ARROYO GRANDE - High school football games in the PAC-5 are known for being close, hard-fought battles. That wasn't the case Friday night in Doug Hitchen Stadium as the Arroyo Grande Eagles rolled over the Righetti Warriors, 51-14.

Arroyo Grande (6-2 overall, 3-0 PAC-5) scored on its first five possessions to make the score 35-0 by halftime.

The early lead allowed the Eagles to coast to their seventh consecutive PAC-5 win, dating back to last season. They'd outscored their opponents by 46 points in the previous six games - an average of 7.6 points per game during the streak - but beat the Warriors (4-5 overall, 1-2 PAC-5) by 37 Friday.

"I really don't know what happened. ... I was very surprised by the outcome," A.G. coach Jon Huss said. "I was expecting a nailbiter. We made big plays."

Arroyo Grande quarterback Kyle Pollock echoed those sentiments.

"It doesn't feel normal (to win a league game like this)," he said. "I prefer close, exciting games, but I'll take this kind of win any day."

At the half, Arroyo Grande had amassed more than 300 yards of offense, compared to Righetti's 70.

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"They're a physical team," Righetti head coach Gary Wilson said. "They came out and got after us. They wanted it more."

Andrew Hirsch had already run for 134 yards at the half on the way to a 230-yard night.

"I think Andrew was motivated to run hard tonight," Huss said. "He ran with a fervor."

The Eagles' physical play showed in its line play, which opened up large holes for all of its runners, especially Hirsch. He scored the first two Eagle touchdowns, gaining the final 42 yards on just two carries on the Eagles' 57-yard opening touchdown drive.

On the next drive, he gained 54 of the Eagles' 68 yards. He had eclipsed the century mark by the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.

"Our line did a hell of a job," Hirsch said. "They did whatever it took. They played their heart out."

The line also gave Pollock plenty of time to throw to his favorite target, Deangelo Waller. Pollock threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns. One was a 19-yard pass to a wide-open Danny Rohr on a fourth-and-two situation.

Waller caught the other 173 yards.

"Deangelo doesn't drop balls," Pollock said. "I know he's gonna catch it when I throw to him. He's got the best hands I've seen (since I started playing football)."

Pollock and Waller hooked up on passes of 31, 51 and 79 yards. The 30-yarder was good for a second-quarter touchdown.

The Eagle defensive line routinely collapsed upon Righetti quarterback Jon Dally, forcing him to scramble and sacking him several times.

The Warriors did not score until there was one minute left in the third quarter on Chad Stephens' 9-yard touchdown run. Stephens would score the other Warrior touchdown on a 65-yard run with 8:25 left in the game.

But at that point the touchdowns were for nothing more than pride.

Righetti hosts Paso Robles in a PAC-5 matchup next Friday night. Arroyo Grande travels up to Morro Bay for a non-league game. Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m.

Morro Bay 46, Santa Maria 9

MORRO BAY - The Saints' longshot playoff hopes went out the window. They dropped to 1-3-0 in the Los Padres League and 2-6-0 overall. Morro Bay could conceivably get the wild card spot. The Pirates are 2-3-0, 5-3-0.

Pirates tailback Corey Stollmeyer had quite an evening. He ran for 230 yards on 13 carries. Stollmeyer scored three touchdowns, one on a 90-yard run.

Gilbert Arguijo gained 168 yards on 34 carries. He scored on a 25-yard run, and Ernesto Velasco kicked a 36-yard field goal for the Saints.

Minus Arguijo's output, Santa Maria had 44 yards of total offense.

Atascadero 42, Santa Ynez 24

ATASCADERO - The balanced Greyhounds racked up 204 yards rushing and 149 passing as they picked up a non-league win.

Quarterback Travis Jones threw for three scores and ran for another for the 3-5-0 Greyhounds. Billy Peters passed for 228 yards and three touchdowns for Santa Ynez, which dropped to 2-5-1 with its third straight loss.

SLO 44, Paso Robles 7

PASO ROBLES - The top-ranked team in Division IV had no trouble staying perfect on the season. San Luis Obispo is 2-0-0 in the PAC-5 and 7-0-0 overall.

Paso Robles is 0-2-0, 2-5-1. If the Bearcats don't win at Righetti next Friday night, they bid their playoff hopes goodbye.

Area passing leader Quentin Cate threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns for San Luis Obispo. Area rushing leader Phil Garza ran for 168 more. Garza scored three times.

Light Walleman caught a 20-yard pass from Todd Fleener for the Bearcats' touchdown.

Oct. 30, 2004