Local Football – 9/25

Here are the results from how the teams in our region fared last week, and a peek at what is coming up for them next week:

Bear River Bruins: Last Friday night, facing a stingy defense and an effective offense, the Bruins lost to the Wheatland Pirates, 7-28. This week, on 9/26, the Bruins will travel a couple of hours west to face another formidable opponent, the Oakmont Vikings (Santa Rosa). While the Bruins are carrying a slightly better MaxPrep.com ranking than Oakmont (601 versus 619), I wonder if they take into account the impact of playing a long way from home.

Chester Volcanos: On the road last Friday evening, the Volcanos traveled to play the Burney Raiders and lost 8-18 in a game dominated by the defenses. Tomorrow afternoon, the Volcanos will also be making a long (3-hour) trip for what promises to be a difficult contest with the unbeaten (4-0) Hayfork Lumberjacks.

Colfax Falcons: For the third consecutive week, the Falcons disappointed their hometown crowd by losing, this time to the Oakmont Vikings by the score of 21-34. Unfortunately, while the Falcons showed a good offense by posting 70 points over the course of the three losses, their defense has allowed 120 points. Will a change in scenery tomorrow, a road trip to play the Marysville Indians, help to right the ship? Not very likely, Marysville is coming off a 20-7 victory last week, has won three out of their previous four games, and Maxpreps.com outranks the Indians over the Falcons (615 versus 648).

Herlong Vikings: Neither the visiting Herlong Vikings nor the host Happy Camp Indians reported any statistics to MaxPreps.com after they competed last Saturday afternoon. However, with the final score being Happy Camp 74, Herlong 66, the competition must have resembled a track meet more than a football game. Whatever the case, this Saturday, 9/27, Herlong’s Viking (winless after four games this season) will be at home to compete against the Butte Valley Bulldogs of Dorris, CA (another team with a 0-4 won-loss record). Although the Bulldogs’ roster outnumbers the Vikings’ roster by 25-17, home-field advantage could help bring Herlong its first victory of the season.

Lassen Grizzlies: Tomorrow, after a bye week, Susanville’s Grizzlies will travel for a couple of hours for a contest against the Foothill Cougars of Palo Cedro (a short distance east of Redding). While winless this season, the Cougars have played some tough opponents. Thus, we can expect the Grizzlies to be challenged by a team ranked higher by MaxPreps.com.

Loyalton Grizzlies: Despite a sterling performance by junior Blaine Morgan (he gained 116 yards out of Loyalton’s total 217 yards of offense), Loyalton’s trip last week to Carson City, NV, for a game against the unbeaten Sierra Lutheran Falcons ended in a 12-42 loss for the Grizzlies. After a bye week, on 10/4, Loyalton will host another strong team, the Chester Volcanos.

Modoc Braves: In their final non-conference game of the season, last Friday, the Braves traveled to Portola and suffered a tough 25-27 loss. Tomorrow, the Braves will host the Fall River Bulldogs, a team that barely beat Portola, 24-21, early this month. Will home team advantage give the Braves the edge they need to win?

Nevada Union Miners: After a week off from competition, the Miners are traveling tomorrow to play the Antioch Panthers, a team without a loss at home this season. Given the Panthers’ record, unfortunately, the odds of the Miners returning home with a victory are not good.

Placer Hillmen: Last Friday, with a balanced offense (146 yards gained via the air and 122 gained on the ground) plus an excellent defense (3 interceptions), the Hillmen trounced the Burbank Titans of Sacramento, 42-6. This week, Placer is awaiting its next game, a week from tomorrow against another weak team, the Del Campo Cougars.

Plumas Charter Warriors: The Warriors are on a hot streak; last week, they posted their third consecutive win by overcoming the Butte Valley Bulldogs, 32-20. Next, tomorrow night, they host the Burney Raiders, a squad that trounced the Butte Valley Bulldogs, 44-0, earlier this month. So, should the Warriors win, it will be an upset.

Portola Tigers: Following a hard-fought, 27-25. victory at home against the Modoc Braves last Friday, tomorrow the Tigers face a three-hour trip before taking on the Los Molinos Bulldogs, a team with a potent offense and little defense.

Quincy Trojans: Having had two weeks to recover from a 0-50 drubbing by the Pershing County Mustangs, tomorrow at 7:30 pm, the Trojans will host the Hamilton Braves. Since Hamilton beat Pershing County 33-0 last week, again, it appears a victory for the home team will be an upset.

Truckee Wolverines: Last week, the Wolverines scalded the Dayton (NV) Dust Devils, 42-6. Tomorrow night, the team hosts the Fernley Vaqueros, a strong opponent who outscored the Spring Creek Spartans last week, 38-14, the same team the Wolverines beat 22-15 two weeks ago.

Westwood Lumberjacks: As we expected, the Lumberjacks posted their first victory of the year when they overcame the winless Big Valley Cardinals, 30-22, last Friday. This week, the Lumberjacks travel to Dorris, CA, to play the Butte Valley Bulldogs, another winless team.