vs
| 10/18/24 - Home | 21-6 W |
| 09/22/23 - Home | 28-10 W |
| 09/23/22 - Away | 17-52 L |
| 10/08/21 - Home | 21-39 L |
| 03/26/21 - Home | 14-45 L |
| + 5 more games |
Arroyo Grande and St. Joseph are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2015, but not for long. The Eagles will head out to take on the Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Arroyo Grande barely beat Lompoc the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Eagles really took it to the Braves for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-10 win. The victory continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Braves: they've now won three in a row.
Arroyo Grande got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Zack Tayman out in front who rushed for 74 yards and one score on only seven carries. Another big playmaker for the Eagles was Caleb Clark, who returned a punt for a touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Arroyo Grande proved: they limited Lompoc to a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Cole Johnston for the heroic effort on defense: he. The dominant display was nothing new: Arroyo Grande has now limited their opponent to fewer and fewer yards per carry in four consecutive contests.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Arroyo Grande, adding 26 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Clark, who ran a punt back for a touchdown. Another bright spot was a kickoff return touchdown from Copeland Hartford.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Joseph). They blew past Paso Robles 55-6 on Friday. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Bearcats are ranked 366th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
St. Joseph found their leader in sophomore Grayson Gaines, who rushed for 209 yards and four TDs while picking up 10.5 yards per carry, and also picked up 53 receiving yards. Those 209 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Gaines. Jack Heaslet was another major influence, as he rushed for 20 yards and ran in a TD.
St. Joseph's record now sits at 7-1. As for Arroyo Grande, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Friday's game will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Tayman and Gaines. Tayman just won't slow down this season and has run in 15 touchdowns while averaging 151.9 rushing yards per game. Gaines has been a dominant force too and has run in 16 touchdowns while averaging 147.8 rushing yards per game.
Arroyo Grande strolled past St. Joseph in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 by a score of 21-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
