Football preview for Chico, PV, Las Plumas
Las Plumas hosts Anderson in Thursday night opener
OROVILLE >> When the Las Plumas High football team takes the field against Anderson on Thursday night at Harrison Stadium, it will be led by first-year quarterback and second-year captain Jacob Straud and second-year defensive captain Charles Gegg.
Las Plumas will host Anderson on Thursday in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday, however, Anderson was unable to secure transportation on Friday. Both teams agreed to a season opener Thursday at Harrison Stadium. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Head coach Tim Harles said this year’s team centers around its
offensive line. Straud will stand behind an offensive line that consists of five returning seniors and is led by all-league center Maddox Hothan and new line coach Sam Burnette. Hothan joins Straud and Gegg as the three captains on this year’s team.
Straud, a converted wide receiver, said the transition to quarterback has given him a different perspective where he now sees the movement of the line and his receivers differently and is able to better understand the offense. He said he also likes the additional responsibility of being able to hold his teammates accountable.
Despite Harles insisting the team is looking at the schedule on a game-to-game basis, he said that many players on both the Las Plumas and Oroville High football teams often look forward to the Victory Bell matchup each year.
The Victory Bell between the two rivals will be held Sept. 24. However, for the Thunderbirds, a rematch against Sutter on Oct. 22 is on the forefront of the captains’ and coaches’ minds.
Sutter will be in its final season in the Butte View League and in the Northern Section.
Sutter will be moving to the Sac Joaquin Section next year. In the shortened spring season, LP led Sutter 14-0 at halftime, however, six fumbles by the Thunderbirds resulted in a 35-14 comeback victory at home for the Huskies.
Gegg said he wants the most competition and Sutter is a championship football team.
“Sutter’s always the team you want to beat,” Gegg said. “They’re the champions every year and we had them 14-0 at halftime last year but we choked. I think we have a shot this year.”
Both Gegg and Straud stated after going 0-10 in 2019 and 2-3 in 2020, the team is excited to once again be on the field for a 10-game season.
“First you have another five teams you can compete against and that’s what we look for here is competition because iron sharpens iron,” Straud said. “It just feels good having 10 because it feels normal again. We’re getting back to normal and we’re going to play our hearts out every game.”
Harles said Straud brings attention to detail, mobility, command and intangibles to the offense. For Gegg, Harles said he is a hard worker who controls the emotions of himself and others on the field and is one his peers respect and listen to.
At the team’s practice on Wednesday, players worked on changing tempos, execution of outside running discipline with fakes and preventing penalties. Straud said the team’s discipline on offense was iffy at the start of practice but should be resolved ahead of Thursday’s matchup.
Gegg, who sat out practice Wednesday to rest, said the defense is working on changing up past coverages and stopping the run ahead of a passheavy Anderson team, which he noted has a strong quarterback.
The team will feature nearly 43 players on its roster, the most Harles can remember as he enters his fifth year as head coach of the Thunderbirds. Harles said there is still an open competition at the fullback, halfback and tight end positions and multiple players will see playing time at the positions Thursday.
Harles said he is preparing backups at nearly every position as the team enters a 10 game season after playing just five games in 2020 due to COVID-19 and possible quarantines.
“They don’t know whether they’re going to get a full season or if they’re going to have to take a couple weeks off and quarantine,” Harles said. “It’s so unpredictable that they take every single day for what it is. They don’t look past it because they know that it can be taken away in a heartbeat.”