WEEK THREE PREVIEW: Rivalries highlight Mid-Valley schedule

Source: Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.self storageSept. 20--It's rivalry week in the Mid-Valley football scene, with several longtime foes playing for bragging rights tonight in Week Three action.Since its inception in 2008, the annual Harvest Bowl game between Highway 99 rivals Live Oak and Gridley has been all Lions.Live Oak has won all five of the Harvest Bowl contests, earning the honor of hoisting both the perpetual trophy and Golden Reaper following each contest.The closest matchup between the two teams came in 2010 when Live Oak edged Gridley 10-7. Live Oak led 6-0 at halftime of last year's contest before erupting for a 26-0 win.Gridley is not only looking to snap its losing streak to the Lions, but a 13-game overall losing streak, which includes last week's forfeit to Monterey. The Bulldogs' home field, the Bone Yard, was still undergoing renovations, resulting in that forfeit.Everything will be ready for tonight's game, which matches up players who, in some cases, have played alongside each other since youth football.This border battle usually means stands will be packed to the brim and, no matter what the teams' records are, the intensity will be there.Live Oak (2-1) came away with a 31-20 victory over Lindhurst last week, though was clinging to a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter before pulling away.Lions running back Matt Evans scored three touchdowns in that victory over the Blazers.Live Oak defeated East Nicolaus in a close Week Zero contest and lost to Marysville in Week One.Gridley dropped its opener on Sept. 6 at Willows, 28-6. The Bulldogs are led by senior quarterback Emery Haddy, who attempted to play through last year's Harvest Bowl with a broken foot.Williams at PierceIn Arbuckle -- The 86th annual installment of this rivalry between these Colusa County programs will serve as a measuring stick for both programs.Both Pierce and Williams sit at 2-1. Williams will try to recover from a 36-6 loss to Biggs, while Pierce put up a 32-6 win over East Nicolaus.The Bears have won the last two Rice Bowls by a combined score of 81-6 with Williams last earning a Rice Bowl win in 2010, a 26-21 victory.Adolfo Ramirez and Saul Mendez have each scored four touchdowns for Pierce this season.Fabian Ruvalcaba leads the Yellowjackets with 335 yards rushing and three touchdowns.Biggs at East NicolausIn Trowbridge -- These bitter rivals will square off at Wahl Field tonight in what used to be a matchup that would determine the league champion.These programs come in to tonight's matchup on opposite ends of the spectrum.Biggs is 2-0 and looking for its first win over East Nicolaus since 2004, while East Nic enters the game 0-3, including back-to-back blowout losses to Rio Vista and Pierce.Nathan Callaway has led a potent ground attack for the Wolverines, while the Spartans have relied on the arm of quarterback Zach Schuler.While this rivalry may not be as heated as the days of Geoff Wahl and Del Kalbach, East Nic coach John Dolenga and Biggs head man Ron Carr are both alumni of their respective schools and understand what the game means to both communities.Lincoln at WheatlandIn Wheatland -- The Pirates and Fighting Zebras have been playing each other for more than 50 years, and were big rivals when both schools were members of the Pioneer (now Pioneer Valley) League.While Lincoln still plays in the PVL, Wheatland has moved to the Northern Section's Butte View League, but that doesn't mean this still isn't a heated rivalry on Highway 65.There were acts of vandalism as recently as 2010, yet the last two years bet迷你倉een the schools has been somewhat civil. On the field, last year was a battle.Quarterback Jackson Hopking found Jordan Samson for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 remaining in last year's game to lift the Pirates to a 32-27 win.This year's contest between these 2-0 teams will be featured on KCRA 3 as the Game of the Week.Austin Cooper already has 251 yards rushing in just two games for the Pirates, while Khalil Collier has 186 yards on the ground and four scores.Hopking has passed for 265 yards and four touchdowns.Lincoln is led by quarterback Josh Pisik, who has thrown for 394 yards and five touchdowns in two games. Dane Stimbert has 268 yards rushing and two scores.Yuba City at Bella VistaIn Fair Oaks -- While this matchup isn't considered a rivalry, these two schools have been playing each other each year since 2006 with the Broncos leading the series 3-4.Of course, Yuba City and Bella Vista's football teams have been locking horns well before then.The Honkers and Broncos played two seasons with each other in the Capital Athletic League in 1998 and 1999. In the 1970s, the Honkers were knocked out of the playoffs by Bella Vista twice.In its first three games this season, Yuba City has outscored its opponents 116-14 as the starting defensive unit has yet to allow a score.Ranked No. 20 in the latest Sacramento Bee rankings, Yuba City (3-0) is led offensively by Omar Herrera, who has 322 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.Fullbacks Austin Van Poole and Taylor Wullschleger have provided a nice complement to Herrera in the Honker backfield.Junior quarterback Isaac Lessard has thrown for 482 yards and four touchdowns this season with Austin Thompson and Devin Pettengill combining for 386 yards receiving and those four scores.Bella Vista (2-1) is led by senior quarterback Austin Harmer, who leads the team in both passing and rushing. The Honkers won last year's game 38-21 at Honker Stadium, though all of Bella Vista's points came in the fourth quarter against reserves.Mira Loma at LindhurstIn Olivehurst -- The Blazers (0-2) showed some fight in last weeks' 31-20 loss to Live Oak, cutting a 24-0 deficit to 24-20 in the second half.Lindhurst will look to earn its first win of 2013 as the Matadors come into Dean Miller Stadium.Tim Endicott completed 22 passes last week against Live Oak for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Zach Kitchen caught six of those balls for 103 yards and tight end James Duelfer had two touchdown catches.Mira Loma (0-2) will also seek its first win of the season tonight after a 49-6 loss to Florin in Week Zero and a 28-22 loss to Mesa Verde on Sept. 6. The Matadors had a bye last week.Colusa at University PrepIn Redding -- After opening their season with a big win over Durham, the RedHawks (1-1) were brought down to earth with a 34-6 loss to Maxwell last week.Now, Colusa looks to regroup against at U-Prep squad which is 1-2 this season and coming off a 56-36 win over Burney. The Panthers have shown the ability to put up points this season, averaging 32 points per contest through three games.Colusa is usually explosive on offense as well, but couldn't get anything going against Maxwell's defense last week.The RedHawks trailed just 7-6 at halftime, but faltered in the final 24 minutes with a couple of special teams hiccups as Maxwell went on to prevail in a rout.CONTACT Sports Editor Jimmy Graben at 749-4791Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) Visit the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) at .appeal-democrat.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