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It was a memorable night for St. Joseph's football program.
The matchup did have some hype. Templeton was 3-0 and coming off a 49-12 beating of Arroyo Grande, a result that surprised some in the area.
Who's the area's best team this spring? Well, the Knights have scored at least 40 points every game and have been dominant in all three wins.
St. Joseph dominated another opponent Friday night, its second in as many weeks, in a 45-14 win over Arroyo Grande at Doug Hitchen Stadium. This week's win comes on the heels of the Knights' 44-0 season-opening trouncing of Paso Robles.
Heading into Friday's game, there were rumblings that St. Joseph was perhaps the team to beat in this unique spring season.
St. Joseph has won five straight against Righetti in the game known as the Battle for the Shield. St. Joseph won the 2019 meeting 22-7 and the 2018 contest 27-21. The Knights also won 40-14 in 2017, 43-7 in 2016 and 42-6 in 2015. Righetti last won in 2014, routing the Knights 37-14.
The matchup did have some hype. Templeton was 3-0 and coming off a 49-12 beating of Arroyo Grande, a result that surprised some in the area.
Though Kaschewski and Berna have combined for nearly 1,200 yards in just those three games, St. Joseph coach Pepe Villaseñor points out that credit must be given to the Eagles' offensive line.
"The quarterback is dynamic. He has size and speed, his lateral movement in holes is fantastic," Villaseñor said Thursday, "but everything is based on the offensive line. The O-line does a good job of pulling, they read the defensive fronts properly. We have to neutralize the offensive line."
St. Joseph dominated another opponent Friday night, its second in as many weeks, in a 45-14 win over Arroyo Grande at Doug Hitchen Stadium. This week's win comes on the heels of the Knights' 44-0 season-opening trouncing of Paso Robles.
Santa Ynez ended its 2021 spring football season on a four-game win streak, routing Cabrillo 67-0 in the finale Friday night.
It was a memorable night for St. Joseph's football program.
His defense, Pioneer Valley senior linebacker Tommy Nuñez said, had the Santa Maria offense all figured out.
St. Joseph has won five straight against Righetti in the game known as the Battle for the Shield. St. Joseph won the 2019 meeting 22-7 and the 2018 contest 27-21. The Knights also won 40-14 in 2017, 43-7 in 2016 and 42-6 in 2015. Righetti last won in 2014, routing the Knights 37-14.
A lot was on the line in the chase for the Ocean League title Saturday afternoon at Panther Stadium.
Against San Luis Obispo, Righetti's defense pitched a shutout, led by defensive end Matt Simms, who was all over the field in the first half.
The matchup did have some hype. Templeton was 3-0 and coming off a 49-12 beating of Arroyo Grande, a result that surprised some in the area.
The Santa Maria defense held firm after a first-quarter Mission Prep touchdown, senior Santa Maria quarterback Murad Alamari threw for one score and ran for the winning one, and the Saints rallied to beat the Royals 16-7.
Though Kaschewski and Berna have combined for nearly 1,200 yards in just those three games, St. Joseph coach Pepe Villaseñor points out that credit must be given to the Eagles' offensive line.
"The quarterback is dynamic. He has size and speed, his lateral movement in holes is fantastic," Villaseñor said Thursday, "but everything is based on the offensive line. The O-line does a good job of pulling, they read the defensive fronts properly. We have to neutralize the offensive line."
The total damage over the last two weeks: At least 611 total yards from scrimmage and eight total touchdowns.
Who's the area's best team this spring? Well, the Knights have scored at least 40 points every game and have been dominant in all three wins.
Elijah Bobo and Melanie Nunez were named the Lompoc Homecoming King and Queen during halftime of the game at Huyck Stadium.
Nick Martinez extended his touchdown reception streak, catching two more. He's caught five touchdowns this season and has at least one in all three games. Saints quarterback Murad Alamari threw both touchdown passes to Martinez.
Besides his big fumble return, Chris Miller scored two touchdowns and intercepted two passes (As a team, Righetti picked off five) as the Warriors made their season opener a big success. The Bearcats are 1-2. Elias Martinez also intercepted two passes and made a dazzling catch for a two-point conversion in the end zone.
