Saturday, September 29, 2007

Who needs an energy drink?

I certainly do not — but not just because of that Yahoo! report that ran a few months ago about how they damage your heart and stuff.

Though I might have wandered back into the office sometime around 11:30 p.m. Friday a little drowsy after reporting on a game that started a half hour late, two scores woke me right up.

The first was San Luis Obispo's 26-14 win over Santa Barbara.

No, the Dons aren't some powerhouse team. They were 1-9 last season, which included a 34-14 spanking by the Tigers. Santa Barbara was, however, 3-0 this year — with a decent win over Righetti.

But my concern with the game wasn't the strength of the Dons but of San Luis Obispo. It's so hard to get a good read on the Tigers.

Their offense hasn't exactly clicked in the post Reese-to-Martin era. And though the defense is fast and talented, there aren't a whole lot of wide bodies donning black and gold.

But 26 points? That's a touchdown and a field goal more than San Luis Obispo has scored in any of its first three games. And it's more impressive against an unbeaten team.

So wake up and give the Tigers some credit. I sure will.

Another team I'm willing to give some props to is Templeton. The Eagles' 36-0 shutout of Los Padres League foe Santa Ynez is the second score that slapped me in the face — not because I didn't expect it but because it should quiet some of the Templeton critics, at least for a while.

Each year, it seems the voters in the Top 10 media poll (and others I'm sure) have been slow to give Templeton much respect. The Eagles haven't played the toughest nonleague schedule and the thinking is that they have to prove it in league before they get any respect.

But I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Don Crow's crew because we make it a little too hard for Templeton.

Just because its a school of somewhere around 800 kids, the notion is they can't be good at anything — especially in a league with Santa Maria schools whose enrollments can number more than twice that.

But the Eagles seem to be making a living of defiying predictions and overachieving.

How about giving Templeton some due until the Eagles show it's undeserved? Good until proven bad. Seems to me they've earned it.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just for everyones info, The greyhounds are 15th in the nation in total offensive rush yards and 15th in the nation for average rush yards per game! Which is pretty outstanding knowing that one of the teams they played is one of the top in the nation.

Anonymous said...

Sound like the Greyhounds don't need an energy drink. They are having a great start to the year. Are they any better than Paso? Paso also has one loss and claims to be the best in the Pac-7....

Anonymous said...

I beleive Atascadero will take Paso by at least 3 touchdowns, and here are the reasons why:

1) They are averaging nearly 400 rushing yards a game, which everyone knows if you can run well you can control the game which also leads to my second point. (Note: They ran 460 yards against Clovis in about 2-1/2 quarters figuring the fact that Clovis controlled 7 min of the first quarter and Atascaderos 2nd, 3rd, and any other strings came in close to the begining of the 4th. (It makes one wonder how many yards they could have had, had the starting Offense started with the ball and ended with the ball!)

2) Atascadero is averaging 30 points a game because of the exceptional running attack, which is currently 15th in the nation for average rush yards a game,
and the starting Offense didn't have to punt one time (Atascadero punted 1 time in the game and that was at the end of the 4th quarter when all the 2nd and 3rd stringers were in)

3) Also Atascadero's D which is only allowing an average of 13 points a game which is really good considering they've played highly ranked St. Bonaventure and other big schools like Dinuba, Fresno, and Clovis. (which by the way Atascaderos D held Clovis to only 97 total yards of offense and Clovis had to punt like 8 times. Also consider the fact that teams that have scored, other than Thousand Oaks and St. Bonaventure, have mostly scored, if not all of the scoring, against Atascadero's 3rd and 4th stringers.

4) One more note, although Paso has had some nice wins. The schools they have beat aren't really good this year, especially the team they lost to last week West Bakersfield. West Bakersfield was ranked like 3,800 something before playing Paso, so that isn't a very good sign to lose to that high of a ranked team. Although Atascadero did lose to St. Bonaventure, St. Bonaventure has possibly the highest recruited running back in the nation let alone that Bonaventure is highly ranked as a team in all.

So although it's still a bit early to say, I beleive the final score will be:
Atascadero 35+ to Paso 14-

THE END! LOL

Anonymous said...

I don't think people really compare teams correctly by looking at who has beat who and who has lost to who. I think people see
4-0 and think that is the end of the season. Or they could be getting scared Atascadero is coming and they're trying to boost their confidence alittle?....I'm not sure....but I think people should research before jumping to conclusions because if Atascadero kills Paso then Paso is going to get alot of S*** from Atascadero, and I for one will be at the game and will talk S*** to Paso after the game just because Paso thinks they're the baddest team ever!

Anonymous said...

Is there anyone in the PAC-7 that will even be able to compete with Atascadero? I agree, A-town looks impressive..........

Anonymous said...

I think its more who has the best chance at scoring against Atascadero?

Paso or Righetti

Atascadero is so solid on both sides of field with offense averaging 420 yards a game and defense only allowing an average of 138 pass yards a game and 115 rush yards a game which those pass yards are mostly from Thousand Oaks and St. Bonaventures two great quarterbacks and the rush yards are from St. Bonaventures great No.2 nationally ranked rusher. Two Great teams.

No team in PAC 7 has played teams with the magnitude the greyhounds have played.

