Templeton, Nipomo last two undefeated teams in SLO County with big wins

Two teams remain undefeated in San Luis Obispo County high school football, Templeton and Nipomo.

But another school got its first victory of the season as Paso Robles came out on top on the road.

In a road thriller, Arroyo Grande won in the final minute in Fresno versus Bullard to give the Eagles’ opponent their first defeat of the season. And San Luis Obispo held down the fort at home.

Mission Prep, Atascadero and Morro Bay all fell, as teams get ready for league play in two weeks.

San Luis Obispo 38, Atascadero 14

A battle between the Tigers and Greyhounds took place at Holt Field on Friday night, with SLO getting the upper hand over its cross-county adversary.

San Luis Obispo’s quarterback Zion Hegg tucked the ball and took off toward the end zone, breaking through the Atascadero defense for a 20-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers the first strike of the night.

It was the beginning of a long night for the previously undefeated Greyhounds.

SLO (3-1) controlled the matchup from the beginning and handed Atascadero (3-1) its first loss of the season with a 38-14 win.

Yellow flags became a common sight throughout the night. Drives were stalled, and yards were given up for free.

The Tigers consistently moved the chains to extend drives and keep the Greyhounds’ defense on the field play after play.

After Hegg’s opening touchdown put the Tigers ahead, SLO added to their lead in the second quarter when Hegg connected with Quentin Cramer for a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-0 game.

While SLO controlled much of the game on all sides of the ball, their biggest problems came from self-inflicted mistakes.

Penalties repeatedly gave Atascadero extra opportunities and free yards. One of the most costly came when San Luis Obispo was called for roughing the passer, which moved the Greyhounds 15 yards downfield.

Atascadero took advantage immediately.

The Greyhounds followed the penalty with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Perry, cutting into the Tigers’ lead and putting Atascadero on the scoreboard for the first time.

Roughing-the-passer and holding penalties continued to hurt San Luis Obispo throughout the night. Yellow flags thrown in the air allowed Atascadero to extend drives and gain field position without having to earn every yard offensively.

The mistakes never became costly enough to erase San Luis Obispo’s lead; however, the free yardage given up helped Atascadero sustain drives while holding penalties also stalled the Tigers’ offense.

“Those are exactly the things that we have to clean up if we want to continue to get better and reach some of the goals that we’ve set for ourselves,” Head Coach Pat Johnston said. “We really can’t be in a position where we’re stopping ourselves and getting ourselves behind the sticks.”

A 4-yard rushing touchdown from Jakeryan Crocker came moments before halftime to give SLO a 21-7 lead at the break.

Despite battling self-inflicted mistakes of their own, the Greyhounds also had costly miscues that allowed San Luis Obispo to capitalize and further extend their lead on the night.

On an Atascadero punt, SLO’s Sutter Stornetta recovered the ball at the Greyhounds’ 33-yard line, giving the Tigers prime field position on a play that should have ended with Atascadero retaining possession.

But the Tigers still had to work for the score. Facing fourth-and-two, SLO kept its offense on the field and converted to keep the drive alive.

Cramer finished the possession with a 25-yard touchdown run, pushing the Tigers’ lead to 28-7 and putting the Greyhounds further out of reach.

A field goal from San Luis Obispo followed, and the Tigers added their final touchdown in the fourth quarter when Grady Garrison broke free for a 19-yard scoring run.

With the game already decided, Atascadero added its second touchdown on a 10-yard run from Ernesto Grijalva.

“We love our game with Atascadero every year,” Johnston said. “They’re a very well-coached team, so we knew we were going to have to play well in order to win, and thankfully we were able to do that.”

Johnston said he was proud of the way the team responded after last week’s loss to Independence. The biggest emphasis over the past week was on correcting the issues that needed attention and getting back on track with a win.

Atascadero has a bye on Friday, before hosting Santa Ynez on Sept. 25. San Luis Obispo travels to Pioneer Valley on Friday.

Templeton 69, Morro Bay 6

In a lopsided one as the fog rolled in along the coast, Templeton (4-0) remained undefeated as Colter Tannehill threw for five touchdowns in the first quarter, giving the Eagles a 34-0 lead midway through the opening half. Nick Capaci hauled in three receiving touchdowns.

The offensive outpouring didn’t let up in the second quarter, as Tannehill threw for one more score and then the Eagles went to the run game.

Jesse Grinnell, Anthony Molina and Tannehill each tallied rushing touchdowns as the Eagles nearly eclipsed the 70-point mark, after going up 62-0 at halftime.

Giovanni Dichio added a late rushing score to get Morro Bay (0-4) on the board. Dichio also snagged an interception in the contest.

Templeton has a bye on Friday, before hosting Pioneer Valley on Sept. 25. Morro Bay is at St. Joseph on Friday.

