Time to get serious for league
League play opens for teams across Northern Section
After five weeks of preseason non-league games, teams across the Northern Section begin league play, Friday. Teams have used non-league play to fine-tune their play calling and figure out any remaining position battles, but now teams have five games to decide their playoff possibilities.
Pleasant Valley opened its season with three straight wins against Corning, Yuba City and Las Plumas, but the Vikings have lost their last two games (Oak Ridge, Rancho Cotate). The Vikings, the No. 2 team in the Northern Section according to MaxPreps, open Eastern Athletic League play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Enterprise, which is 5-0 and currently ranked No. 4.
Despite coming off two straight losses, Vikings’ head coach Mark Cooley remains optimistic.
“Going into it you hope to win every single game, but you know there’s going to be some games that are going to be really tough and if you pull through with wins that’s great,” Cooley said. “The goal always in preseason is to come out 3-2. Some years we’ve done that like this year, some years we haven’t done that and been 1-4, but still, it’s preseason. You’ve got all of your goals still in front of you and that’s where we are. All the goals and aspirations we have are still there in front of us waiting for us to go take them.”
PV will be without its starting quarterback Hayden Rick, who Cooley said is out for 1-2 weeks nursing an ankle injury he sustained Sept. 9 against Las Plumas. Rick tried to play through the injury against Rancho Cotate last week, but Cooley and his staff have decided to rest Rick until he is fully healthy. This could include missing next week’s Almond Bowl 51 against Chico High, but Cooley said Thursday he was not sure about the Oct. 14 game.
The Vikings have called up JV
quarterback Joseph Garcia, a sophomore who has led his team to a 5-0 start and outscored its opponents 165-50.
PV’s defense will look to find a way to stop Enterprise’s QB-RB duo of sophomore QB JJ Johnson (43-of-75 passing, 756 yards, 15 TDs, 19 carries 230 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Davion Welch (38 carries, 393 yards, 4 TDs).
Cooley said during the non-league schedule the thing he’s been most impressed with in this year’s team is its chemistry and camaraderie, and how fast both formed. He said everyone works together, no one panics and everyone does their job.
“It’s good to see,” Cooley said.
Chico High (1-4) is battling an abundance of injuries itself, but as the Panthers begin EAL play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Red Bluff at Panther Stadium in Chico they will be getting back a player many have been waiting to return to the gridiron for nearly a year.
Running back Dion Coleman injured his knee on Oct. 15, 2021, against Foothill, after tying the Northern Section record for most rushing touchdowns in a game with eight a week prior against Yuba City.
Coleman has been practicing in full pads for two weeks, and Panthers’ head coach Jason Alvistur said Coleman will be very limited in his first game back Friday. Alvistur said he hoped for Coleman to be back in full strength by the start of league play, but the RB is slightly behind. Alvistur and his coaching staff are working Coleman back slowly so he is healthy and can remain healthy.
“Just a few carries to knock the dust off,” Alvistur said.
Alvistur said he is weekto-week and could not give any answer on Coleman’s status for next week’s Almond Bowl between Chico and Pleasant Valley. Alvistur added that offensive lineman Travis Dobson is out for the season, offensive lineman Giovanni Phanor is questionable for the game and RB Dylan O’Hair is out while recovering from a broken collar bone.
With Coleman’s return looming, Alvistur said running back Jaden Neugebaur, who saw the opening snap at quarterback last week before being replaced by starter Azari Cruz, has entered a QB battle with Cruz. Alvistur said the team is trying to figure out what will work best and there is a strong possibility both QBs will see time throughout the rest of the season.
Other games
Orland (5-0) begins Northern Athletic League play against Oroville (05) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Oroville, as the Trojans look to continue their hot start to the season. Orland head coach Nick Velazquez said he expects to have an abundance of players see opportunities this week as the Tigers look for their first win of the season.
Paradise (1-4) and Las Plumas (1-4) begin Butte View League play at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Paradise, as both teams look to turn their seasons around. The Bobcats have lost four straight after opening their season with a win against Williams, and the Thunderbirds look for a win after two straight losses following a week three win against Central Valley.
Two Glenn County schools in Hamilton (41) and Willows (2-3) face off to open Mid-Valley League play at 7 p.m. Friday in Willows. Hamilton is led by junior QB Diego Sanchez, the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts punter Rigo Sanchez, who has completed 69-of102 passes for 1,318 yards and 20 TDs.
Corning (1-4) and Gridley (2-3) open BVL play at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Corning. Both teams are coming off two straight losses.
Durham (4-1) gets a second straight tough test as it opens Sacramento Valley League play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at East Nicolaus (4-1), and Biggs (2-3) opens MVL play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Trinity (32) in Weaverville.