Can SLO County take down Santa Barbara in Saturday's All-Star game?

Jun. 4—San Luis Obispo County has hadn't much luck in the first 10 editions of the FCA All-Star Classic.

Will that luck change Saturday night?

There's a chance.

San Luis Obispo County will host Northern Santa Barbara County at Nipomo High School at 6 p.m. in the 11th annual All-Star football game.

Santa Barbara County won 46-0 last year at Huyck Stadium in Lompoc and has won eight of the 10 games played. San Luis Obispo County last won 14-7 in an overtime game in 2016 and won 23-13 in 2015 for its only wins. The game was not played in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Santa Barbara County is going for its fifth straight win Saturday night. The game is open to the top seniors from San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County high schools. Tickets to Saturday's game are $10. Proceeds go to the respective football programs at participating schools.

SLO County offense

South County schools will be adding a lot to the SLO County offense.

Arroyo Grande has 10 players listed on the SLO roster, including quarterback Max Perrett, an All-Area selection. Perrett threw for over 2,700 yards and 19 touchdowns in 18 games as the Eagles' QB.

Standout running backs Kaden Tynes and Makai Puga are listed on the SLO roster. Tynes rushed for 981 yards and 15 touchdowns last season while Puga had 673 yards and 10 touchdowns. Tynes added 308 yards receiving and four touchdowns and Puga had 496 yards and five touchdowns receiving last year. Tynes and Puga are also excellent kick returners.

The Eagles will also be represented by kicker William Dawes, who can play defensive back.

Big tight end Max Wulff is also on the roster, joined by Isaiah Chavez (OL/DL), Bradley Auten (OL) and Danny McKinley (WR/DB).

Nipomo adds a lot, though all-around weapon Nate Reese will not be playing in the game.

David Ortiz can play some offensive line and Nick Milton should see plenty of time at receiver. Roman Cavazos and Ben Cepeda are also standout offensive linemen.

Mission Prep's Jack Susank is on the roster. Susank did a little bit of everything for the Royals. For his career, Susank rushed for 1,759 yards and 17 touchdowns, added 68 tackles, three interceptions and 73 kick points. He went 58 for 62 on point-after tries and 5 for 6 on field goals with a long of 38 in his career.

Offensive lineman Caleb Alalem is also listed on the SLO County roster, joined by Jadon Broyles and fullback/running back Andrew Abbate.

Morro Bay is also injecting some speed and skill into the SLO County offense. Dylan Turner, a standout running back, is set to play, as is Christian Merrill, a receiver. Jhosua Gomez can play on the OL from Morro Bay.

Atascadero has four players on the roster. They're offensive lineman Clayton Loney, WR/DB Jarren Fischer, OL/DL Wade Lyon and utility player Aiden LeMoine.

Templeton has two players that should impact the offense. They are Jack Wood (WR/RB) and Kadin Javadi (TE/OLB).

Paso Robles has 11 players on the roster — a good mix of offensive and defensive players. Bastiaan Jaureguy is a tough cover as a tight end. He can also play on the defensive line. Brian Ibarra, Dominic Weber and Nate Guerrero can play on the offensive line for SLO County.

Trevon Bridewell is an athletic quarterback, though he can play multiple offensive positions and punt.

SLO County defense

Nipomo has Vinny Hernandez on the roster. Hernandez can carry the ball and play defense. He had a team-high 75 tackles for the Titans last season with 17 tackles-for-loss. Hernandez led Nipomo with 11.5 sacks in 2021. Leo Toledo should also be a factor on defense. The Nipomo senior had 8.5 sacks last season and seven tackles-for-loss.

Nipomo's Alex Terrones will play some DB for SLO County.

Arroyo Grande's Vincent Tafoya is a solid defensive lineman and Joseph Lopez will play LB/DB.

San Luis Obispo has four players that should see time on the field, three of them on defense. Rory Devaney and Gavin Righetti are solid linebackers. Anthony Ruelas can play safety and Jack Krill is a kicker.

Mission Prep has a bevy of defenders set to play, including Ryan Audet (DL), Jacob Butler (LB), Caden Elmerick (DB) and Grant Callahan (DB).

Morro Bay's Alexis Martinez is set to play linebacker. Templeton has a pair of defensive ends signed up to play: Austin Marquart and Harrison Orradre.

Paso Robles' Jake Morones (LB), Brandon Bonham (DB), Kyle Bonham (DB), Coleton Sullivan (LB), Andrew Olson (TE/DL) and Jovanny Reyes (LB) are set to play Saturday.