Football Game Preview: Atascadero Greyhounds vs. Morro Bay Pirates + How To Watch

The Atascadero Greyhounds will take on the Morro Bay Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Atascadero barely beat Righetti the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Greyhounds blew past the Warriors 35-14 on Friday. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but the Greyhounds were the (much) better team in the second half.

Meanwhile, Morro Bay can bid farewell to their four-game losing streak thanks to their game on Friday. They blew past Santa Maria, posting a 50-0 victory. That 50 point margin sets a new team best for the Pirates this season.

Atascadero better keep an eye on Sands Dougherty. He was instrumental in Morro Bay's win, throwing for 292 yards and six TDs, while also rushing for 57 yards on only eight carries. Luca Macari was another key player, gaining 80 total yards and two touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Morro Bay's defense and their three sacks. Radden Batalla refused to say out of the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks all by himself. Another thorn in Santa Maria's side was Batalla, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made eight total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Morro Bay's win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 3-5. As for Atascadero, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

Atascadero was taken down by Morro Bay 42-14 in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Dougherty, who threw for 387 yards and five touchdowns while completing 85.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 85 yards and one score on only 11 carries. Now that the Greyhounds know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.