NORTHERN SECTION MEDIA POLL Little change at the top of rankings

Sutter, East Nic voted unanimous No. 1s again

Another week of prep football came and went, and there was little movement in the Northern Section Media Poll when it was released late Tuesday night.

Sutter High maintained the top spot in Division III and received all nine first-place votes for the second straight week following an easy 49-14 victory over Benicia last Friday. The Huskies (2-1) will have a battle on their hands this Friday night when they travel to play Chico, which is the top-ranked team in Division II in this week’s poll.

West Valley (2-1) remained at No. 2 in the Division III rankings with a 41-0 win over Red Bluff and Lassen (2-1) stayed at No. 3 after a 54-20 victory over Enterprise. Gridley (1-1) stood pat at No. 4 courtesy of a 50-0 blowout of Central Valley, and Oroville (2-0) broke into the poll for the first time this year at No. 5 following a 46-37 win over Corning.

Wheatland and Orland, which were tied for the No. 5 spot last week, both fell out of the rankings. The Pirates (2-1) suffered their first defeat of the season with a 34-12 loss to Highlands, while the Trojans (2-1) were voted out of the top five despite their 34-7 win over Willows.

In Division IV, East Nicolaus maintained its stranglehold as the unanimous No. 1 following an impressive 45-22 victory over Bradshaw Christian in Sacramento. The Spartans (3-0) have been the top-ranked team each week for the last three seasons and will take on No. 3 Pierce in their home opener on Friday night in Trowbridge.

Pierce (3-0) remained at No. 3 after its 3521 win over county rival Williams in the 88th edition of the Rice Bowl last week.

Moving from a tie for No. 3 up to the No. 2 spot behind East Nicolaus was Winters (3-0), which is also unbeaten after posting a 22-14 win over Rio Vista last Friday.