Colusa 14 – Willows 12
On the road in Willows, the RedHawks staged a fourth quarter rally to edge a much-improved Honker squad and remain unbeaten in their first three games this season.
It was a slow start for Colusa, who saw Willows march down the field on their initial possession for the game’s first points, but Leo Bedolla blocked the ensuing extra point try, igniting the RedHawk defense, which held the Honkers in check until the final period.
Although Colusa struggled to get on track, the team stepped up early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Bo Coronado connected with receiver Isaiah Travis on a 52-yard scoring play, which was then followed by a Landon Humphrey extra point, making the score 7-6.
But the RedHawks weren’t done yet and added another touchdown with less than four minutes remaining in the game, when Coronado found Peyton Humphrey from 11 yards away.
After Landon Humphrey tacked on the extra point, the RedHawks had some breathing room, but they wouldn’t last long as the Honkers made things interesting by responding with a long touchdown pass to draw within a two point conversion of tying the game.
Yet, the RedHawk defense had other ideas, and stuffed the attempt to preserve the win.
Head coach Mikey Badaluco said the Honkers played an “extremely physical game,” but that his squad eventually “wore Willows down in the fourth quarter,” despite not having much success earlier.
Hayden McCarty was Colusa’s leading rusher, carrying 19 times for 70 yards, while Coronado completed 13 passes for 159 yards, with Travis on the receiving end of two of those throws accounting for 62 yards.
Defensively, McCarty made a team high 12 tackles from his linebacker spot, while Julian
Velasquez and Nicko Mata were right behind with 11 tackles apiece.
Velasquez recovered a fumble, with Bedolla blocking a punt in addition to knocking down the extra point attempt.
This week, the RedHawks host county rival Williams, a team that’s had some hard luck to begin the season and is still in search of their first win. ■
Maxwell 20 – Portola 53
Playing at home for the first time this season, things didn’t go the way the Panthers had hoped, as they fell to the visiting Tigers in their Cascade Valley League opener.
“They had a good game plan and were well-coached, but they didn’t do anything we didn’t see on film,” said head coach Lane Davis. “We couldn’t stop the run. They were just bigger, stronger, and faster.”
Maxwell put two scores on the board in the first half, when Dillon Dry rambled 30 yards for a first quarter touchdown, and Berto Lara punched it in from three yards out in the second period.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, however, the Tigers had struck for 34 points of their own, heading into the half.
Lara added Maxwell’s final points of the game in the fourth quarter with a six-yard run.
For the second week in a row, Davis singled out the play of Rudi Gonzalez, who not only was the team’s leading rusher with 89 yards on eight carries, but also played well in the secondary where he intercepted a pass.
The Panthers (1-2, 0-1) are back at it this Friday at home in a CVL match up against Los Molinos (1-1). ■
