Eagles beat Bearcats 28-21, in season finale
Report and photos by Sergio Romero,
– Paso Robles High School football couldn’t quite edge out their final game of the season 28-21 in a defensive battle against Arroyo Grande High on Friday, Oct 27 at Doug Hitchen Stadium.
In the last game in what is otherwise a forgettable season the Bearcats (2-8, 2-5 Mountain) managed to hold their own for a majority of the game against one of the best teams on the Central Coast while the Eagles (9-1, 7-0 Mountain) were just able to avoid the upset on their way to the Central Section playoffs.
The Bearcats were in those playoffs a season ago but failed to capture that same success and fire that team had.
It was a defensive battle through the first half as it was all tied up at seven apiece going into the locker rooms.
It was all but that in the second half as Arroyo Grande punched in a four-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead halfway through the third quarter.
After trading possessions, the Eagles scored again on a 20-yard touchdown pass to take a commanding 21-7 lead at the end of the third.
The Bearcats wouldn’t go quietly however as they executed a handoff to their running back who passed it to sophomore wideout Tre Clark who took it 95 yards to the house to cut the deficit down to 21-14.
Arroyo Grande responded quickly with a 15-yard touchdown, but Paso Robles continued to fight after they recovered a fumble on the Eagle 24-yard line and scored another touchdown on an eight-yard pass from senior quarterback James Cogan to bring the score to 28-21 with less than three minutes left in the game.
The Bearcats attempted an onside kick that ultimately fell into the hands of an Arroyo Grande player as the Eagles closed out the 28-21 final
There were many individual standout players throughout this season for Paso Robles but they ultimately couldn’t make it all come together and play as a cohesive group.
Senior athlete Hayden Mckenna was a bright spot on this team as he played on all sides of the ball as a quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner.
When the run game got going it was because of senior running back Conner Bowman who led the team in rushing yards with 668 coming into this game and five touchdown runs while averaging six yards per carry.
The defense as a whole was another bright spot this season despite allowing so many points to some teams. The defense was led by senior linebacker Kyler Tweeten who led the team in tackles and tackles for loss.
It’s difficult to blame them for giving up points when the offense can’t stay on the field and give the defense some rest in between drives.
A lot of the bright spots included seniors, so this team is going to look a lot different next season. Which is probably a good thing because the freshman team just finished their season 9-0 and the seniors leaving gives these kids an opportunity to show what they’re made of.
