Atascadero, Mission post last-second victories. SLO, Arroyo Grande cruise to easy wins

All four of San Luis Obispo County’s top teams posted victories on Friday night to keep the pressure on in league play, some with a bit more drama than others.

After trailing all game, Atascadero pulled out a come-from-behind victory against Templeton to remain undefeated on the season and in the Ocean League. The Greyhounds needed the win to stay in first place after San Luis Obispo beat Morro Bay.

Atascadero won its seventh straight game and 12th in a row dating back to last season.

Elsewhere, Arroyo Grande dominated Righetti to move to 4-0 In Mountain League play.

Arroyo Grande’s win sets up a showdown next week with Mission Prep, which needed a big fourth quarter and a last-second touchdown to beat Lompoc.

Atascadero 20, Templeton 16

Despite Templeton leading the majority of the game, Atascadero found a way to win in the final two minutes, coming out on top 20-16 on Friday night.

The Greyhounds (7-0, 3-0 Ocean) are still undefeated dating back to last season at the start of their eventual run to the state championship.

The Eagles (4-3, 1-2 Ocean), meanwhile, fell in heartbreaking fashion despite forcing two fumbles and holding a 16-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.

With one minute remaining, the Greyhounds ran a play action pass and quarterback Kane Cooks found receiver Mason Degnan uncovered in the back of the end zone for the game-winning score.

“That was amazing,” Degnan said about the touchdown grab. “I haven’t felt that in awhile that was for sure.”

The Eagles had one more shot to get on the board, but a desperate heave from quarterback Harrison Bays was intercepted by none other then the player who threw the game-winning pass, Kane Cooks.

Defensive back Ethan Blais broke up a pass before Cooks swooped in for the cleanup interception.

Two weeks before, Cooks blocked the game-tying point-after attempt by San Luis Obispo. On Friday, Cooks came up with another clutch defensive play to keep the Greyhounds’ perfect season alive.

Before Cooks and the Greyhounds made their comeback, the Eagles had led all the way through three quarters and most of the fourth.

Even with starting quarterback Anthony Chavez and lead running back Daxton Calagna out due to injury, the Eagles did damage via their power running game.

Running back Wyatt Ramey constantly gained yardage for the Eagles and barreled through the Greyhounds defense.

Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense held the Greyhounds to one touchdown in three quarters, before the Greyhounds started to complete passes they had dropped earlier in the game, making their way down the field to score twice in the last period.

Cooks scored the first touchdown with eight minutes remaining on a goal-line quarterback sneak, as he extended the ball over the goaline. Then, he connected with Degnan on the winning touchdown pass.

Cooks also ran in Atascadero’s first touchdown of the game in the first quarter.

The win continues the Greyhounds’s trend of late-game dramatics dating back to last season.

“I think you just keep plugging away,” Head Coach Vic Cooper said. “I think they had a lot of opportunities to fold.”

The Eagles came in with a strong game plan and forced the Greyhounds into third-and-long situations where the team needed to make passes instead of relying on their run game.

“Thankfully, our defense stiffened up two or three times and forced those three field goals,” Cooper said. “I’m not sure if we deserved to win that game, but there are sometimes (when) good teams find a way to win when they’re not playing at their best.”

For the Eagles, running back and kicker River Waltmire nailed all three of his field goals. Waltmire ran in the Eagles’ sole touchdown of the day in the second quarter and kicked his own point-after attempt.

“I don’t know who said it, Confucius or Gandhi or whatever, but the story is if you believe you can’t, you probably can’t. If you believe you can, you probably can,” Cooper said.

Atascadero next plays at Morro Bay on Friday while Templeton is at Pioneer Valley.

San Luis Obispo 33, Morro Bay 10

The Tigers (5-3, 3-1 Ocean) dominated at home on both ends against the Pirates (4-3, 1-2).

Tigers’ quarterback Jace Gomes had three rushing touchdowns, including one of 35 yards and another of 30.

SLO running back Isaiah Hernandez had two rushing scores, with a long of 60 yards.

The Tigers had interceptions from Isiah Hopkins and Luke Walker.

Morro Bay’s Lucas Cords drilled a 42-yard field goal to open the game’s scoring, and the Pirates cut the lead to 20-10 on a passing touchdown in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for good.

San Luis Obispo next hosts Santa Maria on Friday while Morro Bay is at home against Atascadero.

Arroyo Grande 31, Righetti 8

Arroyo Grande (6-1, 4-0 Mountain) scored 21 points and held Righetti (1-6, 0-4 Mountain) scoreless in the first half while cruising to 31-8 road victory on Friday.

Quarterback Drake Missamore opened the scoring for the Eagles when he hit Caleb Clark for a 8-yard touchdown with nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, according to MaxPreps.

Three minutes later, Ben Walz broke off a 19-yard rushing touchdown to put AG up 14-0.

In the second quarter, Missamore scored on 5-yard keeper, and that was more than enough to seal the game for the Eagles.

Arroyo Grande next hosts Mission Prep on Friday in a battle for first place in the Mountain League, where both teams are so far undefeated.

Mission Prep 19, Lompoc 14

The Royals (6-1, 4-0 Mountain) remained undefeated in league with a road win over a tough passing team, according to Mission Prep Coach David Schuster.

After being held scoreless in the second and third quarters, Mission Prep went into the fourth down 14-7.

With under 8 minutes to go, the Royals got their offense going, scoring what could have been a tying touchdown if not for the failed 2-point conversion.

After Lompoc stalled and was forced to punt, Mission Prep got the ball back at their own 30 with about 4 minutes left. The Royals then drove 70 yards for the winning score with under a minute left.

“We had a warrior spirit tonight,” Schuster said. “I’m proud of them and how our defensive coaching staff prepared them so well.”

Mission Prep had scoring touchdowns on the ground from Jayden Nozil, Drew Souza and Ronnie Kardashian, who dashed for a long run.

“We had a lot of young guys step in tonight to fill in and they really came through,” Schuster said. “We’ll need to stay healthy and take it play by play from here on out. We have three more tough league games.”

Mission Prep is on the road at Arroyo Grande on Friday.

St. Joseph 35, Paso Robles 6

St. Joseph (5-2, 3-1 Mountain) dropped 21 points on Paso Robles (1-6, 1-3 Mountain) in the first quarter and never looked back en route to an easy win at home on Friday, according to MaxPreps.

After two more scores, the Bearcats found themselves down 35-0 in the third quarter before Hayden McKenna completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tre Clark.

Paso Robles hosts Santa Ynez on Friday.

Nipomo 24, Santa Ynez 21

Nipomo (3-4, 1-3 Mountain) held on to beat Santa Ynez (3-4, 1-3 Mountain) on the strength of a 17-point first quarter on Friday to earn their first league win of the season.

After the Titans widened their lead to 24-14, the Pirates came back to make the game close with a late touchdown while holding Nipomo scoreless in the fourth.

Nipomo next faces Lompoc at home on Friday.