ARROYO GRANDE - In both teams' inaugural varsity football game Saturday night, El Diamante (Visalia) scored the first seven points at Arroyo Grande's Doug Hitchen Stadium.

Nipomo scored the next thirty four in a 34-7 romp. The Titans broke open a game that was 14-7 at halftime by scoring 20 fourth-quarter points.

Miners quarterback Brandon Byer found wide open Ben Walkowiak at the Titans 8 and connected with him for an 18-yard scoring play with 8:53 left in the first quarter.

Then, after El Diamante's defense grounded Nipomo's fly offense on the Titans' first two possessions, Nipomo gradually wore the Miners down.

Thomas Delay scored the Titans' first varsity touchdown when he went in from four yards out behind tackle Ryan Milne and back Cameron Smith. The Titans faked the conversion kick and Smith ran in for two points.

The Titans went on to rack up 356 yards of total offense to the Miners' 94. Smith ran for 110 yards on 16 carries and scored twice, including Nipomon's second touchdown, from four yards out in the second quarter. Nipomo had 331 yards rushing.

Delay had 90 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns, including a 25-yarder in which he ran through two tackles and scored after nearly being knocked off his feet those two times. Caleb Courtney scored the last touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run.

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"I fear that other teams are going to try to do to us what we did tonight," said Nipomo coach Jon Hitchen. "We went straight at them."

Hitchen's father Doug was a long-time Arroyo Grande administrator whom Arroyo Grande's football stadium is named after .

Nipomo, very far from the largest high school football team in the world, enjoyed a size advantage Saturday night. That pattern will not last.

Saturday night however, Milne and center David Aslandis helped spark strong Nipomo offensive line blocking that helped the Titans rack up a 24-5 advantage in first downs.

Linebackers Smith and Courtney led an impressive Nipomo defensive surge.

"We had some guys who had first-game jitters," Jon Hitchen said. "After that we seemed to improve with every down. That was wonderful to see."

The Titans overcame 14 penalties. The Miners were much cleaner in that department. They were penalized five times.

Nipomo has a bye next week. Its next game is at Pacifica of Oxnard, which is another first-year varsity team.

"I've talked with their coach, and he said 'coach, I know what you're going through,'" Hitchen said.

"Maybe they'll overlook us."

September 7, 2003