Arroyo Grande 21, Bullard 17

The Eagles (2-2) found the end zone on a 9-yard run by Miles Thompson with 0:41 left in the game to win a thriller on the road in Fresno.

Arroyo Grande went down 17-14 on a Bullard touchdown with 6:42 in the fourth quarter and then engineered a long drive to milk the clock leading up to its go-ahead score.

“We had a lot of chances to throw in the towel because something bad happened, and so our kids really worked through adversity really well,” said Arroyo Grande Coach Stephen Field. “I love the way that we worked and stayed together as a team, and squeaked out the win there at the end.”

Bullard (3-1) held a 10-7 lead at halftime with the game streamed on ESPN 1430 AM Fresno.

“Bullard is good program, a Division 1 program, and they’re playing good football,” Field said. “They have good athletes all over the field, and we knew that we had our work cut out for us. I’m just really proud of the team for staying together and making sure to keep going.”

Field said the game-winning touchdown was meant to be an inside run, but Thompson read the defense and adjusted.

“He was able to bounce one and caught the edge to the outside and scored a touchdown,” Field said.

With one more game before league play begins, Field added: “We’re still coming together; just like everybody right now in preseason, and we’re trying to figure out exactly who we are as people settle in. We’ll have to keep going, just one game at a time. We’re not too worried about any sort of outcomes or anything in the future. We’re extremely stoked to get a win against a good Bullard team, and we’re doing to focus on Santa Ynez here for next week.”

Arroyo Grande is at Santa Ynez on Friday.

Ridgeview 23, Mission Prep 6

Facing a tough blocking team, the Royals (3-1) dropped their first game of the young season at home.

Mission Prep found themselves with a 9-6 deficit at the half and had a couple of scoring chances, including one in the red zone in the fourth quarter, but the Wolf Pack from Bakersfield stopped the drive on fourth down.

“We just got out-physicaled tonight,” said Mission Prep Coach Vernon Calhoun. “We weren’t playing our sharpest game tonight.”

Calhoun said that “we’re growing as a team, and sometimes teams need games such as this to not think that we’re here. We just need to keep getting sharper at our craft, build things, and become a little more physical. ”

Mission Prep’s scoring came on two field goals by kicker Micah Hoffman on the Cal Poly field where the Mustangs play their home games.

Junior quarterback Jack Marsalek said the Royals had a good offseason in the weight room and training to get ready for this fall’s campaign.

“We’ve gotten strong in the weight room,” Marsalek said. “It’s definitely showing these first few games tonight. Maybe not as much tonight, but we still got heart, and I love my team.”

Playing under first-year coach Calhoun, Marsalek said: “He brings a whole new playbook based on our guys’ skills, which I really appreciate. It just helped us get helped us get more football knowledge, and the plays run smoother. All love towards my old coach, I love Coach Schuster, but our new coach really just opened up the playbook and opened up options for our threats out wide.”

Mission Prep hosts Santa Maria on Friday.

Paso Robles 35, Highland 21

Paso Robles (1-3) has endured a battle-tested start to its season. Week after week, Head Coach Matt Carroll has said that despite the rough start, his team remains confident and determined to keep moving forward.

After three weeks of coming up short, the Bearcats finally put together a complete performance Friday night.

Opening the season 0-3, Paso Robles earned its first win of the season with a 35-21 road victory over Highland.

The defense played a major role in the turnaround, coming up with two fourth-down stops and forcing key turnovers throughout the night. Brandon Hulgan forced a fumble, giving the Bearcats another opportunity to swing momentum in their favor.

One of the biggest defensive moments came late in the game when Paso Robles came up with a goal-line stand to keep Highland out of the end zone and help seal the win.

“Our defensive coordinator just does a really good job of understanding what the other team’s going to do and taking away their best plays,” Carroll said.

While the defense came up with timely stops, Carroll said the Bearcats also found success because all three phases began working together.

“A lot of different guys touched the football tonight,” Carroll said. “That’s when our offense does the best, when we get multiple people involved.”

The balanced offensive attack helped Paso Robles put up a season-high 35 points while the defense continued to give the Bearcats’ offense opportunities with stops and takeaways.

“Once we went on top, we just stayed ahead the whole game,” Carroll said. “We battled through penalties. We gave up a couple of big plays, but our kids decided to keep fighting for 48 minutes.”

Paso Robles has a bye on Friday, before hosting Cabrillo on Sept. 25.

Nipomo 49, Cabrillo 14

The Titans (4-0) continue to roll and remain undefeated.

Adam Ortega contributed to the scoring, getting into the end zone with multiple rushing touchdowns. Adrian Sanchez also dashed for an 11-yard touchdown.

Nipomo has scored at least 40 points in three of its wins, and eclipsed 30 points in its other victory.

Nipomo has a bye on Friday, before traveling to Santa Maria on Sept. 25.

This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Templeton, Nipomo last two undefeated teams in SLO County with big wins."