High School Football Returns on March 19

After months of delay and what many called “The Endless Summer,” at long last high school football is returning to the Central Coast. Friday, March 19, all three of the North County High Schools will be in action for the first time since 2019.

As announced in early 2020 (click here to view the 2020 Football realignment), there will only be two leagues this season, the Mountain and the Ocean. The most notable change is that Atascadero Greyhounds have moved into the Ocean League while the Templeton Eagles have moved up into the Mountain.

The new Mountain League will contain Arroyo Grande, Paso Robles, Righetti, San Luis Obispo, St. Joseph and the Templeton Eagles. The new Ocean League will be home to Atascadero, Mission Prep, Morro Bay, Nipomo, Pioneer Valley and Santa Maria.

Also of note, when the original schedules were announced for the 2020 season, the Greyhounds and Bearcats were planning to meet up for their first midseason matchup since the early 1990’s. However, due to the shift in scheduling in a crazy, pandemic spring, the rivals are back on track and will play each other in the last game of the season on April 30 in Atascadero.