In a rare spring football game, on an even rarer Wednesday night for high school football, senior Tommy Nunez powered the Panthers past Mission Prep 13-6, handing the Royals their first loss of the season.
Pioneer Valley was scheduled to open its football season on March 19 with a game against Atascadero. But that game was ultimately postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the Panther program, forcing the team into quarantine.
There was some anguish on the football field Saturday evening. There was also some exhilaration.
Dos Pueblos was not expected to put up much resistance against Lompoc Friday night.
Logan Ast piled up 163 yards rushing on 23 carries with 121 yards receiving on eight catches. He scored four times on the ground.
St. Joseph dominated another opponent Friday night, its second in as many weeks, in a 45-14 win over Arroyo Grande at Doug Hitchen Stadium. This week's win comes on the heels of the Knights' 44-0 season-opening trouncing of Paso Robles.
Santa Maria's football team got off to a good start last week. But now the Saints have to answer another question: Can they keep it going?
Both St. Joseph and Arroyo Grande were pretty impressive last week, though I think St. Joseph's 44-0 road win over a Mountain League opponent in Paso Robles was more impressive than Arroyo Grande's 33-21 home over Atascadero, now an Ocean League team.
Lompoc's Cavin Ross has been voted Player of the Week for the first week of the spring 2021 high school football season.
What's the area's top matchup of the second week of the spring football season? Well, that's an easy question to answer: The only game that features two 1-0 teams.
Instead of leaving the game he loved behind and moving on after suffering a back injury, Armenta chose to stick it out. Though he'll likely never play football again, Armenta has spent the preseason acting as an additional coach for Eagles skipper Mike Hartman.
Ultimately, Eagles junior Makai Puga ran for 199 yards and three touchdowns in his varsity debut, and Arroyo Grande beat the Greyhounds 33-21.
Santa Maria scored a 21-7 football win at Morro Bay Friday night to kick off the 2021 spring season.
Heading into Friday's game, there were rumblings that St. Joseph was perhaps the team to beat in this unique spring season.
Friday night's slate of high school football games ended a nearly 500-day drought caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which pushed the fall 2020 schedule all the way to the spring of '21.
Cabrillo AD Gary West, who noted that the decision is not based on COVID-19 protocols, said the Cabrillo coaching staff felt the players needed an extra week of preparation.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District said in a statement Wednesday that Santa Barbara County Public Health directed the district to quarantine the varsity football team at Pioneer Valley and the Righetti High girls varsity water polo team "due to positive COVID-19 test(s)."
Nipomo and other area programs have had about three weeks to prepare for the season-opening games scheduled for this weekend. Nipomo is slated to play at Mission Prep Saturday at 1 p.m.
Righetti High School's long-awaited season-opening football game at Arroyo Grande has been canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases within the Righetti program, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District announced Tuesday.
At Cabrillo, the total football participation is around 30 kids in total, across all levels. At Friday's practice, first-year coach Andy Guyader had 27 students there, with a significant number of those being freshmen or sophomores who would not be playing varsity football under normal circumstances.
Out in Santa Ynez, Pirates football coach Josh McClurg has navigated his program through the troubled waters the coronavirus pandemic has brought quite adeptly.
The Eagles are scheduled to play five games this spring, starting with the March 19 home opener against Mountain League rival Righetti.
If Santa Barbara County high schools were beginning their football seasons this week, they'd all have to undergo COVID-19 testing for players and coaches.
The Saints are back.
Wednesday night, both teams were busily preparing for a unique spring season that has seemingly come out of nowhere. In about seven weeks, the two teams will be playing each other.
The season is slated to kickoff on March 19 with three Channel League games per week for five weeks.
High schools began practicing with helmets and shorts Tuesday and will continue through Thursday. They can then hold full padded practices Friday, continue practicing next week, hold a scrimmage March 12 or 13 and have bona fide games on March 19.
As expected, Santa Barbara County met the criteria for high school football to make its long-awaited return.