Williams 12 – Live Oak 7
It was another hard-fought win for the Yellowjackets who were able to hold off the Lions on the road at Live Oak’s Arostegui Stadium.
For the second week in a row the defense stood tall, led by middle linebacker Javier Saavedra who made 15 total tackles and according to Coach Forrest Bateman “controlled the game” on the that side of the ball.
Also turning in strong performances defensively was Azael Velazquez with 10 tackles in addition to Varion Gonzalez, who made nine total tackles including four for losses and then for good measure blocked a punt.
Velazquez was a force on offense as well rushing 23 times for 134 yards and scoring the ‘Jackets’ two touchdowns.
Overall, Bateman was pleased with his squad’s effort saying, “I’m very proud of the team’s performance. We took a good step forward as we were able to dictate the game physically on both sides of the ball. The defense played well again, while the offense, despite some snap issues that kept us from scoring more, started to really click in the second half.”
Williams (2-0) makes its way to Colusa on Sept. 11 in what should be another physical matchup.
Maxwell 42 – Weed 12
An emphasis on the ground game worked as planned for the Panthers who ran all over the visiting Cougars accruing 328 yards on the ground.
Lucas Bowen carried 14 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns, Louis Minuti had seven totes for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Vincent Orozco scored twice and rushed nine times for 86 yards.
Coach Zach Urrutia, now 2-0 in his first season at the helm, liked the progress he is seeing in his offense’s production commenting that, “We focused on the running game this week so the offensive line worked hard and is getting better as a unit. We always preach to the wide receivers about being great without the ball and Colton Jones was a textbook example of that with his downfield blocking.”
Defensively, Bowen made a team-high seven tackles, Orozco tallied five then additionally picked off a pair of passes, while Jones and Victor Martinez also recorded five tackles apiece.
This week presents a greater challenge for Maxwell (2-0), as it travels to Palo Cedro to play defending CIF Division 7-AA State Champion Redding Christian, a team that has been the Panthers’ nemesis of late.
Colusa 49 – Mt. Shasta 0
After a late schedule change kept them off the field in Week 1, the RedHawks came out with a vengeance against visiting Mt. Shasta.
Second-year head coach Mason Niccum reported that his team was very excited to take the field and was happy with the way they played.
In particular, Niccum highlighted the effort of his offensive linemen including Dane Codorniz, Charlie Faris, Michael Johnson, Aiden Vega, Landen Miller and Isaac Hernandez commenting that, “Those six battled and played well all night.”
Finding little resistance from the Bears, Nick Alvarez led the ground attack with eight carries for 95 yards and two scores, Gio Velasquez also found the end zone twice, while Ayden Rico, Julian Aranada and Ben Baker had a touchdown apiece.
Alvarez also spearheaded the defense making 11 tackles, with Kayden Burtleson accounting for eight.
Emi Guzman and Kaeden Stallcop each had an interception.
Colusa (1-0) will next welcome county rival Williams to Larry Yegohian Field on Sept. 11.
Pierce 6 – Gridley 34
Down just one score heading into the fourth quarter, the Bears saw the visiting Bulldogs put together a long drive then recover an onside kick to turn the momentum and pull away.
According to Coach Anthony Tapia, the final score didn’t exactly reflect the overall tone of the matchup even though Pierce made its share of mistakes.
“It was a fun game and it did what we wanted, which is exposing some of our weaknesses. I thought we played them tough, but it fell apart for us in the fourth. They got us in the trenches and we hurt ourselves with five turnovers,” said the head coach now in the tenth year of his tenure.
One particular bright spot for Pierce was the play of Alfredo Huerta, who before exiting the game due to injury drew praise from Tapia who said, “He was in charge of stopping the dive in their veer and played amazing.”
Tapia also commended Austin Jorge and Colin Dye for their efforts in the contest, although statistics were not available.
Friday night will be another test for the Bears (1-1) as they host Orland at Gregg LeMaster Field.