Greyhounds fall to Morro Bay in penultimate regular season match
Atascadero moves to a 5-4 overall record
– The Atascadero High School Greyhounds Football Team was blown out by the Morro Bay Pirates 56-34 in a non-conference match.
With the loss, Atascadero moves to a 5-4 overall record, while Morro Bay now sits at 4-5.
The game started out as a shootout, but the Hounds failed to keep up with the Pirates while dealing with a myriad of injuries.
The teams paced each other in the first half, as touchdowns from Josiah Gaona and Austin Smith kept Atascadero in the game. Quarterback Sands Dougherty scored a rushing touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to receiver John Myers. Colton Janovec also scored to give Morro Bay the 20-14 lead going into the break.
However, in the second half, the Greyhounds couldn’t keep up with Dougherty. The quarterback had the Pirates rolling as he scored four second-half touchdowns.
Early in the period, an incredible punt return by Atascadero receiver Ethan Blais set the Hounds up at the Pirate 20. Smith then took the ball 28 yards for a score to regain the lead 21-20.
The celebration was short though, as the Pirates received the ball back and Dougherty found Myers on a skinny post for an 80-yard touchdown.
The match continued in this fashion, as Atascadero would put together long scoring drives only for Morro Bay to drive down the field with ease.
The game was put out of reach when a Greyhound punt was blocked and taken back for a score, putting the Pirates up 49-28.
Bishop Resco scored for Atascadero to try and stop the bleeding, but Dougherty scored again on a quarterback keeper to end the game 56-34.
As the game was a non-conference match, the Greyhounds won’t lose any momentum within league play. They currently sit at the top of the Sunset League with a 3-0 record.
Perhaps more important than the loss, is the injury Austin Smith suffered in the third quarter that held him out of the game. Smith is Atascadero’s leading rusher, averaging 81.3 yards per game.
The Greyhounds would surely miss him as they head into the most important match of the year so far.
Up next, Atascadero will face San Luis Obispo High School for the Sunset League title on Friday, Nov. 1st at 7 p.m.
-Report and photo by Lano Somotun
