Arroyo Grande earns CIF title in dramatic OT win, Templeton falls in final bid

Arroyo Grande High can call themselves champs after a clutch road win over Bakersfield in overtime in the CIF-Central Section Division 2 title game.

At home, Templeton High’s undefeated run came to an end with a one-sided defeat to its opponent from Fresno County to finish Division 4 runner-ups.

Both teams played some of their best football down the stretch in their respective playoff divisions, marked by standout plays and outstanding performances as the last San Luis Obispo County teams standing.

With the dramatic CIF victory, Arroyo Grande now moves on to play in the state football tournament. Despite the final result, Templeton put together one of its best seasons in decades.

Arroyo Grande 23, Bakersfield 20 (OT)

Lining up a lengthy field goal in overtime with big-time pressure and the game on the line, Dustin Reed took his time and got himself into position.

Reed, a 5-foot-9 senior, then booted a 41-yarder with a confident strike through the uprights to send the Arroyo Grande players and fans into a frenzy for a dramatic 23-20 overtime win in Bakersfield and a hard-fought CIF-Central Section Division 2 championship title.

The last time Arroyo Grande won a CIF section championship was 2011. And, with the win, the Eagles avenged a loss to Bakersfield in the playoffs last year.

For the second week in a row, the Eagles (10-4) upset a Central Valley team on the road by a narrow margin as Reed converted field goals in the third and fourth quarters, as well as in overtime, to post the final three Eagles’ scores and earn No. 4-ranked Arroyo Grande a title in the thriller.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our kids, our players and our coaches and the community that really rallied behind us,” said Arroyo Grande Coach Stephen Field. “The past few games, we’ve faced a ton of adversity on every side of the ball and the kids just stayed together and just continued to be resilient and just battled together.”

No. 2-ranked Bakersfield (10-3) missed on its field goal attempt in overtime, setting up Reed’s heroics on the subsequent drive and a swarm of white uniforms rushing the field in jubilation, jumping up and down to celebrate the feat.

“Last year we lost the semifinal game at Bakersfield and (Reed) had a rough night that night,” Field said. “And so, for him to come back to the same spot and have a great night, that’s awesome. His confidence has been great. He’s been kicking great, practicing great. We’re really proud of him.”

Arroyo Grande upset No. 1 Tulare Union 24-21 on Nov. 21 in this year’s semifinal, and the Eagles again brought its full complement of defense, a strong running attack and timely plays back to the Valley for a post-Thanksgiving treat for Eagles fans.

Senior star Caleb Clark hauled in two touchdown receptions from quarterback Jacob Kreowski, a 56-yard connection in the first quarter, and a 48-yarder in the second quarter, to give the Eagles their only two touchdowns of the evening.

Reed’s field goals of 32 yards, 28 yards and the overtime final blast through the uprights of 41 yards topped of his stellar season, booting 63 of 64 extra points and 9 of 11 field goal chances.

Field said Reed has a college scholarship offer, but is still undecided on his future.

“He’ll be kicking somewhere,” Field said.

Arroyo Grande mixed and matched its power run game with its versatile ball carrying arsenal, including Zack Tayman, Miles Thompson and Clark sharing the duties to move the chains and keep the Drillers on their heels.

Arroyo Grande’s state CIF matchup is yet to be determined with the Eagles likely finding out on Sunday what their matchup will be.

Immanuel 48, Templeton 7

In a Division 4 Central Section championship where both teams entered undefeated, only one would go home crowned as valley champions. Templeton (12-1) and Immanuel (13-0) had mirrored each other all season, but Friday belonged entirely to Immanuel, of Reedley.

Immanuel rolled to a 48-7 win, handing Templeton its first loss of the year. It was Templeton’s first championship appearance in 30 years, and the last time the program lifted a CIF title was back in 1992.

But this time, the script flipped. All season, Templeton had been the team overwhelming opponents on both sides of the ball. In the title game, Immanuel looked every bit like the dominant force Templeton had been for months. And the tough part for Templeton was that it surfaced on the biggest stage of the season.

Templeton was playing from behind almost instantly. Immanuel came out firing — explosive off the line, quick to the ball and wasting no time getting set. Immanuel punched in two touchdowns on back-to-back drives, then caught Templeton off guard with a successful onside kick. By the end of the first quarter, Immanuel had built a 21-0 lead.

At halftime, Templeton was still looking for its first points. Immanuel made that search tough with its size up front and the way it defended both the run and the pass. In Immanuel, Templeton faced a team that was dominant on the line and just as solid in coverage.

Coach Don Crow admitted it was “hard” to keep the team’s spirits up with so much game left and such a big deficit on the board. By the time they came out for the third quarter, Templeton was staring at a 34-0 hole.

“When you get behind, it’s really hard (to stay in it),” Crow said. “But they fought, and they just stayed in it.”

Templeton finally broke through in the fourth quarter when Colter Tannehill found Colby Sims for an 18-yard touchdown pass. By then, it was more about surviving the night and trying to keep Immanuel’s margin from growing even larger.

A big part of Templeton’s struggle was its inability to convert when it mattered. Frequently, the Eagles were stuck in third-and-long, and the fourth-down attempts that usually kept their offense alive all season just weren’t landing. Immanuel, meanwhile, was doing the opposite — staying ahead of the chains, finishing drives and capitalizing on every opportunity.

This whole playoff run, Immanuel has limited all of its opponents to just a touchdown, and it was no different against Templeton, who had been dominating all season without a loss.

“They’re an outstanding football team from our division,” Crow said. “They’re super coached, and they got after us.”

In his 40 years of coaching, Crow said he’s been to the CIF playoffs around eight times, but this run was different. It was a group he believed had the talent and chemistry to finish the job, which made the final result sting a little more.

“We just kept fighting, and they’re great kids, and they worked so hard to get here,” he said. “We had a great year.”

Sims, who scored Templeton’s lone touchdown, credited the team’s “brotherhood” for carrying them to a championship run.

“I’ve never experienced a brotherhood like this in my life with all the sports I’ve played,” Sims said. “We’ve always worked super hard together, and we all know each other like brothers.”

He credits the “January days” and the commitment that starts months before the lights ever come on, for pushing this group to a championship game.

Both Sims and Tannehill return next year, giving Templeton experience and leadership as they look to climb their way back to the championship.

“We know what we have to do,” Sims said. “We know what it’s like to lose, so we need to grind harder.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 11:46 PM.