Greyhounds earn first home, league win in offensive shootout against Santa Ynez
– In their first Sunset League game of the season, the Atascadero High School Greyhounds defeated the Santa Ynez Pirates 42-34.
Though the Pirates struck first with a passing touchdown by quarterback Jude Pritchard on the opening drive, Atascadero matched them the whole way, putting on an incredible offensive performance. The Greyhounds’ running game was nigh unstoppable all night, getting production from every runningback that touched the ball.
Atascadero head coach Dan Loney credited the offense’s success to the offensive line.
“You know, our O-line really did a good job of stepping up and taking over tonight,” said Loney. “We had struggled in the weeks before and they put it on their shoulders this week.”
The line’s impact was seen on Atascadero’s first offensive drive. Right after receiving the ball for offense, runningback Joseph Hyde found a large hole made by the front five and immediately broke through for a long touchdown, tying up the game 7-7.
Hyde was one of a number of Atascadero players who received handoffs, as the Greyhounds elected to rotate running backs on their offensive possessions.
Hyde, junior Tyson Tenhaeff, and seniors Austin Smith and Josiah Gaona all rushed for Atascadero in the match.
Smith received the brunt of the carries throughout the game. The large runner used his size to bowl defenders over, earning many crucial gains for the Greyhound offense.
However, the Pirates offense was intent on matching their opponents. Santa Ynez runningback Griffin Bruner made a big gain, and found a short rushing touchdown two plays later to retake the lead 14-7.
With the ball back, Greyhound quarterback Michael Trejo joined in on the rushing game. The sophomore notched some big runs and kept Atascadero rolling with rushing touchdowns on back-to-back drives to end the second half with a 21-14 lead.
The smash-mouth offense of Atascadero didn’t just serve the running game but opened up the passing lanes as well. Early in the third, Trejo found junior receiver Damon Mitchell open down the middle of the field for a big gain that set up a short rushing touchdown by Gaona.
It was clear that the Greyhound offensive game plan, using the run to set up the big passes was being executed nearly perfectly.
“That’s kind of our thing. We like to run the ball and take a shot when we want to and it was able to work tonight,” said Loney.
A crucial piece to the game plan working was Tenhaeff. The junior lined up just about everywhere for Atascadero, and was a key in their victory.
Tenhaeff played on offense, defense, and special teams. On offense, he took snaps at both running back and receiver, making big gains and catching a 20-yard touchdown pass to put Atascadero up 35-21 at the end of the third.
On defense, he played cornerback throughout the game and made some crucial plays down the stretch. However, his arguably most important contribution came on special teams.
With Tenhaeff’s touchdown catch, Atascadero seemed to finally be pulling away, but the Pirates refused to go down without a fight. Pritchard scored a rushing touchdown from about 50 yards out that deflated the Greyhound home crowd, and kept Santa Ynez in the game. On the point after attempt, Tenhaeff flew in and blocked the kick, reviving the crowd and injecting life into the sideline while keeping the score at 35-27.
With the clock winding down, Atascadero drove down the field and scored another rushing touchdown, hoping to finally put the Pirates away, but were once again matched as Bruner scored again from one yard out.
Hoping for a miracle, Santa Ynez lined up for the onside kick. The ball went into a Greyhound hand but it slipped out before he was called down. The Pirates recovered and had a chance to send the game to overtime.
On the final play, Pritchard found a receiver deep in the endzone who seemed to have caught it, but the ball was punched out by an Atascadero defensive back, giving the Greyhounds the victory and their first home win of the year.
“We’ve been struggling at home a lot, and to get our first home win of the season was big,” said Loney.
WIth the victory, Atascadero moves to 3-3 on the season. Though it’s only the first conference game, they are now tied with San Luis Obispo High School for the top spot in the Sunset League.
Up next, the Greyhounds will travel to Santa Maria to face off against the Pioneer Valley Panthers on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
-Report and photos by Lano Somotun
