PREP ROUNDUP Colusa volleyball improves to 2-0
With reigning A-D Coach of the Year Tina Lyons away tending to an ill family member, junior varsity coach Kim Roper stepped in and guided Colusa High’s volleyball team to its second straight sweep of a team from Lake County on Thursday night.
Newcomer Hannah Taylor made her presence known again by recording a team-high 10 kills and Gillian Ayala put away nine kills of her own to lead the Redhawks to a 25-21, 25-19, 25-13 victory over visiting Middletown.
Setter Annie Lay operated the Redhawk offense effectively handing out 29 assists and Abby Huskey recorded 18 serving points in the win.
Ready or not, the 2018 prep football season is here.
Tonight, Yuba-sutter’s four Sac-joaquin Section schools – Yuba City, River Valley, Marysville and Lindhurst – will kick things off a little earlier than usual after the section bumped up the start of the season by a week.
The section opted to move the opening week to line up with the California Interscholastic Federation’s dates for regional and state championship games, which have finished around Christmas in recent years.
Nine of the area’s 10 Northern Section teams will start their seasons next Friday, with Gridley opening the year with a bye. The Sac-joaquin Section will begin its playoff during the final week of the regular season in the Northern Section, with the championship games for both sections being played Thanksgiving weekend.
Here’s a breakdown of tonight’s games for Week Zero:
Nevada Union at Yuba City In Yuba City – The Honkers and Miners will rekindle a rivalry that dates back decades when they kick things off at a freshly painted Honker Stadium.
The two schools were longtime rivals as part of the Sierra Foothill League up until 1970, and continued that rivalry in the Capital Athletic League and Metro Conference before Yuba City joined the Tri-county Conference in 2006 with the opening of crosstown rival River Valley. This will be their first meeting since 2005.
The Honkers return much of the firepower from a team that finished 6-5 last last season while reaching the Division III playoffs. Leading the way entering 2018 for Yuba City are third-year starter Bryce Rogers at quarterback, running backs Major Niccum and Erik Palmquist, and defensive standout Logan Arnold, the A-D’S River Valley High quarterback Dawson Mcpeak races in for a touchdown during a game last year against Inderkum. The Falcons travel to play Woodland in tonight’s season opener at Pioneer High.
reigning defensive Player of the Year who has verbally committed to the University of Nevada.
Once a perennial power, the Miners make the trip from Grass Valley on the heals of a 2-8 campaign in 2017 and haven’t posted a winning season since 2011. They will be led by first-year coach Brad Sparks, a Marysville High alumnus who coached the Indians from 2003-2006.
“We have a lot of experience with many of the seniors coming back, but we are pretty young defensive side. We’re really young, but I think our defense will be pretty good. We’re really aggressive and we have a lot of strong kids,” Arnold said. “We’re definitely want to go deep this year. It’s playoff or bust for us right now and I’m excited. It’s been too long since I’ve been on a football field on a Friday night.”
River Valley at Woodland In Woodland – The Falcons will be out for revenge when they take on the Wolves at Pioneer High for their opener.
The two teams locked horns for the past 12 years as part of the TCC, with Woodland holding a 7-5 edge all-time in the series.
Last year, River Valley entered the matchup with a 5-0 record only to see Woodland come into Falcon Stadium and leave town with a commanding 42-27 victory. The loss is still fresh on many of the Falcons’ minds.
“Whenever you lose to a team, you can’t wait to play them again. We get to play them at their spot, so there’s always that motivational factor knowing you get to play a team that whooped up on you the previous year,” River Valley co-head coach Brennan Mcfadden said. “That motivation alone got us to be very successful in practice this week and we’ll go out there on Friday night to be successful as well.”
The Falcons return their entire backfield from last year’s team that finished 7-4 and qualified for the Division III playoffs. Third-year quarterback Dawson Mcpeak is back for his senior season, and will be joined in the backfield by seniors Rex Baker, Evan Strickland and Niko Tejada. River Valley also has a force in Division-i recruit Dean Rice, a standout at both tight end and on the defensive line.
The Wolves finished 7-5 last year and won a game in the Division IV playoffs before losing to eventual section and Northern California champion Placer in the semifinals.
Mesa Verde at Lindhurst In Olivehurst – The Blazers will begin a new era when they welcome the Mavericks into Dean Miller Stadium for their season opener.
The game will be the first for new head coach Hark Dulai, who takes over for Sean Schneider at the helm of the program. Lindhurst finished last season 1-9 and is looking to get things going in the right direction in hopes for its first winning season since 2008.
Many of the faces will be new for the Blazers, with senior Abraham Miranda taking over at quarterback. Joining him in the backfield will be senior wingbacks Anthony Bragg and Nathaniel Jurgenson, while senior Devon Robinson returns to the fold at fullback.
“I think our scrimmage last week showed the kids that what we are doing is working,” Dulai said. “It’s always hard to prepare for the first opponent of the season, but I expect us to play disciplined and put forth our best effort to give us a chance to win.”
The two teams played each other each season since 2010 when they both were a part of the Golden Empire League. Mesa Verde won three of the eight meetings, but Lindhurst earned a 25-8 victory last year for their only win of the season.
The Mavericks are coming off a 2-7 campaign in 2017.