Morro Bay 27 East Bakersfield 26
Ian Lambright and Manny Diaz were the sparks that gave Morro Bay their early 14-6 lead in the first half as the Pirates were able to hang on down the stretch thanks to a missed PAT in the first half and a blocked PAT by junior John Meyers in the final offensive drive for East Bakersfield.
In Division V, the four-seed Pirates advance to take on Orosi in the quarterfinals. Two years, ago the Pirates won a Division VI CIF Central Section championship. As the only SLO County team to advance in the CIF playoffs, they could be the ones to return to the mountain top after finishing the regular season at 5-5.
Lompoc 19 Centennial 42
Centennial defeated Lompoc on home turf in the first round of Division II playoffs. Lompoc showed flashes of greatness, but Centennial showed their prowess and dropped 42 on the Braves' defense to move onto round two. Tony Arango connected with Jacob Manzo twice for two touchdowns, one in the second quarter, and the second in the third quarter. However, Centennial had run off with the score at that point. Arango’s final touchdown of the season ended in Monte Ortiz’s arms, for a 25-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. The Braves finish the season 5-6 overall.
Santa Ynez 21 Kennedy 42
Kennedy won in front of their home crowd in the first round of Division III playoffs. Santa Ynez showed promise in the first half of the game, but ultimately, the Thunderbirds brought the thunder. Kennedy and Santa Ynez each exchanged two touchdowns in the first half. The Thunderbird offense took off from there and the Pirates finish their season 4-7.
Arroyo Grande 14 Central 42
Another score, another 42. The Eagles took the Mountain League title and got a taste of Central Valley Division I Football in return. The Eagles dropped their second game of the season, ending with an impressive 9-2 record overall, and 7-0 in league.
Santa Maria 36 Caruthers 29
Down by 1 in the fourth quarter on 4th and 20, Josue Lopez found Malachi Jordan for a passing touchdown which propelled them to a victory over Caruthers in Division IV. Next up for them is a match-up against (2) Dos Palos on the road.
Other scores:
Arroyo Grande 14 Central 42
Nipomo 18 Mt. Whitney 28
Pioneer Valley 3 Porterville 41
SLO 14 Tulare Union 42
Templeton 7 Washington Union 25
