Orland, Willows to bump heads
Chico, PV, Oroville on the road; Hamilton faces Biggs
Just four weeks into the high school football season, Willows will travel to Orland on Friday to face the Trojans in the Battle of the Axe — an annual non-league matchup between the two Glenn County Schools.
Kickoff starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday between the Honkers and Trojans.
For most teams playing Friday it will be the next-to-last nonleague matchup before league play begins Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.
Friday will be the first Battle of the Axe since Sept. 13, 2019 as the Honkers did not participate in the shortened 2020 season. Willows will look to take back the axe, having not won the matchup since the 2008 season. In 2016 Willows came within three points of winning, losing 24-21.
Orland went 1-2 in its threegame season in 2020. In 2019 Orland defeated Willows 40-0 led by 264 yards of rushing by the Trojan offense and a pair of touchdowns by former Trojans Gustavo Carrillo and Beni Martinez.
Both teams enter the game with young teams in 2020 with just eight seniors on the Honkers’ 28-man roster and nine on the Trojans’ 32-man roster.
So far in the 2021 season Orland has three rushers with 100 yards or more in three games played. Senior Brayden Schumann has 155 yards and five touchdowns,
junior Thomas Schermer has 140 yards and three touchdowns and senior Alex Rubio has 104 yards on the ground.
On defense, Orland’s secondary has been led by Michael Lister, who has recorded three of the team’s five interceptions. Greg Foster and Braden Ovitz have led the way in tackling for the Trojans.
Orland (2-1) enters Friday coming off a loss to Shasta in week three after winning its first two games
of its season against Pierce and Wheatland. Willows (0-2) has lost games to University Prep of Redding and Colusa, as its offense looks to get going after scoring just seven points in each of its first two games.
Other games
Both Chico High and Pleasant Valley will play on the road in week four of the season.
After dropping its first game of the season before defeating Las Plumas and Foothill, Chico will travel to Lassen on Friday to play the Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. in Palo Cedro.
Pleasant Valley is coming
off a short week after playing Saturday in the Honor Bowl, when its offense went scoreless in a loss to Menlo-Atherton. Pleasant Valley will play at River Valley at 7:15 p.m. as both teams look for their first wins of the season.
Oroville will also be seeking its first win when it travels to University Prep to play at 7 p.m., while cross-town rival Las Plumas will host West Valley at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Harrison Stadium. Next week Oroville and Las Plumas will meet in the annual Victory Bell game.
Also playing at home will be Paradise, which hosts Central Valley at 7:30 p.m. at Om Wraith Field. After back-to-back matchups which were cancelled due to COVID-19 exposure, the Bobcats played their first game last week in a loss to Enterprise.
Biggs and Hamilton will face off in Biggs at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Biggs offense scored 53 points Saturday in a matchup against Coral Academy of Science in Reno, while Hamilton has begun its season with wins over Maxwell and Portolla.
Corning will play at Gridley at 7:30 p.m. with both teams looking for win No. 1 on the year.