Down by 19 points at the half, the Bearcats came from behind to beat Highland High School of Bakersfield 29-19 in their season opener Friday night.

Played in Bakersfield, the game got off to a late start, just before 9 p.m., due to the triple digit weather that pushed the JV game to a starting time of 6:30 p.m.

In the first half, Highlands scored a touchdown in the first quarter and two in the second to jump ahead at the half.

With Highland in the lead, 19-0, the Bearcats scored their first touchdown in the third quarter of the game. They quickly added another, along with two extra point kicks, and cut Highland’s lead, 19-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

“The offensive line dominated in the second half,” Paso Robles varsity coach Rich Schimke said of his teams turn around. “We put out nose to the grindstone and played consistently. We wore [Highland] down.”

Those first two touchdowns came through the air via catches by seniors Nathan Nelson, and Brett Wise. Andy Bridge’s short rushes brought in more two touchdowns in the final quarter as the Bearcats pulled ahead with a 15-point fourth-quarter outburst to win 29-19.

The Bearcats completed 14 first downs and rolled up 305 yards. Senior quarterback Brandon Ladley was 19-for-31 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Wise caught five balls for 45 yards and senior Josh Weferling caught five balls for 52 yards.

On the ground, Bridge carried eight times for 36 yards and Nelson carried eight times for 44 yards.

The Bearcats play their first home game this Friday, Sept. 7 against Santa Ynez starting at 7:30 p.m. JV game starts at 5:30 p.m.





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