FNH Week 8 Recap: A memorable night, especially for SLO, AG, PV and Nipomo

Posted: Oct 29, 2011 1:43 AM by Andrew Masuda
Updated: Oct 29, 2011 1:45 AM

It was a memorable week 8 of high school football on Friday night. San Luis Obispo scored its first win over Atascadero in seven years. A strong second half helped Arroyo Grande clinch at least a share of its first PAC-7 title since 2004, and Pioneer Valley came from behind for its first-ever win over St. Joseph.

San Luis Obispo claimed sole possession of second place in the PAC-7 with a 17-14 win at Atascadero. The Greyhounds struck first on a 26 yard touchdown pass from Robbie Berwick to Logan Sprouse late in the first quarter. The Tigers evened it early in the second quarter on a 19 yard scoring run by Jacob Flores. Tanner Kahn connected on a 29 yard field goal with 1 second left in the first half to give SLO a 10-7 halftime advantage. San Luis Obispo made it 17-7 on a 5 yard run from Trevor MacLeod early in the third quarter. The Hounds capitalized on a Davis Cracknell interception with a 7 yard TD pass from Berwick to Cracknell to make it a 3 point game with 5:21 to play, but could not get any closer. SLO quarterback Garrett Giovannelli led the Tigers with 93 rushing yards, while Flores added 75. Berwick finished with 2 TD passes and 143 passing yards for the Hounds. Sprouse recorded 4 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, while JD Mack added 53 yards receiving for Atascadero. The Tigers improved to 3-1 in league and 6-2 overall. They remain in the title hunt and are in second place. Atascadero dropped to 2-2 and in a three-way tie for third place in league, 5-3 overall.

Arroyo Grande secured at least a share of its first PAC-7 title since 2004 with a come from behind 35-17 win at defending champion Paso Robles. The Eagles trailed 14-3 in the first quarter and 14-13 to start the fourth quarter. Highly recruited AG linebacker Seth Jacobs led the comeback. He gave AG the lead for good 21-14 on a 4 yard run and added to it with a 60 yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. Jacobs finished with 121 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 8 carries. Quarterback Brent VanderVeen threw for 184 yards and threw a 15 yard touchdown pass to Gabe Deleon in the second quarter that made it a 14-10 Paso Robles lead. Deleon finished with 104 yards. Paso Robles took a 14-3 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown run from Jimmy Pacheco and a 53 yard touchdown reception by Max Blanton from quarterback Garrett Nelson, who finished with 178 yards passing. The Eagles' Garrett Owens made two first-half field goals and compiled 66 receiving yards. Henry Adelman finished with 124 rushing yards for AG. The Eagles improved to 5-0 in league and 8-1 overall after their eighth win in a row. They have a bye next week and close out the season with a game against rival SLO where a piece of the title could be on the line. Paso Robles dropped to 1-3 in league and 2-5 overall.

Pioneer Valley scored 21 unanswered points to stun host St. Joseph 28-24. Senior quarterback Jason Espinoza led the comeback with two touchdown runs, including the game-winning 18 yard scored in the fourth quarter. The Knights took a 14-nothing lead in the second quarter on a Wesley Williams 1-yard run after Scotty Cusack scored less than 90 seconds in the game on a 47 yard run. PV got on the board on a 16 yard run by Gabriel Fuentes to make it 14-7. The Knights took a 17-7 lead into halftime on a 19 yard field goal form Jacob Goeres. They added to it on a 24 yard run by Cusack in the third quarter. The Panther comeback started on a two-yard score from Jaime Camarena and successful two point conversion. The Knights had one last shot but Frankie Alcantar intercepted a pass to seal it. Fuentes led PV with 137 yards rushing, while Cusack led the Knights with 157 yards on the ground and 2 scores. The Panthers improved to 2-2 in PAC-7 League play and 5-3 overall. The Knights dropped to 0-5 in league play, 2-6 overall.

