Arroyo Grande's season opening football game started with a bang but ended with a fizzle Friday as Golden Valley captured a 15-7 win at Doug Hitchen Stadium.

Reade Lobdill returned the opening kickoff 96 yards, mostly untouched, to give the Eagles (0-1) some breathing room early on.

“I wasn't expecting that,” said Reade, a 5-foot-9 running back. “It was a great way to start the game.”

But the Bulldogs (2-0) fought back and Juan Gutierrez hit a 25 yard field goal with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter to put the Bakersfield squad on the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs scored again in the fourth quarter when they marched up the field from their own 20 yard line and capped the drive with a 14 yard pass to Andrew Brown from Bobby Hinzo for the touchdown.

The Eagles still had an opportunity to come back after the Bulldogs miss handled the extra point snap, but, after going three and out, Golden Valley's Bryson Hodges took a 3-yard drive up the middle to put the game away with six more points with 4:30 left in the game.

Hodges, who led the Bulldogs with 117 yards on 21 carries said getting behind early isn't something his team can afford in league games.

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“It was a wake up call,” Hodges said. “We knew we were going to be playing a great team and tough teams make great plays and put up some points.”

The Eagles were able to move the ball from their own 25 yard line and get a first down, on their final drive, but a fumble ended their chances of getting a win.

Eagles' quarterback Dan Pedrini faced somewhat of a trial by fire as he tried several passes, something the Eagles don't usually do. He completed four or 12 passes for 28 yards.

George Lopez had 64 yards on 9 carries to lead the Eagles in rushing.

Coach Jon Huss of the Eagles said he liked what he saw from his team's opening game despite the loss.

“I was happy with what we accomplished,” Huss said of the passing. “We got open and Dan made some good decisions.

“We played that first half extremely well,” Huss added. “We kept trying to make things happen and we did and we forced fumbles.”

Golden Valley's coaching staff thought their team could have done a better job of finishing their offensive drives having just come off a big 51-2 win over South in their opening game.

“We would march it down the field but we couldn't score,” said Golden Valley Coach Tim Hartnett. “We would self-destruct.”

The Eagles will travel to St. Joseph Friday for a non-league game.

PV 21, Palmdale Knight 14

PALMDALE - Shane Vogt snapped a 14-all tie and scored the winning touchdown on a 6-yard fourth-quarter run.

Andres Montiel capped the scoring with his third extra point as the Panthers pushed their record to 2-0-0. The game was Knight's opener.

Pioneer Valley rallied after trailing 14-7 after a quarter. The Panthers tied the game on Frank Tovar's 4-yard run and Montiel's point-after kick.

Tovar had 89 yards on just nine carries. Pioneer Valley's defense held Knight to 163 yards total offense, including 54 yards rushing.

Pionner Valley is home at 7:30 p.m. next Friday against Village Christian of Sun Valley.

Morro Bay 13, Carpinteria 0

Logan Budd scored on 4 and 1-yard runs at Carpinteria, and the Pirates shut out the Warriors to spoil the home team's opener in this non-leaguer.

Morro Bay squared its record at 1-1-0.

Morro Bay workhorse Kevin Scott racked up 222 yards on 38 carries. Budd kicked the lone extra point.

San Luis Obispo 34, Dos Pueblos 14

On opening night for both teams, the Tigers won handily at home.

Ben Hanson caught two of Conner Reese's three touchdown passes for San Luis Obispo. Austin Nichols added an interception return for a touchdown. Reese was 15-for-20 with no interceptions for 290 yards.

Templeton 28, Cen. Vly. Chr. 14

Jimmy McCaffrey scored on runs of 4, 1 and 3 yards as the Eagles boosted their record to 2-0-0 with a win at home.

The Cavaliers dropped to 0-2-0.

Templeton was ahead 28-0 before the Cavaliers scored twice in the fourth quarter. Jake Romanelli, who had Templeton's other touchdown, gained 101 yards on just eight carries.

Sept. 9, 2006