The Bearcats overcame a 10-point deficit heading into halftime against the Righetti Warriors at War Memorial Stadium on Friday night, to win 49-23.

With just 20 seconds left in the second quarter, Bearcats junior quarterback Austin Flynn connected with wide receiver Brett Wise in the end zone for the Bearcats first touchdown of the game. With the extra point by Ryan Bedell, the Bearcats trailed the Warriors, 17-7 to end the first half of the game.

Paso Robles varsity head coach Rich Schimke said there were notable differences in how his team played in the second half of the game as compared to the first.

“We just stopped making mistakes,” Schimke said. “We had dropped passes for touchdowns in the first half. We got good field position and went backwards.”

The Warriors got their first three points of the game in the second quarter off a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. The Warriors then scored their first touchdown on their next possession and with the extra point jumped ahead 10-0. With just a minute left in the second, the Warriors scored again as Adam Wilson ran one in. With the extra point, the Warriors increased their lead to 17-0.

Schimke said it was hard for his team to overcome the Warriors’ defense in the first half.

“They play a defense that’s in your face; they want to force your hand,” he said.

Besides the Warriors effective defensive in the first half, Schimke said the Bearcats hurt themselves with mistakes.

“It wasn’t what they did in the first half, it was what we did,” he said. “We spit and sputtered because of the mistakes we made — jumping off side, dropping the ball, hiking the ball over the head.”

That last second touchdown by the Bearcats to end the first half seemed to provide the momentum needed as Paso Robles came back and scored 42 points in the second half of the game.

“I just went up thinking that I needed to make a play, especially after dropping one,” Wise said of the first touchdown.

To start the third quarter, the Bearcats held the Warriors on their first possession.

But the Warriors weren’t able to do the same, as the Bearcats scored their second touchdown when Flynn ran the ball in. The extra point by Bedell put the Bearcats within three points of the Warriors, 17-14.

Once the Bearcats fixed the mistakes made in the first half, they played much more solidly, Schimke said.

“We fixed those [errors] in the second round,” he said.

The Bearcats went on to score another 14 points and held the Warriors scoreless, to end the third up 28-17.

The third touchdown of the game was set up by a Warrior fumble that was recovered by the Bearcats’ Trevor Marsano. The Bearcats wasted little time, as Flynn connected with Michael Stark for a touchdown. The extra point put the Bearcats in the lead for the first time in the game, 21-17.

It was Stark’s first touchdown of the season.

“I was just hoping no one was going to come from behind, it looked so wide open from where I could see, Stark said. “I just didn’t want anything to happen, and it ended up being perfect.”

Stark said the touchdown grab by Wise to end the first half was crucial for the Bearcats.

“[The first half] was kind of frustrating, because this was the first time that we’ve been stopped consistently, and it was another good challenge for us,” he said. “I think Brett’s touchdown right before the half gave us momentum, and we rode it all the way through the third and fourth quarter.”

The final touchdown of the third came from running back Nathan Nelson. On first and goal at the three-yard line, Nelson jumped over the backs of the Warriors defensive line for the touchdown. The extra point allowed the Bearcats to put 11 points between themselves and the Warriors to end the third, 28-17.

“We were at the goal line and we lined up and we were originally going to run it left but they called time out because they saw we had it on them,” Nelson said. “We came back and ran it opposite side, and it worked out real good for us. Everyone picked up their job, and we did it on the fly.”

It was more of the same for the Bearcats in the fourth quarter. Paso Robles recovered from a near fumble in the end zone to score again as Andy Bridge drove through the Warriors for a touchdown. An extra point kick put the Bearcats at 35-17.

The Bearcats came back with another touchdown on their next possession off a run from Nelson that put the game away at 42-17.

“They had a real aggressive defensive end on the left side, so we just figured we’d run right at him to eliminate the problem and it worked out,” Nelson said. “My fullback came through the holes, picked up the right person. I read the block, and it was wide open from there, so I really didn’t have to do too much. It was really just the blocking scheme that was perfect.”

Nelson had another long touchdown run later in the fourth but the play was called back on a penalty against the Bearcats.

The Warriors managed a final touchdown with six minutes left in the fourth, but missed the extra point, 42-23.

Later in the quarter, Flynn connected with Mitchell Van Dyk on first and goal at the six-yard line for the Bearcats final touchdown of the night. Bedell’s extra point sailed through the posts, and with it, the Bearcats won the game, 49-23.

Schimke said Flynn played well for the Bearcats.

“He managed the game,” he said. “He kept us in good situations. When he was out of pocket and being pressured he threw the ball away. He didn’t panic and he threw the ball well under pressure.”

Flynn said he played a good game but he gave credit to his line.

“Our line was dropping great and picking up everyone they needed to and just gave me a lot of time in the pocket,” he said. “And my receivers were running good routes.”

Schimke said the packed house added inspiration to the Bearcats’ effort.

“It was a great crowd and a great homecoming,” he said. “They stuck around for the second half, and I told the guys at half time, ‘Don’t make the game bigger than it is, there are people out there who support you. Just play within yourself.’ And they did.”

The Bearcats are now 6-1 overall, 2-0 in the PAC 7. They play on the road against Arroyo Grande this Friday, Oct. 26.



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