River Valley, Lindhurst improve to 2-0
Mcauliff lifts East Nic over Willows; Williams pulls away from Live Oak
Despite having four runs of more than 50 yards called back by penalties, River Valley High’s football team found a way to get it done on Friday night.
Evan Strickland rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Dawson Mcpeak, and Niko Tejada finished with 17 carries for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns of his own to lift the Falcons to a 21-7 victory over River City in West Sacramento.
The game was tied 7-7 at halftime before River Valley finally took control, overcoming several costly penalties that wiped out big plays, including a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Despite the miscues, River Valley still managed to rack up 290 yards on the ground. “We made some good second-half adjustments. Our defense played great and we were able to get two touchdowns in the second half,” said Falcons co-head coach Brennan Mcfadden. “We had more than 400 yards of offense, but only three touchdowns so there were a lot of flags.”
After opening the season with two games on the road, River Valley (2-0) will return home to host Franklin High of Elk Grove next Friday. The game will be played at Yuba City’s Honker Stadium with the Falcons’ home field getting its playing surface replaced.
Lindhurst 44, Highlands 14 In North Highlands – Anthony Bragg rushed for 175 yards on 14 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns, and the Blazers blew past the Scots for another big win for the program.
Lindhurst fell behind 14-0 in the second quarter before rattling off 44 unanswered points to turn the game into a blowout.
“The kids got down early but they stuck to the offensive and defensive game plans,” Blazers coach Hark Dulai said. River Valley
the Appeal-democrat Williams High’s Juan Zamudio, center, is congratulated by teammates after intercepting a pass during the Friday night’s game against Live Oak. The Yellowjackets scored three touchdowns just before the half to pull away for a 42-14 win over the Lions. Lindhurst
Devon Robinson had 18 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, Abraham Miranda tossed a TD pass to Brian Zorrilla, and Nathaniel Jurgenssen added a scoring run as well. Brian Zorrilla also returned an interception for a touchdown on first play of the
second half.
Lindhurst (2-0) travels to play Wheatland next week.
East Nicolaus 26, Willows 7 In Willows – Junior quarterback Gavin Mcauliff tossed three touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Spartans past the Honkers in their season opener.
Mcauliff’s scoring passes went to Cedro Martinez, Mitch Barker and Tyler Jensen, and he also scored on a 78-yard run.
The defense played their part as well. Dyllan Hyde had 13 tackles and a sack, Ian Novak made 10 tackles, Iwane Faupula recorded seven tackles and a sack, and Stinson made seven tackles as well.
“We played a good defensive game,” Spartans coach Travis Barker said.
East Nicolaus (1-0) travels to play Mesa Verde next week.
Williams 42, Live Oak 14 In Williams – The Lions frustrated the Yellowjackets for much of the first half, but with just over 2 minutes remaining before halftime, Williams’ defense turned the tide by creating three turnovers that led to 23 points and put the game out of reach.
Defensive end Juan Zamudio started East Nicolaus the rally with a fumble recovery in which he raced 22 yards into the end zone for a score which brought Williams within two points, 14-12.
Just 30 seconds later, Zamudio came up big again, intercepting a pass that set up a 27-yard scoring strike from Hunter Povlsen to Samuel Navarro to put the Yellowjackets their first lead of the game.
But Williams wasn’t done yet, as Navarro intercepted a Lions’ pass with just four seconds remaining in the half and returned it 30 yards for the Yellowjackets’ third score.
Povlsen finished 24 of 39 for 276 yards through the air and also ran for Williams’ first TD in the first quarter. Daniel Davalos caught seven passes for 103 yards.
Williams (1-0) travels to Durham and Live Oak (1-0) heads to University Prep next week.
Hamilton 28, Biggs 24 In Hamilton City – Tucker Bennett passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Wolverines in a season-opening loss to the Braves.
Bennett also ran for a fourth touchdown, while Nate Williams hauled in five passes for 145 yards and a score.
Biggs (0-1) will look to bounce back next week at Kelseyville.
JUNIOR VARSITY Sutter 41, Cardinal Newman 13 In Santa Rosa – Kyle Watson, Justin Matsui, Alec Bell and Landon Cooper each had touchdown runs to help lift the Huskies past the Cardinals in their opener.
Cooper also tossed a TD pass to James Tapia, and Daniel Cummings, Jon Bicknell and Nate Cummings each played well defensively, Sutter coach Moe Leblanc said.
FROSH FOOTBALL Yuba City 23, Pleasant Valley 22 In Chico – Joaquin Porcayo had two touchdown runs, and Michael Rojo returned a kickoff for a TD and punched in