Paso Robles breaks it open in second half, wins 10th game out of last 11 in century-old rivalry
NORTH COUNTY — In a century-old football rivalry that in recent years had become lopsided, Paso Robles High proved again to have Atascadero High's number as the Bearcats beat the Greyhounds 37–12 on Friday, Oct. 16, at Atascadero Memorial Stadium. The win extends the Bearcats' winning streak to three games in the series and 10 of the last 11.
The victory also raises Paso's record to 1-2 in the Sunset League and 3-5 overall. Atascadero drops to 0-2 in league and 3–5 overall after winning its first three games of the season.
Paso head coach Matt Carroll said the Atascadero game is obviously a big deal every year, but the point he and his staff made to the team is to just be ready.
"One thing we do as a staff is we tell them the importance of the game without adding any pressure," he said. "We focus on what we do and we want our players to play hard for 48 minutes. We don't make the game about Atascadero; rather, we make it about us and our community, and we want them to represent our community well with pride and integrity."
And that they did, putting up their second-highest score of the season, but it wasn't just about the offense, as Carroll said, "In this game, our defense was clicking as well as special teams."
Quarterback Vincent Berlingeri had a big night for the Bearcats, rushing for one touchdown and throwing for two more. He also was able to run in a two-point conversion after a bungled snap on an attempted placekick for the PAT.
The Greyhounds kept it to a tight game with their ability to move the ball down the field; however, they turned over three times with fumbles, and the Bearcats capitalized on all three with touchdowns.
"I thought overall we played well. We moved the ball on offense and were able to stop them on defense," said Atascadero head coach Dan Loney. "The biggest difference was 23 points off of turnovers. You take that away and its a different game."
It was actually Atascadero's defense holding off the Bearcats on their first drive, stopping a 4th-and-1 play, but soon after Paso's Emmett Dobroth was able to recover a fumble. Paso then took the ball down again and Berlingeri ran it in from 4 yards out for the first score of the game. The Bearcats' QB then made it 8-0 when as the holder for the point-after kick, he picked up a mishandled snap and ran it into the end zone.
Early in the second quarter, after being stopped on fourth down at the Paso 1-yard line, Atascadero got the ball back, and quarterback Mike Trejo ran it in from 2 yards out. A bad snap and incomplete pass foiled the point-after, but Atascadero closed the gap to 8-6.
Trejo was in his second game as starting quarterback after previous starter Cooper Knoph was injured, and Loney said the change has given the Greyhounds a new look.
"Trejo at quarterback adds a little different element to our offense," he said. "When Knoph was in you had to worry about the run-pass option game. With Trejo, you have to worry about quarterback run."
After the first Greyhounds touchdown, the Bearcats scored 22 unanswered points. Paso's Marcos Hurst caught a 24-yard TD from Berlingeri just before halftime for a 15-6 lead at the break. Matt Amman set up that score by returning the previous Atascadero kickoff 40 yards into Greyhounds territory.
In the second half, Aiden Messina ran for a 3-yard touchdown and the subsequent two-pointer, Dobroth took it in from 68 yards out after catching a short pass from Berlingeri for a 30-6 Bearcats lead.
Atascadero scored in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard pass from Trejo to Jacob Perry, and Emerson Stemper ended the scoring with an 8-yard run for a TD.
The athletic rivalry between Atascadero and Paso Robles dates to 1919. The schools have been back and forth between Central Coast leagues, but this year ended up in the Sunset League along with nearby Templeton, adding higher stakes to some already important rivalries.
Both Paso Robles and Atascadero have qualified for the CIF Central Section playoffs with three regular season wins and now work to get better seeds. This Friday night, Oct. 23, the Greyhounds travel to Lompoc to face the Braves, while Paso Robles hosts Templeton in another North County matchup.
San Luis Obispo 21, Templeton 13
The Eagles lost their second game of the season, a 21-13 non-league contest to the Tigers in which all of the points were scored in the first half.
Templeton fell to 6-2 overall (with a 1-1 Sunset League record intact), while SLO moved to 6-2 with a 1-1 Mountain League record.
Eagles quarterback Colten Tannehill led the offense with 260 yards on 16-of-31 passing, along with two touchdowns. Colby Sims had 146 yards receiving, including a 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and a 15-yarder in the second that gave Templeton its only lead of the night at 13-7.
SLO quarterback Zion Hegg had a hand in all three Tiger touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), including a 40-yard score to Grady Garrison that put SLO ahead to stay.
The Eagles will be on the road for its last two regular season games, going to Paso Robles this Friday, Oct. 23, for a 7 p.m. game, and to Lompoc on Friday, Oct. 30.