The Preps Box

With the final regular season games nearly two weeks behind us, I thought it would be fun to briefly stroll down memory lane and look at how the local media members voted in the first and then the final Top 10 polls this season.

Preseason Poll                                          Final Poll
1. Atascadero                                             1. Atascadero
2. Paso Robles                                           2. Paso Robles
3. St. Joseph                                              3. St. Joseph
4. Righetti                                                  4. Righetti
5. San Luis Obispo                                   5. Pioneer Valley
6. Morro Bay                                             6. San Luis Obispo
7. Nipomo                                                  7. Morro Bay
8. Templeton                                            8. Templeton
9. Arroyo Grande                                     9-tie. Arroyo Grande
10. Lompoc                                               9-tie. Cabrillo

Here is how the poll relates to the final standings in the LPL and PAC 7

PAC7
League    Overall
Atascadero                  5-0        8-2
Paso Robles                4-1         8-2
Righetti                       3-2         6-4
San Luis Obispo        2-3         4-6
Arroyo Grande          1-4          4-6
Lompoc                      0-5          4-6
LPL
League    Overall
St. Joseph               7-0          9-1
Pioneer Valley       5-2          8-2
Morro Bay             4-3           6-4
Templeton             4-3           5-5
Cabrillo                  3-4           4-6
Nipomo                  3-4           4-6
Santa Ynez            2-5            2-8
Santa Maria         0-7            0-10

For those of you who missed Friday night’s game, I’m sorry, because it was a thriller for the first 3 1/2 quarters. Atascadero won 38-21, but the score doesn’t do the game justice.  With about 8 minutes remaining in the game Paso Robles closed the score to 24-21.  But a questionable call with 7 minutes remaining by Bearcats head coach Rich Schimke on 4th and 15 at their 39-yard line led to a turnover on downs instead of a punt.

I’m not saying what Schimke did was wrong. He said after the game that he had faith in his guys, and having talked to him throughout this season I knew right away that was the case. He has one of the better quarterbacks on the Central Coast running his offense and two very solid receivers, unfortunately the throw down the right sideline by Thomas Bernal was off its mark. The decision to throw instead of kick could have turned everything around if the pass was completed — that’s why second guessing is easy.

Even a punt might not have made a difference. Up to that point, Atascadero had shown that it could run the ball at will against the Bearcats. If Paso Robles had punted, all the Greyhounds would have needed to do is run down the clock with a sustained drive. With the way things were going, it very easily could have happened.

This decision, while crucial, wasn’t the be-all-end-all of the game. The Bearcats scored three touchdowns and had 232 yards of total offense, while Atascadero running back Nick Tenhaeff alone ran for 239 yards and five touchdowns. That right there was the difference in the game.

Atascadero won its third consecutive PAC 7 championship and the Greyhounds have earned the No. 1 seed out of the PAC 7 for the CIF-Southern Section Northern Division playoffs.

The post title alone carries enough weight without even discussing the event. On Friday night at 7:30, Paso Robles travels to Atascadero for the regular season finale with the PAC 7 title on the line. Last season the Greyhounds beat the Bearcats 24-21 and the teams split the league title after each finished the season with one loss. This season, sole possession is on the line as both teams come in undefeated in the PAC 7. Both teams have been undoubtedly the class of the PAC 7 all season and now they finally get to fight for who is No. 1.

Here is a breakdown, as I see it, of both teams:

QB - Thomas Bernal (PR) has the edge as one of the league’s top passers. He has 1,120 passing yards with 10 TDs and 7 interceptions. Aside from  the numbers, Bernal has more experience in big games than Atascadero QB Bradley Smett.

RB - Nick Tenhaeff (A) has proved to be nearly unstopable this season running for nearly 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has run for more than 135 yards in all but two games this season behind a relatively young offensive line and while splitting time as a starting linebacker.

WR - Paso Robles’ duo of Cheston Holguin  and Taylor Sorenson lead the league with 443 and 366 receiving yards, respectively.

Defense - This is almost a toss up and it will likely be the determining factor in the game. Atascadero has allowed a league-low 133 total points (14.8 points per game) and Paso Robles had given up 137 total points (15.2 ppg). Greyhounds defensive lineman Brandon Armstrong has six sacks and  linebacker Thane Atkinson has 4.5.

This game is a perfect way to the the season and the long running debate about which team is better will finally be answered.

If you live out of the area, or just can’t attend the game, I’d like you to know that I will be hosting a live blog during the game. It will start around 7:15 and I encourage your participation. Click on the link to easily jump to the blog: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/story/525978.html

Tonight I’m going to be up in Morro Bay covering the St. Joes at Morro Bay game. I’ll be running a live blog beginning at 7:15. Here is the link http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/story/513727.html.

This game should solidify just where Morro Bay stands in the LPL picture. St. Joseph is 6-1 and the Knights’ lone loss nearly became a come-from-behind victory against Paso Robles. The Pirates have a solid lock on third in the standings but tonight will tell just where they rank compared to St. Joseph and Pioneer Valley — the two teams above them. Morro Bay is coming into the game a little banged up with injuries, so I don’t expect them to be a full strenght.

The other game to pay attention to is Cabrillo at Templeton. Cabrillo (3-4, 3-2 LPL) is in fourth place and Templeton (3-4, 2-2) is in fifth. The Eagles are fighting for a chance to make it into the playoffs and this game could very easily put them into a position to do that. After Cabrillo, the Eagles play Pioneer Valley and Nipomo — they will likely split those two games.

So stay tuned to tonight’s coverage. Things are just begining to heat up in the LPL.

