Greyhounds win fourth game in a row this season
Greyhounds defeat Righetti Warriors in home game
– In their final home game of the regular season, the Atascadero High School Greyhounds defeated the Righetti Warriors 20-17 in a game that came down to the wire.
Though they were plagued with injuries to some starters on the offensive side, the Greyhounds rallied to find victory at the end of the game.
Paso Robles High School had a bye week this week. They will play Mission College Prep next Friday.
Atascadero Head Coach Dan Loney praised the Greyhounds’ “next man up” mentality.
“It just shows you the type of kids they are, that they’re paying attention even though they might not be getting as many reps,” said Loney. “They’re out there working hard, doing what it takes that when it’s their time to jump in, we’re not missing a beat.”
Atascadero struggled to adjust offensively on their first drive, then gave up a rushing touchdown on defense, but found their rhythm on the following possession.
The Hounds were missing starters on the offensive line, but still managed to run the ball successfully.
Early in the second quarter, senior runningback Austin Smith used his legs to drive the Hounds down the field, and scored Atascadero’s first touchdown.
After forcing a stop on defense, a big run by senior Josiah Gaona got the Greyhounds to the five-yard line. Though the drive stalled out, kicker Armand Mastagni was able to convert the field goal to make the score 10-7 to end the half.
Righetti started the second half with the ball, and ran some designed runs for quarterback Gilbert Muriguia to drive down the field. Ethan Blais intercepted a pass from Muriguia on the same possession, but the play was called back for pass interference. The Warriors took advantage of the penalty, setting up a screen pass for Derek Reynoso who took it 35 yards for the score.
With the ball back on offense, coach Loney made a quarterback change. Sophomore Michael Trejo and Gaona traded positions, with Trejo taking snaps at wide receiver and Gaona sitting under center for Atascadero.
“It was just a feeling,” said Loney. “We just kind of went with it, and it was working so we stayed with it.”
The switch paid dividends for the Greyhounds, as Gaona found junior receiver Jeremy Hendrix for a 35-yard gain. Smith followed with his second rushing touchdown of the game to give Atascadero the lead back 17-14.
After both teams traded three and outs to end the fourth quarter, Gaona found Trejo on a pass, and Smith ran for a 26-yard gain to put Atascadero in scoring position. However, the drive fizzled out and the Hounds turned the ball over on downs.
Righetti took over and drove down the field on the legs of runningback CJ Hunt. With two minutes remaining, the Warriors scored a field goal to tie the game up 17-17.
It was now up to the Gaona and the Greyhound offense to break the tie and get the win. Logan Clevenger set Atascadero up well, returning the kickoff all the way to the 40-yard line.
Running the two-minute drill, the Greyhounds put the ball in Gaona’s hands. The quarterback kept the ball on three straight plays, earning back-to-back first downs.
“Those are all stuff that we worked on.” said Loney about the designed runs for Gaona. “We plan that into our offense as we’re going.”
With another first down run by Damon Mitchell, Atascadero was in field goal range with five seconds remaining.
Mastagni sent the ball straight through the uprights to win the game for the Hounds 20-17.
With the victory, Atascadero moves to 3-0 in the Sunset League and 5-3 overall. Their conference record is currently good for first in the league, though San Luis Obispo High School sits right behind them at 2-0 as they play Santa Ynez next week.
Up next, the Greyhounds will travel to Morro Bay for a non-conference match against the Pirates.
-Report and photo by Lano Somotun