So I think the winner of the Paso vs Righetti game will determine who will do better against Atascadero. I think the LA teams are Atasc. biggest competition.

I sure hope Atascadero gets more recognition from our local sports reporters than they have, because comparatively to local teams they're doing much better. Also I believe Atasc. will make it to the 3rd round of the playoffs if not the CIF Championship!

Ending note: I feel bad for Arroyo Grande, stats show their rush D isn't very good at all....Atasc. could very well possibly rush 500+ yards against them!

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad for AG. Wait until that game with them is over. Then see if you still feel bad. Every team in the PAC 7 will be gearing up to destroy A-town. Every league game will be tougher then you think. Many teams don't play non league games to run up points. They try different players at positions and let more kids get play time to build depth. Pre league games are over hyped, just like A-town.

Anonymous said...

Atascadero must have a lot of players to have both a 3rd and 4th string team as mentioned above. Most schools have Starters and players that rotate in. They don't classify players on the team as 3rd string or 4th string. Why would a coach call some of his players 4th stringers? That's not right, I'm sure those kids are important on scout teams during practice.

Anonymous said...

Word has it A-town is scheduling the New England Patriots for a non league game nest year.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 1:09 PM:
-Your comment was just plain stupid, I know you don't know what your talking about. Must be a scared AG fan that is defending poor AG.

Anonymous @ 1:28 PM
-Boo Hoo to your kid that plays 4th string!

Anonymous @ 1:38 PM
-Although it was a stupid comment, I guess Atascadero would be the most competitive school in our area, to compete against N.E.P. lol
but that was cute hahaha

Anyways after Atascadero kills AG, who I feel bad for lol, I will be back on here to close my case, and then move on! :) haters are sooo much fun to mess with hahaha

Anonymous said...

Actually this is the best time to talk. No hate though. If A-town becomes the champs then I will pull for them to go as far as they can in the playoffs. Hopefully farther the the first round like last year.

Anonymous said...

Why so much talk about the Hounds. Paso has just as good of a record and much bigger and stronger players. How can anyone say Atascadero is better then Paso? Come on, wake up. Paso is the best in PAC-7.

Anonymous said...

All I'm going to say is we'll just say what happens! Maybe there is a fluke in whats going on for the greyhounds, but it's just not normal fluke, whether it's non-league or not. I can't say for sure that Atascadero will be the PAC-7 champs, but I will say that Atascadero definitely has the best chance according to statistics. But who knows maybe statistics won't prove anything. So like I said we'll just wait and see. I do have to say that saying paso is the best in PAC-7 is a really bold statement!

Anonymous said...

This last comment is the most reasonable and well stated assessment yet. Well done.

Anonymous said...

Oh by the way I meant to say, "All I'm going to say is we'll just SEE what happens!" my bad

Anonymous said...

So there is a lot of debate about who can beat Atascadero. As of now, they are the defending Pac-7 Chanps and will remain that way until they are dethroned.
If you go to Calpreps.com, they have a "Project a match up" section. This sight projects matchups and is surprisingly accurate. This is really interesting because all of Atascadero's games they have projected (before they were played) ended up having a very similar score with the same result.
According to this sight, A-town should be 3-1. If you put in every Pac-7 team against the hounds here is what the sight comes up with.
Atascadero-44 vs AG-6
Atascadero-31 at SLO-8
Atascadero-34 vs Rig-14
Atascadero-35 vs Lom-7
Atascadero-35 at PR-22
so the rivalry game should be the best game for the hounds this year. Looks like back to back league champs.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the Atascadero Greyhounds on their PAC-7 league championship for 2007. I can't wait for 2008.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 11:35 AM

-Wow someone's an idiot. Although more than likely that's a correct statement! lol....quit being a cry baby!

Anonymous said...

Also, Congrats to USC on winning the National Championship.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Point well taken. A-Town IS probably over rated just like USC.

Anonymous said...

But wait latest prediction is, AG wins the PAC 7 crown...kills USC in the playoffs and is heading to the superbowl against the Patriots!! lmao...sounding stupid is fun isn't it?!?!

I bet you said the same thing this time last year, except AG was doing alot better and they were more of a threat!

I think what's going on here is, people from AG and Paso don't want to lose to a town like Atascadero because Atascadero is, yes I'll admit it too, a piece of crap due to the lack of tax money available to keep things fixed up around here, thanks to idiots suppressing development that would bring in tax money.

Or it could be because Atascadero is the central coasts most dominating football team in the last couple of decades (with the exception of a few rough years). For a comparative example I for one will admit I hate the yankees because I'm tired of hearing them making the playoffs every year. LOL I know it's petty to a certain degree.

So I've decided to play this stupid game and make non-conservative irrational comments, so I think Atascadero will KILL ag Friday! LOL someones going to be mad :)

Now for a more conservative approach, I think Paso, San Luis, and Righetti have the best chance against Atascadero!

Anonymous said...

I think Atas rightly so should be confident. Maybe even very confident.
They have earned much respect. But we still play the games anyway. We add up the wins, take care of our injured and finish the season. Strangely it seems the team that wins PAC-7 (or pac5) recently falls in the first round of the playoffs. Why?