When I went around to each football team’s practice before the season started the goal for everybody was unanimous — win league and make a run in the CIF playoffs. In theory that’s a great plan but at some point realism has to set in — some teams are just better than others, injuries can change the course of a season or a team just hits a hot/cold run. With a majority of the season in the rear view mirror and a couple league games out of the way, now is as good a time as any to look back and discuss how this year in the PAC 7 has shaken out to this point.

First off it’s no surprise that Paso Robles and Atascadero sit atop the league standings. Both teams returned play makers and have size on both sides of the ball. Coming into the season these were interchangeable A and A1 teams, but in just over two weeks they play each other in the final game of the season. Expect some fireworks as both fight to win the league title. I expect that Atascadero RB/LB Nick Tenhaeff will continue to lead the Greyhounds on both sides of the ball. There is also no reason to expect Paso Robles QB Thomas Bernal or RB Andy Bridge to slow down.

San Luis Obispo, tied at No. 3 in the standings with Arroyo Grande, has overcome starting an entirely new group on defense. It helps that senior QB Davey Schultz is having another fine season and that RBs Jay McElearney and Nate Nunno have combined to run for just over 900 yards and 10 touchdowns. Schultz leades the league with 1,050 passing yards, he has thrown eight touchdowns — at least each game — and had been intercepted four times.

As for Arroyo Grande, they are one of the teams that got hit by the injury bug, losing junior QB Clark Goossen in Week 1 during a loss to Nipomo. Goossen was expected to help move the offense away from the fly and into more of a spread-option. That plan crumbled and now in his place is sophomore Kyle Kleinsmith, who has size (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) and a strong arm to be a pocket passer. With Kleinsmith running the show, he’s been asked to throw an average of 25 times per game — a rarity for the Eagles. He’s taking his bumps and bruises right now but there is a young nucleus around him and if he is the No. 1 QB next season he could emerge as one of the league’s top passers.

Lompoc has been disapointing after starting the season 4-0, but looking at those wins they came over Nipomo (1-6), Santa Ynez (1-6), San Marcos (3-4) and Dos Pueblos (2-5). To put it lightly that’s not exactly a challenging pre-league schedule. Since then the Braves or 0-3 and lost by a combined score of 96-48.

Righetti drew the top two PAC 7 teams to open league play. The Warriors were beaten by a last-minute Atascadero touchdown, but they were never in last week’s game against Paso Robles. The Warriors do have a solid running game with RB Javon Davis (603 yards, nine touchdowns) and a strong passing game from QB TJ Jordan (951 yards, six touchdowns, six interceptions).

The trend for the past few years is to have football rivalry week fall on the final game of the regular season, but that’s not the case this year. Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo play Friday night in SLO at 7:30, moving up their usual meeting about four weeks.

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to things like this and while I understand why the schedule was moved around — it was a PAC 7 decision to balance the schedules — this is one thing that probably should have stayed. Players and coaches from both sides have said it doesn’t matter when they play, they just want the game to happen. But from a fan’s prospective this game was the be all, end all to finish the season, and it’s that type of tradition  I enjoy. The winning team, and its fans, have the entire offseason to revel in the win, while the losing team is stuck waiting for next year’s game to get some payback.

The one silver lining to the change is there appears to be more importance on this game than there had been in the past because it’s the Eagles’ first PAC 7 game and the Tigers’ second. A win for San Luis Obispo will set the tone for the Tigers and give them a 2-0 headstart on the rest of the league. It’s wouldn’t be as dramatic in the standings but Arroyo Grande could use a win like this as a boost of confidence going forward.

Purists looking for that much needed rivalry week game to the end of the season can take pleasure in knowing that the Atascadero-Paso Robles game is the regular-season finale for both. It’s premature to say, but that rivalry showdown could ultimately determine who wins league and that’s truly the way to end a season.

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I’ll be covering the AG at SLO game on Friday night and The Tribune will host a live blog in the sports section of it’s Web site. If you cannot make it to the game but want up to the minute information the live blog is the place to go. I’ll be providing a mix of play by play and commentary and the live blog program also allows reader contribution, which I highly encourage. The game starts at 7:30 but I will begin writing around 7:15. Check back later for a link to the blog.

I just got back from the Morro Bay at Nipomo football game, which the Pirates won 34-0. For much of the night it was all Morro Bay and I was impressed by their ability to stop the Titans offense. Here are some thoughts on tonight’s game:

- There were a lot of penalties, about eight for each team, and that really slowed down each team’s rhythm. Hopefully for both teams, as Los Padres League continues, the penalties especially the personal fouls — each team had a couple — will stop.

- Nipomo is a young team and it showed. They have a strong-armed quarterback in junior Josh Correia, but this the first year for both him and his five offensive lineman. This game was the first time Correia threw deep with any regularity and although he did not complete those passes, he proved he had the arm to make those throws. He just needs some seasoning at the varsity level.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Morro Bay has been working in sophomore Sam Crizer. I’ve seen him play his past two games and  what really stood out was his ability to run. Crizer is able to find holes and he is both fast and able to break tackles. Pirates  head coach John Andree hasn’t asked Crizer to attempt a pass in either of those games, but the young QB is getting valuable varsity experience.

- Injuries held back Nipomo. The Titans lost junior wide receiver Kevin Britt in the first half to an ankle sprain — the same injury against the same team that sideline him most of last season. Edwards joked after the game that he might not let Britt play against Morro Bay next year. Nipomo needs Britt to get back onto the field fast because he is a deep threat and he needs to get on the same page with Correia during this re-building season.
The other  troubling injury was  to  running back/linebacker Duane Hanna, who went down with a shoulder injury. Hanna, also a junior, is a strong runner and on defense he is the Titans second leading tackler.  I’ll try and get an injury update on these two players during the middle of next week.