ARROYO GRANDE - Arroyo Grande High School football coach Jon Huss believed his team made a fabulous goal line stand.

Madera coach Randy Blankenship believed the officials unfairly denied his team the winning touchdown.

The bottom line was that Huss' Eagles edged the Coyotes 14-10 in an exciting season opener at Doug Hitchen Stadium Friday evening. Madera plays in the CIF Central Section. The school is about 30 minutes north of Fresno and has an enrollment of 4,200.

"We scored the winning touchdown, and I want to know why it wasn't called," Blankenship said afterward Friday night.

Huss' view was, "that was a fantastic goal line stand. Our kids believe we can stop anyone at the goal line, and Danny Rohr made a great play to stop their back."

Madera, trailing 14-10, started from its own 30 with 6:16 left to play. Behind Lamar Grier and a good offensive line surge, the Coyotes drove to the Arroyo Grande 3.

Beau Blankenship scored on a sweep, but a flag for illegal motion was dropped as he was running. On the second down play from the 2, some Madera players signaled touchdown, but officials thought otherwise.

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They ruled Arroyo Grande linebacker Danny Rohr had stopped Grier inches short of the goal line. A Madera lineman jumped before the third down play - no doubt about that one - and then Chris L'Esperance and Dillon Bedford led a surge that stopped Grier for no gain at the 5.

Coyotes quarterback Nick Bates stumbled as he tried to score on a keeper, and the play never really had a chance. The Eagles stopped him at the 3 with 2:24 left.

"The timing was a little off," on the Coyotes' fourth-down play, Huss said.

Madera had a last chance after Tommy Pace's 22-yard punt gave the Coyotes the ball at the Eagles 26 with 1:01 left. But Bedford picked off Bates' pass at the 16 on the next play.

"Dillon Bedford played an excellent game tonight," Huss said.

Arroyo Grande came up with four Madera turnovers. Pace intercepted a pass in the end zone in the first quarter to kill a promising Madera drive. The Eagles recovered two Coyotes fumbles.

Arroyo Grande lost the ball just once, on an interception. After Pace's pick, the Eagles drove 80 yards for the first score of the game, with quarterback Kyle Pollock connecting on a 10-yard pass in the end zone to Gibby Escobedo. The catch was Escobedo's only one of the game.

Though Randy Blankenship believed his team scored the winning TD, the coach also acknowledged his squad caused some of its own problems.

"We jumped," on the third down play, he said. "That was our fault."

Madera also committed its third illegal substitution foul with 3:39 left in the third quarter, and that kept Arroyo Grande's winning scoring drive alive.

"The kids know who should be in during that situation," Blankenship said. "We gave them life. These are kids, and kids make mistakes."

The penalty turned a fourth-down-and-four at the Arroyo Grande 43 into a first-and-10 at the 48. Arroyo Grande's offensive linemen responded by making some of their best surges of the game.

Stacey Cannon ran for nine yards, Andrew Hirsch went for 15, then Cannon bolted for 17 yards to the 11. Hirsch went in from there behind a nice lead block by fullback Tyler DeRose with 2:29 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles withstood 163 yards rushing on 18 carries by Grier. Hirsch racked up 117 yards on 17 carries. Linebacker Anthony Queen was the main reason the Eagles had trouble scoring.

The Eagles' Joe Cozby missed two short field goal tries in the first half.

Though he wasn't thrilled with some of the calls, Randy Blankenship complimented the Eagles.

"They are so well-coached," he said. "I love coaching against these guys. This was a good game, a clean game."

Though there were several illegal procedure calls - and those three illegal substitutions against Madera - there were no personal fouls.

Arroyo Grande hosts Lynwood at 7 p.m. next Saturday.

Sept. 4, 2004