Righetti High fell behind in a football game this year for the first time Friday night.

Paso Robles made sure the Warriors stayed there.

"No excuses - they beat us," Righetti coach Greg Dickinson said after the Bearcats (2-1, 5-3) knocked the Warriors (2-1, 7-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten with a convincing 20-0 win at Warrior Stadium in an important PAC-5 League game.

San Luis Obispo moved into first place in the PAC-5 at 2-0 by beating Atascadero 35-28.

That result helped Righetti, since Arroyo Grande and Atascadero are now both 0-2 in league games. The Warriors finish their PAC-5 League season at San Luis Obispo at 7:30 p.m. next Friday. Paso Robles hosts Santa Maria in a non-league game the same night and time.

The Warriors/ final placing in the league standings is far from certain. Based on results the next two weeks, they could win the title outright, finish in second place by themselves, finish in a three-way tie for second place or finish in third place alone.

Righetti shut out Arroyo Grande last week. Friday night, Paso Robles drove 88 yards for a touchdown on its second offensive series and spent most of the rest of the night taking it to the Warriors on both sides of the ball.

The Bearcats/ defense held Ryan Mole, the second-leading rusher on the Central Coast, to just 57 yards on 13 carries, for the first time Mole has been under 100 yards this year.

Bearcats quarterback Adrian Pennywell tossed touchdown passes of 11, 49 and 33 yards. Jarrad Childs, with nice catches with his arms fully extended, was on the receiving end of the first and third ones. Seth Kolach was able to outrun good Warrior coverage on the other.

The long pass "wasn/t looking too good in practice this week," Pennywell said with a smile. "But we executed in a game, and that/s what counts."

"That/s the first time we/ve hit the long one all year," said Paso Robles coach Rich Schimke. "That was nice to see."

Paso Robles outgained Righetti 157-57 the first half and led 13-0 at intermission. The first half set most of the pattern for the rest of the game - Michael Krouse and Pennywell ran consistently for good yardage, and Righetti/s offense couldn/t do enough.

USC-bound Travis Draper did his part blocking for the Bearcats, but the other folks on the Paso Robles line did theirs as well. Michael Krouse racked up 120 yards on 21 carries, and Pennywell had 58 on 15.

"We went three-and-out on our first series, then we were able to establish the run," said Schimke. "Yes it is," he replied when he was asked if Friday night marked the most complete game his team had played all year.

Except for two interceptions, Pennywell passed efficiently. He was 6-for-11 for 105 yards. Meanwhile, linebackers Trevor Gomes and Mitchell Monteiro led a Bearcats defensive surge that held the Warriors to 140 total yards.

Safety Lafe Viker gave the Warriors their biggest highlight when he intercepted Pennywell/s short pass at the Righetti 5 in the fourth quarter and returned it to his 49. However, the Bearcats quickly got the ball back when defensive back Kolach broke up Righetti quarterback Josh Thomas/ pass for Ryan Gonzales at the Paso Robles 35.

He also raced back 10 yards to his own 15 to field a snap that had gone over his head and still got off a 40-yard punt.

The Warriors had one decent scoring chance in the first half, but Gonzales dropped Thomas/ pass at the Paso Robles 20 after he had gotten behind the Bearcats defense.

Righetti had two good drives in the second half, but they both fizzled. Mole ran for a total of 17 yards and caught a pass for 11 more as the Warriors marched from their 37 to the Bearcats/ 20 on the first series of the second half.

Monteiro terminated the bid when he sacked Thomas for an 8-yard loss on fourth down. On the Warriors/ next series, a personal foul penalty wiped out Mole/s 17-yard run to the Paso Robles 30, then Chris Pate picked off Thomas on the next play after the pass went through Mole/s hands.

"Any time you shut out a team like Righetti, you/ve accomplished something," Schimke said after his team outgained the Warriors 352-140.

"Paso Robles came ready to play and we didn/t," Dickinson said. "We just have to put this behind us and get ready for next week."

SLO 35, Atascadero 28

ATASCADERO 77 The Tigers (2-0, 5-2) put themselves in the PAC-5 League driver/s seat by holding off the Greyhounds (0-2, 4-4).

The Tigers moved out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on 6 and 8-yard touchdown runs by Paul Jordan. Ryan Gambucci kicked a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter, and San Luis Obispo led 17-0 at halftime.

Atascadero rallied in the third quarter on touchdown passes of 17 and 26 yards by Harrison Higbee. Then Jordan broke the Greyhounds/ backs with touchdown sprints of 61 and 90 yards in the fourth quarter.

Jordan had himself quite an evening. He ran through the Greyhounds for 351 yards on 25 carries. The Tigers held dangerous Ryan Bugg to 33 yards on 13 carries.

Atascadero plays at Arroyo Grande at 7:30 p.m. Friday, a game the Greyhounds must win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Santa Ynez 33, Santa Maria 14

SANTA YNEZ 77 The Saints/ playoff hopes took a big hit Friday night. They dropped to 1-3 in the Los Padres League and 2-6 overall.

Meanwhile, Santa Ynez played a solid game and picked up its first LPL win. The PIrates have won two straight after losing their first six. Santa Ynez is 1-2 in league games.

Quarterback Brad Bowen gave the Saints the early lead with a 24-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. But the Pirates scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to grab control of this one.

Jess Bratcher scored the Pirates/ first touchdown on an 80-yard run. He gained 123 yards on just nine carries. Santa Maria came up short even though it ran for 243 yards on 45 rushes.

Santa Ynez has a big game at Cabrillo at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.

Lompoc 40, Morro Bay 3

MORRO BAY 77 The showdown was a blowout.

Lompoc and Morro Bay both came into this one unbeaten in LPL games, but the Braves (4-0, 6-2) had a 33-0 lead at halftime. Morro Bay dropped to 3-1, 4-4 as the Braves clinched the league championship in their inaugural LPL season.

Joey Gastelo and Matt Winn helped the Braves get rolling. Gastelo caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Jones, and Winn returned a Pirates fumbled 46 yards for a touchdown.

Winn led Lompoc/s balanced rushing attack with 82 yards on 16 carries. Lompoc held Central Coast rushing leader Joe Garcia to 58 yards on 21 carries. Friday marked the second straight week Garcia has been under 100 yards.

Lompoc travels to Chino for a 7 p.m. non-league game next Friday. Morro Bay plays at St. Joseph the same night and time.

November 2, 2002