than 2-3. So that’s the week by week, game by game, and then ultimately, for league again, the goal is to continue to improve so when we hit league we’ll hopefully be that back-to-back league champ.”

San Luis Obispo next faces Morro Bay at home while Nipomo travels to Santa Ynez, on Friday.

Atascadero 34, South (Bakersfield) 18

Atascadero (2-1) built a 28-12 halftime lead over South Bakersfield, then withstood a third-quarter push. The Greyhounds sealed the outcome in the fourth quarter with a rushing touchdown to finish off the Spartans.

It marked Atascadero’s highest point total of the season so far.

Atascadero hosts Paso Robles on Friday.

Twelve Bridges 42, Arroyo Grande 41

Arroyo Grande (1-3) lost a nailbiter at home to its opponent from the Sacramento area.

Zack Tayman threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Clark, but the Eagles couldn’t cross the goal line on a 2-point conversion to take the 1-point lead.

Clark also had a 60-yard rushing touchdown and Tayman had a 50-yard touchdown dash in the high-scoring affair.

The score was knotted at 21-21 at halftime.

Twelve Bridges held onto the ball on offense in the final minutes to close out the game.

Arroyo Grande is at Righetti on Friday.

Mission Prep 24, Santa Ynez 7

Coming off back-to-back losses, Mission Prep (2-2) got back on track Friday night with a home victory over Santa Ynez.

Sophomore quarterback Jack Marsalek earned praise from Head Coach David Schuster after throwing his first career touchdown pass. Schuster said Marsalek was “excellent with his throws” and gave the Royals a steady presence under center.

But much of the credit went to the defense, which held Santa Ynez to just one touchdown.

“Our defense just played lights out,” Schuster said. “For a young team to respond after last Friday the way they did this week and tonight is a great sign of growth.”

Schuster noted the intensity at practice the past two weeks, stressing that “every play matters and every rep matters.”

That preparation paid off as Mission Prep found balance on both sides of the ball, with a run game Schuster described as “lethal” when paired with the passing attack.

Mission Prep has a bye on Friday.

Paso Robles 35, Righetti 24

Right from the jump, the Bearcats (1-3) jolted to a 14-0 lead behind senior running back Yannie Gelos, who finished the night with three touchdowns.

Paso Robles had struggled to find its footing through the first three games of the season, but against Righetti, the Bearcats finally broke through. Barely holding their advantage, Head Coach Matt Carroll said halftime adjustments centered on discipline — a point of emphasis each week. This time, the Bearcats delivered.

Tied at the end of the third quarter at 21 apiece, Paso Robles executed when it mattered most, closing out a decisive fourth quarter to lock up its long-awaited first win of the year.

“We played great defense,” Carroll said. “We had a great fourth-down stop (in the fourth quarter, and) that was the difference in the game.”

Carroll called it Gelos’ “breakout game” and said he admitted that he had a slow start to the season. The senior’s performance not only powered Paso Robles in the fourth quarter, but also helped the Bearcats shake off the frustrations of their 0-3 start.

“The mentality in the locker room was, ‘This is great, but we’ve got to get better,’” Carroll said.

Paso Robles next faces Atascadero on the road on Friday.

Templeton 35, Gonzales 0

The Eagles (4-0) remained undefeated with a blowout home win.

Templeton’s defense was “dominant,” said Eagles Coach Don Crow.

Tyler Cunningham, who is committed to play football at Yale next season, scored on a fumble recovery and a punt return for a touchdown.

Other touchdowns came on a pass from Colter Tannehill to Colby Sims and Nick Capaci and Hayz Camarena added scores of their own.

“We have good senior leadership,” Crow said. “Our defense and special teams were dominant. We had a running clock in the second half.”

Cunningham has scored five different ways for the Eagles this season.

Templeton has a bye on Friday.

This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 11:10 PM.