Cabrillo scored the first 26 points of the game against Morro Bay and held on to win 41-23. The Conquistadores improved to 7-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Los Padres League games. The Pirates dropped to 0-4 in league and 0-8 overall despite compiling more total yards of offense 404 to 310. Cabrillo was led by quarterback Henry Fienga, who completed 7 of 11 passes for 157 yards and 3 touchdown passes. He connected on strikes of 24 and 66 yards to Isaiah Montes in the second quarter. Montes scored three times on the night, adding a 61 yard touchdown run. He finished with 91 yards rushing and 103 receiving yards. Jeff Aldrige added a 45 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give Cabrillo a 34-7 lead. Morro Bay scored twice in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 18. Dan Beavers stepped into the quarterback roll for Morro Bay and threw for 155 yards, including a 71 yard late score to Jordan Bray. Dolin Mininni led the Pirates with 146 rushing yards, while Beavers added 43 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Morro Bay racked up nearly 250 yards on the ground in the loss. The Pirates will travel to Templeton next week in search of their first win of the season.

Santa Ynez took a 38-0 lead into halftime against Santa Maria and cruised to a 45-6 win to improve to 3-2 in LPL games and 5-3 overall. Santa Maria dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in league. Six different Pirates scored in the win. Quarterback Ryan Welker threw three touchdown passes, a 12 yard strike to Lee Jensen to make it 10-0, a 28 yard toss to Devin Shaw that made it 24-0 and a 15 yard connection with Zach Foss to make it 31-0. Christian Vences recovered a fumble from David Wilkerson and returned it 9 yards in the first quarter. Albert Ibarra and Abe Santos added rushing touchdowns for the Pirates. Wilkerson, Santa Maria's quarterback, was intercepted three times by the Pirate defense. With the win, Santa Ynez is in sole possession of third place in the LPL standings. The top four teams in the LPL standings at the end of the regular season automatically advance into the CIF playoffs.

Nipomo avenged a 14 point loss last year to Mission Prep with a 41-13 thumping of the Royals on Friday night. The Titans lost their leading running back Justin Springer on their first play from scrimmage. After a delay, he was carried off the field and taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution. Coaches said it a sprained neck. Losing Springer resulted in quarterback Chris Souza and running back JT Wells to step up to the challenge. Souza ran for 186 yards and scored 3 touchdowns, while Wells added 149 yards and scored once. Taylor Apetz helped Nipomo get on the board first with a 38 yard field goal. A 15 yard run by Souza and 32 yard run from Wells gave Nipomo a 15-0 lead. After a 26 yard FG from Apetz, Anthony Perez added a 1 yard scoring run to give the Titans a 25-0 lead with one minute to go in the first half. Mission finally got on the board thanks to a 71 yard touchdown pass from Tyler Baty to Joey Hall to make it 25-7 at the half. The Royals closed to within 25-13 after a 10 yard TD pass to Trevor Fernandez to start the third quarter. From there, Souza took over with two touchdown runs. Nipomo improved to 3-5 overall after its non-league win, while Mission Prep fell to 6-2. The Titans play at undefeated Lompoc next week, while the Royals host Santa Maria.

Lompoc shutout Templeton on Thursday night 28-0 for its 14th straight win. The Braves racked up 379 rushing yards led by Lavon Coleman. The junior rushed for 212 yards and touchdown to lead the way. Quarterback Luciano Lopez ran for 63 yards and one score, while connecting with Ainuu Taua for a 10 yard TD reception. Joe Valla added a 1-yard score for the Braves, who improved to 8-0 overall, 4-0 in Los Padres League play. The Braves held the Eagles to less than 100 yards of total offense. Junior running back Matt Arace rushed for 51 yards to lead Templeton. The Eagles dropped to 2-2 in league, 4-4 overall.

LPL STANDINGS
1. CABRILLO 4-0
1. LOMPOC 4-0
3. SANTA YNEZ 3-2
4. TEMPLETON 2-2
4. NIPOMO 2-2
6. MORRO BAY 0-4
7. SANTA MARIA 0-5

PAC7- STANDINGS
1.ARROYO GRANDE 5-0
2. SAN LUIS OBISPO 3-1
3. ATASCADERO 2-2
3. RIGHETTI 2-2
3. PIONEER VALLEY 2-2
6. PASO ROBLES 1-3
7. ST. JOSEPH 0-5