Ashkan Allen scored on a two-point conversion to give San Marcos the lead with 3:48 left in the game, but Morro Bay responded with a long touchdown run by Brandon McGinley and beat the Royals, 34-29, in a back-and-forth football game Friday night in Morro Bay.
Allen had a two touchdown runs and Mason Zimmerman caught a pair of scoring passes for the Royals, who came from behind three times in the game.
McGinley rushed for 195 yards to lead the Pirates, who are 2-0 after going 0-10 last season.
San Marcos (0-2) returns home next Friday to face Lompoc.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.