Atascadero Greyhounds dominate Oakland Wildcats 41-8
Report and photos by Jonathan Sze,
– The Atascadero Greyhounds took down the visiting Oakland Wildcats Friday night by a score of 41-8 at Atascadero Memorial Stadium. After forcing an Oakland three and out, Atascadero got to work with senior running back Mateo Cano taking the handoff from 12 yards out to make it a 7-0 game.
Senior Quarterback Kane Cooks took a quarterback keeper as time ticked down in the first quarter for another Greyhound touchdown making it 14-0. A pair of punts followed before senior linebacker Tyler Bukamier picked off a pass by Oakland and gave Atascadero a favorable field position.
That was followed by a long Cano run to put the ball at the two-yard line before punching it in himself to make it 21-0 with around three and a half minutes in the half left.
The Wildcats returned the kick to the Greyhounds’ side of the field but stalled out and on fourth down fumbled the snap, however, they recovered it but were unable to get to the first down line and turned it over on downs.
On the ensuing play, Cooks found senior wide receiver Mason Degnan on an out route that Degnan converted to a 60-yard touchdown catch to extend the lead to 28-0 to close out the half.
The first play of the scrimmage from the second half saw a bad snap go over the head of Cooks and into the back of the endzone for a safety making it 28-2.
The Greyhounds would bounce back as they drove down the field on their next possession and found the endzone on a jet sweep by junior wide receiver Josiah Ganoa, but the extra point was missed making it. 34-2.
The Wildcats once again failed to convert on fourth down giving the ball back to the Greyhounds as they drove down the field. The drive was capped off by junior running back Gerado “Chewy” Avena running it in from 6 yards off to extend their lead even further to 41-2.
As the fourth quarter started, Oakland was able to get a drive going with a pass for senior wide receiver Joshua Oludayo from two yards away and was able to score a touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion made it 41-8 which would be the final score.
“The defense was phenomenal,” Atascadero head coach Victor Cooper said. “They have been solid all year but really stepped up against some real good athletes.”
Atascadero moves to 6-0 while Oakland moves to 4-1. The Greyhounds will travel up to Templeton to play the Eagles in an Ocean League matchup at 6 p.m.
