Colusa 21 – East Nicolaus 18
NICOLAUS, CA (MPG) – The reigning Northern Section CIF Division IV champion RedHawks held off a spirited challenge from the hometown Spartans to complete the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and win the Sacramento Valley League outright.
“We saw an East Nic team like we hadn’t seen on film,” said Colusa head coach Mikey Badaluco. “Their kids were getting after it, but our guys fought through adversity which makes it an even more incredible feeling to go undefeated in our league.”
Playing a big role in the RedHawks’ success last Friday was receiver Landon Humphrey, who made eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Adan Travis also had a big night, shouldering the load on the ground with 18 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns, then defensively intercepted a pass on the last play of the first half and forced a fumble.
Also, for the defense, Hayden Sines and Daniel Mata each made eight tackles, Will McCoy finished with six tackles and a forced fumble, while Aiden Selover picked off a pass for the second week in a row.
Unbeaten Colusa, the No. 1 seed in the Northern Section CIF Division IV playoffs earned a first-round bye and will return to action at home on Nov. 17, against the winner between No. 4 East Nicolaus and No. 5 Williams.
Pierce 32 – Winters 7
WINTERS, CA (MPG) – Over the past few seasons, some of the Bears’ best football has been played in November, and that proved to be the case last Friday night on the road as Pierce man-handled the Warriors from the first whistle to the final horn.
Coach Anthony Tapia reported that big hits from Alfonso Orozco and Gavin Guynn on the Bears first defensive series set the tone on a night that Pierce held Winters, a team that averaged over 400 yards of total offense per game to just 226.
Sophomore call-up Rodrigo Velazquez made a team-high seven tackles, while Jose Pinon had a total of four tackles for losses including two sacks.
Tapia also pointed to the play of Alex Orozco, whose two blocked punts and two passes were key plays in the game.
Erick Montanez got the Bears on the board first hauling in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Drew Burnum, which was followed by a 12-yard run to the end zone by Nathan Gomez, and a 31-yard strike from Burnum to David Aguirre with a minute to go in the first half.
Aguirre, who finished the night with 15 carries for 102 yards, added to the total in the second half, scoring from 25 yards out, while Gomez bulled his way in from three yards away.
With the win, Pierce (7-3), heads into the NSCIF Division III playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Lassen tonight at Gregg LeMaster Field, something that Tapia is looking forward to.
“We hope that the win over Winters gives us some much-needed momentum against a Lassen team that is on a hot streak,” said Tapia. “It should be a good one for our program to see how we match up with these D3 schools and we are very excited to host instead of travel.”
Williams 7 – Hamilton City 42
HAMILTON CITY, CA (MPG) – Williams had a hard time slowing down the Mid-Valley League’s most productive offense and, as a result, fell in the final game of the regular season.
Without leading rusher Alejandro Hernandez, who is out with an injury, Jose Martinez carried 29 times for 125 yards to lead the ‘Jacket offense.
Miguel Villanueva pitched in, catching three passes for 45 yards, while the Yellowjackets only points of the night came in the fourth quarter on a run by Kyden Bowen.
Williams (3-7), the third-place team in the MVL, returns to the NSCIF Division IV playoffs after a year’s absence as the No. 5 seed and travels to Trowbridge to take on No. 4 East Nicolaus tonight.