Sep. 11—It took three hours and 95 points, but a victor was finally crowned Friday night.
In a Central Coast classic, Arroyo Grande edged Lompoc 48-47 in a wild non-league football game at Dough Hitchen Stadium.
One last Lompoc incompletion was followed the final whistle as Arroyo Grande players and coaches erupted in a jubilant celebration after the Eagles captured their second straight win over a rival, improving to 2-2 on the season.
Lompoc suffered its first defeat, dropping to 3-1 on the year.
Consisting of four 12-minute quarters and no commercial breaks, high school football games rarely take three hours to play. Friday’s game, filled with offense, started at 7 p.m. and ended just before 10.
The game was dominated by dazzling offensive plays. Lompoc running back Sheldon Canley Jr.’s stellar senior season continued, as he scored six rushing touchdowns Friday.
Canley, a San Diego State commit, had four touchdowns at halftime.
But Arroyo Grande’s offense was just as potent and a bit more balanced. The Eagles relied on the passing of Max Perrett and the running and receiving of Kaden Tynes.
Perrett threw two touchdowns to Tynes in the first half and ran for another. Perrett threw another touchdown to Damian Santos in the first half.
The Braves turned the ball over on their first possession on a backwards pass. But the Eagles fumbled on their second play from scrimmage and it was recovered by Lompoc’s Michael Manzo.
Lompoc drove down the field, but eventually turned the ball over on downs and Arroyo Grande scored on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Perrett to Tynes to take a 7-0 lead. The Braves answered with a 53-yard touchdown run by Canley.
Santos then caught his touchdown on a short fade route in the back corner of the end zone. Canley scored again from five yards out to tie the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.
After getting the ball back with a fourth-down stop, Lompoc went up 21-14 on a 59-yard scoring run by Canley.
Then Arroyo Grande responded as Perrett kept the ball on a read play and scored from 18 yards out to tie the game at 21.
Later, Canley scored from 42 yards out to give the Braves a 27-21 lead. Lompoc star Deville Dickerson appeared to score on an end-around run on a two-point try, but was controversially ruled out of bounds, something that irked Lompoc’s coaching staff at the time and after the game.
Then things got even wilder. Arroyo Grande went ahead 28-27 on a 55-yard scoring strike from Perrett to Tynes. That came with 39 seconds left in the half. That was plenty of time for the Braves to connect on a 69-yard scoring play on a pass from Cavin Ross to Dickerson. The Braves went for two points again, and the attempt failed giving Lompoc a 33-28 lead at halftime.
On the Eagles’ opening drive of the second half, Tynes caught a swing pass out of the backfield, bounced off a tackle and spun out of another for a 55-yard catch-and-run, Tynes’ third touchdown catch of the night, giving A.G. a 35-33 lead.
The Eagle defense forced a Lompoc punt, however Arroyo Grande’s return man incidentally made contact with the ball as it bounced inside the 10 and Lompoc recovered.
The Braves made the Eagles pay for the miscue as Canley scored his fifth touchdown of the night and Lompoc converted its two-point try on a throw from Ross to Dickerson, giving Lompoc a 41-35 lead.
Adrian Sanchez then took over the Arroyo Grande offense with some hard running. His 45-yard run set up his short touchdown run. With the point-after try, the Eagles led 42-41 with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
The scoring finally slowed down.
Lompoc turned the ball over on downs and Arroyo Grande went for a fake punt on fourth-and-3 near midfield and Lompoc snuffed it out, giving the Braves some momentum. But Lompoc couldn’t take advantage, turning the ball over on downs itself.
A 30-yard run by Tynes got the Eagles into scoring position, but they backed themselves up on an illegal chop block penalty. That set up a 33-yard field goal try.
Dickerson, the Braves’ special team ace, blocked William Dawes’ attempt and it was recovered by Andrew Porter, who returned it past midfield.
Canley then struck again, weaving his way through and around multiple A.G. defenders on a 40-yard scoring run, giving the Braves a 47-42 lead with five minutes left. The Braves went for two and the try failed on a quick throw over the middle from Ross to Dickerson.
The Eagles had plenty of time to score. Tynes caught a 20-yard pass over the middle and a Perrett pass to Max Wulff picked up another Eagle first down.
A pass interference penalty against the Braves put Arroyo Grande inside the 10 and Zech Goen scored from six yards out to put the Eagles up 48-47. Perrett was stuffed on the two-point try with 1:12 left.
Dawes’ kickoff went out of the end zone, denying Lompoc of a chance at a return and putting the Braves at the 25. Lompoc was able to move the ball, using Canley and two grabs by Marcos Maya.
Lompoc had a fourth-and-10 at the Arroyo Grande 38 with four seconds left, but Ross’ short pass to Canley was incomplete and the final whistle sounded.
Arroyo Grande started the season with losses to two Bakersfield schools, in Frontier and Centennial. But the Eagles beat San Luis Obispo 42-14 last week and edged Lompoc this week. The Eagles play Madera Torres in their next game.
Lompoc beat Paso Robles, Righetti and Cabrillo to start its season. Now 3-1, the Braves play at Santa Ynez on Friday. The Pirates are also 3-1.