Fall Sports Season Kicks Off at Local High Schools

Catching Up with the Bearcats and Eagles

For student-athletes, there is no such thing as Summer Break. It takes dedication, drive and lots of practice to stay in shape. With the fall sports season just around the corner, and non-conference games for some teams kicking off in mid-August, athletes and coaches are putting in their time on the fields, courts and tracks across Northern San Luis Obispo County.
Recently, I had the chance to chat with Paso Robles High School’s Director of Athletics Anthony Morales, and Templeton High School’s Director of Athletics Lindsay Franklin to get their take on the upcoming fall sports season. It was nice to catch up with them, and learn a bit about what we can look forward to with the Bearcats and Eagles as the 2018-19 school year begins.

Student-Athletes & Coaches

For fall, Paso Robles High School athletes will participate in Men and Women’s Cross Country, Football, Women’s Golf, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Volleyball, Cheer, and Men and Women’s Water Polo. At Templeton High School, athletes will participate in Football, Cheer, Cross Country, Women’s Tennis and Women’s Volleyball.
Head coaches for the Bearcats include: Ivan Huff (Cross Country, 35+ seasons), JR Reynolds (Football, two years as interim, with this being first official season as head coach), Kevin LeClair (Women’s Golf, 1st season), Laura Clowes (Women’s Tennis, 18th season), Sophie Flemion (Women’s Volleyball, 1st season), Duane McRoy (Men’s Water Polo, 20th season) and Grant East (Women’s Water Polo, third season).
For the Eagles, head coaches include: Tyler Lane (Football, 3rd season), Erin Farley (Cheer, 1st season), Mary K Housinger (Women’s Tennis, 5th season), and Cameron Schaeffer (Women’s Volleyball, fourth season). At press time, the head coach position for THS Cross Country is open – applications are being accepted.

Central Coast Athletic Association

Both PRHS and THS are part of the Central Coast Athletic Association. The Bearcats will be competing in the CCAA Mountain League for all fall sports, according to Morales. The Eagles, according to Franklin, will participate in the CCAA Ocean League for Football, Cross Country and Women’s Tennis, whereas the Women’s Volleyball team will be competing in the Mountain League.
Are any of the teams defending championship titles from last year? Glad you asked! The PRHS Men’s Cross Country and Football teams won PAC-8 League titles last fall. Over at THS, the Women’s Volleyball team won the Los Padres League last fall. Over the next several months, it will become clear which teams will be in the running to earn titles this season.

Community Support for Student-Athletes

When asked what they’d like our readers to know about the student-athletes at their schools and why it’s important to lend support to the Bearcats and Eagles, Morales and Franklin were both quick to respond.
“We encourage our entire community to come out and support all athletic/co-curricular programs,” Morales said. “PRJUSD offers the BEST facilities for our community to enjoy while supporting our youth.  In addition, this is a great way for our community to get together, while observing PRJUSD’s finest from within our entire PRJUSD student body. [We have] a rich history and a strong track record of putting student excellence first. We believe that we are one team working towards the one dream of ensuring our students success. Without a doubt, [the Bearcats] always enjoy the moments when members of our community come out and support them.”

Franklin would like everyone to consider attending the Eagles’ games, support THS athletes and be part of the greater sense of the local community. “We call our territory ‘Eagle Country’ and our athletes and alumni are very proud of the traditions we uphold,” Franklin said. “Whether it’s football on Friday nights, or girls’ volleyball or tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays, our athletes are very appreciative of those who come out to support their sport. Once you come out for a few games, our athletes welcome you and make the extra effort to make sure you are a part of the tight group known as ‘Eagle Country’!”
Find the complete fall schedule for individual sports at MaxPreps.com or go to the Athletics Page at the high school’s website…and support your local student-athletes!

Bearcats Football

Paso Robles High School begins the season with a fresh look — staring down the Mountain League football opposition and into their new post season environment, the CIF Central Section.
After pulling out a 4-0 league mopping in 2017, the Bearcats have some swagger heading into the 2018 season. Talk has it, Arroyo Grande might have their number, but it will be decided on the field.
Head coach J.R. Reynolds has the team of nearly 100 players working through the heatwaves and getting ready for the first game of the season coming up in a couple weeks.
Reynolds has weathered some storms over the past couple years as the football program worked to put some distractions behind it. Putting pieces in place, he said he has not yet found his starting quarterback.
There are undoubtedly some other questions still to be answered but at least the schedule is out.
The Bearcats travel on Friday, Aug. 17 to Clovis to face Buchanan High School. The first home game is against Frontier on Friday, Aug. 24 at War Memorial High School. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to get some new crimson swag, break out the foam fingers, and head to the field for some good old fashioned sporting fun.
League begins on Friday, Sept. 28 with a road trip to Righetti High School in Santa Maria and then Paso hosts Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo. Finally, the game of the year up to that point will take place in Atascadero, where the Bearcats will be likely playing for a title, and possible defending an undefeated league record, against the Atascadero Greyhounds on Friday, Oct. 26.
If you are new to the area, and you haven’t been to a game at your local high school yet, make this the year. Join in the great community tradition and get yourself some Bearcats’ gear.

Voice of Paso

With Steve Martin’s launch of voiceofpaso.com, and the long history of live radio coverage given by Jim Wiemann and a variety of co-hosts, including his better half during football season, Bill Stansbury, the live on-air coverage of local high school sports continues to improve.
This year is no exception, as the crew heads into fall. With the change from CIF Southern Section, which has played host to the local high school postseason for many years, the crew takes on some wider scope of coverage, including a simulcast of the show with coverage on LiveStream and local KZOZ 93.3.
“It is not going to be ESPN right off the bat, but we will do a good job,” Wiemann said. “It’s local small town broadcasting, the way it should be.”
During football season, the VOP crew travels with the team.
“We do a traveling Locker Room in a local restaurant,” Wiemann said, “then we do the Facebook Live and then we will simulcast the game live on the radio and on livestream.com. That is game day on Fridays for us.”
But as much attention as football gets around here, it is not all football.
“We are doing all the other sports as well,” Wiemann said, “all the basketball, wrestling, and track and field.”
It isn’t even just sports that catches their attention and voice into the microphone.
“We did Templeton Fourth of July Parade and Paso Pops,” Wiemann said, “and we will do Colony Days parade and Pioneer Day parade.”
The crew keeps busy, and this year Wiemann and Stansbury open football season doing their 100th show, and it also marks Wiemann’s 1,000th play-by-play performance. He’s been working on it since high school as a Bearcat himself.
For more information, look the crew up at voiceofpaso.com, or the Voice of Paso Facebook page.