Atascadero's top running back, Neil Tidwell, has been battling a high ankle sprain recently, but the Greyhounds still thought they'd be able to move the ball on the ground with efficiency Friday night against visiting Arroyo Grande.

In the PAC-5 League opener for both teams, Atascadero's suspicions turned out to be correct.

At times, the new-look Eagles defense was powerless to stop the Greyhounds' running attack, which was mostly carried by Rickey Taylor's 171 yards.

When it mattered, though, Arroyo Grande's defense found a way to make big plays to keep Atascadero out of the end zone.

Perhaps the most important statistic that told the tale of the Eagles' 42-6 victory was the differential in the respective teams' third and fourth-down conversions: While Arroyo Grande (5-1, 1-0) made first downs on six of its eight attempts, the Greyhounds went just 5-for-12.

”We have so many new faces on defense, so they're kind of learning on the job,“ said Eagles head coach Jon Huss. ”They were up against a good opponent tonight, and they were bound to make some mistakes. But they responded to them very well.“

Atascadero (4-2, 0-1) was able to run the ball almost at will until it moved into Arroyo Grande territory, where they Greyhounds were consistently frustrated by the Eagles' defensive adjustments.

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Down 21-0 at the end of the first half, Atascadero drove the ball to Arroyo Grande's 11-yard line with about two minutes left, and it seemed as though a score right before halftime would give the Greyhounds some much-needed momentum.

However, the Eagles forced two incomplete passes, then swallowed up Taylor on a screen pass that moved Atascadero back eight yards. Arroyo Grande was whistled for a pass interference penalty on the next play that moved the ball to the 9, but on the last play of the half Atascadero committed a holding penalty on a Gunnar Jespersen run, squelching the drive.

”We really take pride in our goal-line defense,“ said Eagles linebacker Reade Lobdill. ”When the defense allows (the opposition) to get down there, we really want to stop it there. The defense was ready to go (on the last drive of the first half). We didn't want to stop playing. Everything was flowing for us.“

Things weren't a lot different in the second half, although the Greyhounds finally did score on a Taylor 28-yard run with 59 seconds left in the third quarter to cut Atascadero's deficit to 28-6.

But by then, the game was well in hand for Arroyo Grande.

”We were able to move the ball between the 20s, but once we got in the red zone we had trouble punching it in,“ said Greyhounds head coach Vic Cooper. ”They tightened up on defense and went back to their base stuff to shut us down. I knew they were good, but they were better than I thought they were. The gap between the teams isn't what the scoreboard showed tonight, but they showed why they're the defending champions. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish this thing out undefeated.“

As usual, the Eagles' patented fly-formation offense was in fine form. A week after rushing for a season-high 581 yards against San Marcos, Arroyo Grande's ground attack accounted for 370 yards and all six touchdowns. In the last two games, the Eagles have had four different 100-yard rushers.

Stacey Cannon, rounding into mid-season form quite nicely as a result of getting more touches, tallied 206 yards from scrimmage, including 156 on the ground.

Matt Lynch, who started at quarterback last week while Blas Uzueta served a one-game suspension, racked up 113 yards on the ground on just seven carries, including an 88-yard touchdown scamper at the start of the second quarter to give Arroyo Grande a 14-0 lead.

”I never had this kind of performance in mind,“ Lynch said. ”I just play hard when I get the chance and thank God for the opportunity.“

Oct. 15, 2005