Several times as his pass protection pocket crumbled Saturday, Atascadero quarterback Travis Jones scrambled and escaped trouble.

On the last play of the game, he couldn't do it.

Righetti linemen David Hartman and Jude Deras grabbed Jones as he was back to pass on the Righetti 34 with time running out. Jones tried to throw as he was going down, he could not, and that was that. The Warriors emerged with a 17-14 PAC-5 League win at Righetti High School's Warrior Stadium.

Righetti is 1-1-0 in the PAC-5, 4-4-0 overall. The Greyhounds are 0-2-0, 2-5-0. The Warriors continued their pattern of losing every odd-numbered game and winning every even-numbered one. Atascadero has not won in the PAC-5 since the league was formed in 2002.

The game was scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Righetti High, but a bomb scare at Atascadero High School changed that. The Greyhounds could not get on campus to collect their gear, so officials from both schools agreed to move the game to 11 a.m. Saturday.

"If the game was last night, (the bomb scare) would have had an effect," Atascadero coach Vic Cooper said afterward. "But we had time to get over it, and it wasn't as though they didn't have to play a game today, too. It was a level playing field."

"We probably did look sloppy, but after getting ready to play a Friday night game it's hard to buckle down and play the next day," Righetti assistant Derrick Beebe said. "The kids did a good job."

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Righetti overcame 10 penalties, including three holding calls and a dead ball foul, for 72 yards. Officials nailed the Greyhounds five times for holding, and a holding call canceled a promising Atascadero drive. In all, the visitors had 10 penalties for 75 yards.

Besides all their penalties, the Warriors also overcame the absence - on the field anyway, they were on the bench - of running back Mark Malangko and defensive end Nathan Beebe, Derrick Beebe's son, two of their best players.

"Mark has a bone contusion," Derrick Beebe said. "He won't play against Arroyo Grande next week - after that we'll just have see what happens. Chad did a really good job in his place.

"Nathan hurt his ankle and didn't play much the last game - he's week-to-week." Nathan Beebe's status for the Arroyo Grande game is questionable.

Righetti kicker Francisco Chavez kicked a line drive after the Warriors' first touchdown and missed the extra point. However, he delivered on his kick that mattered most.

After a fourth-quarter Warriors drive stalled at Atascadero's 15, Chavez's 32-yard field goal try was true for the winning points with 8:18 to play.

The Warriors denied the Greyhounds twice after that. Atascadero tailback Neil Tidwell amassed 197 yards, and he did most of the running work as the Greyhounds drove from their 16 to Righetti's 20 after Chavez's field goal.

Jones fumbled on a 14-yard run to the Righetti 20 and Kevin Dwyer recovered for the Warriors, but an apparent early whistle victimized the Warriors. Jones appeared to fumble as he was going down, but the play was ruled dead.

But after Tidwell gained four yards, an illegal procedure call backed Atascadero up five yards. Deras stopped Tidwell after a yard gain, then Hartman put a good rush on Jones the next play, and his well-covered pass down the sidelines wasn't close. Neither was his 37-yard field goal try the play afterward.

Deras made a lot of stops for the Warriors Saturday. "He really did a good job," Beebe said.

The Greyhounds had a last chance, with the ball on their 28 with 56.9 seconds left. Jones connected with Tidwell for 23 yards, and then for 18 more to the Righetti 32.

But two incompletions followed, and then Harman and Deras made their last sack. Linebacker Nick Harlow came on strong for Righetti as the game went on.

The teams put up points quickly in the first quarter. Righetti drove 88 yards on eight plays on the first series Saturday.

Dally scored from nine yards out. Atascadero scored on Jones' 3-yard run up the middle six plays later, and then Stephens raced in from 36 yards out two plays after that. Stephens had returned the kickoff after Jones' score 46 yards to the Greyhounds' 44.

Neither offense could sustain much afterward until the Greyhounds tied the game in the third quarter on Jones' 1-yard plunge and extra point with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

Righetti had seven first downs in the first quarter, then nine the rest of the way. "The kids just buckled down," Cooper said. "They figured out that they were running the exact same plays we saw on film."

Cross Country

Mt. SAC Invitational

WALNUT - Jesus Solis led Righetti to a second-place finish behind Dana Hills in the Boys Division I team standings.

Solis finished third in 15:53 over the rugged three-mile course. Teammates following were Kyle Steinfelt (20th place); Abel Perez (24th); Nick Makar (62nd); Ryan Ray (123rd); and Lee Medvedoff (156th).

Dana Hills scored 131 points. Righetti had 141. Saddleback Valley finished third in the 18-team field with 160.

Righetti's girls finished 14th out of 20 Division I teams. Kenna Wolter led the Warriors with a 13th-place finish. Teammates following were Hazel Putney (53rd); Sara Mathews (58th); Kelsey Rabenberg (109th); Carla Madrigal (114th); April Tilligkeit (120th); Erin Sais (134th).

Oct. 24, 2004