Football: Atascadero can earn some respect vs. St. Bonny

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Atascadero is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Northern Division. Despite winning the last two Pac-7 League championships, the Greyhounds get no respect from anyone other than their San Luis Obispo County brethren (OK, maybe a few Kern County teams like Wasco fear them too).

Of course, that could all change Friday when Atascadero plays host to defending Division III state bowl champion St. Bonaventure, ranked No. 9 by The Times. The Greyhounds are big underdogs in this one, and losing RB-LB Trevor Holloway to a knee injury is going to complicate things even more.

But this could be Atascadero’s big chance to bite the big dog on the butt. If the defense can manage to slow down the Seraphs’ eight-legged running game, and RB Nick Tenhaeff can show off some of the talent that has landed him a scholarship to San Diego State, anything is possible. Plus, the Greyhounds’ 40-21 road victory over Clovis last week proved they’re ready for a bigger challenge.

I know it’s a stretch, but a victory over St. Bonny would finally prove to everyone that this batch of kids north of the 35-degree parallel is more than just a one-and-out team come playoff time.

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image from Paul Morse/L.A. Times