By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
This is the week of the big game in the Northern Section, and we're not talking about the Paradise-Foothill matchup.
The Wheatland Pirates meet the Sutter Huskies in a game that will determine the Butte View League championship and will likely decide the top seed for the Division 2 playoffs. The game will also probably be a preview of the Division 2 championships, considering the way both teams have been playing of late.
The Pirates have won four straight after losing their opener to Oroville by one point. Wheatland picked up an impressive win over Willows last week, beating the 3-1 Honkers by a 41-0 count. Running back Andrew McCleary is closing in on 1,000 yards for the second year in a row. He has 837 yards on the season on 99 carries with nine touchdowns to lead all BVL rushers. McCleary is also closing in on 4,000 career yards, making him one of the few running backs in section history to ever approach that mark.
The Huskies are led by Mitch Sanders, who has gained 444 yards in five games. Rowdy Robinson, John Garcia and Jake Orlando have all run for over 220 yards with Orlando scoring six touchdowns and Garcia scoring five. However the Pirates also have other runners besides McCleary. Malcolm Webb has run for 433 yards on the season and Michael Canalin has gained 218.
The passing game could be the difference. Garcia has thrown for 454 yards and four touchdowns this year while Wheatland's TJ Helton has only thrown for 130 yards.
The game could actually have an effect on the Northern California Bowl Rankings as calculated by CalPreps, which provides the state, section and national rankings for MaxPreps.com. The Huskies are currently third in the NorCal Division 3 rankings behind Cardinal Newman and Central Catholic. Meanwhile Wheatland is eighth.
Of course the Paradise-Foothill matchup will also be one of the big games of the week, although, perhaps, not as big as it would have been if the Bobcats had not lost to the Pleasant Valley Vikings two weeks ago.
The Bobcats have escaped with a pair of close wins this year, defeating Lassen 39-33 and Oroville 14-6. Foothill has not had a close game so far, winning all of their games by at least a touchdown while averaging 33 points a game.
The Cougars have a balanced rushing attack with Kyle Johnston (381 yards), Buzz Ward (343) and Cole Johnston (336) all running for over 330 yards this year. Cole Johnston has also thrown for 270 yards with brother Kyle catching 10 of those passes for 116 yards.
Meanwhile Jon Hays leads the Paradise offense, rushing for 285 yards and seven touchdowns and throwing for 427 yards and four more scores.
The Maxwell Panthers have cruised along with a 5-0 record this year and appear on their way toward a second straight Northern Section Division 5 championship.
However the Fall River Bulldogs are proving to be a worthy candidate to knock off the Panthers after winning four games by impressive margins to start the season. Fall River dropped Hayfork 38-13, Portola 42-18, Quincy 50-8 and Burney 42-0 to stand at 4-0 on the season.
The 1-2 rushing attack of Nick Lakey and Garrett Barnett lead the way for the Bulldogs. Lakey is one of the leading scorers in the section with 12 touchdowns while Barnett is close behind with 9 touchdowns and 14 conversion points. Lakey has run for 736 yards on the season, averaging 13 yards per carry, while Barnett has run for 651 yards and averages 10 yards an attempt. The Bulldogs have two big tests to end the season, playing Modoc and Etna on the road.
Moving from wide receiver to running back has paid dividends for both the Esparto Spartans and senior Suavae Cook. One of the top athletes in the Northern Section, he also excels on the basketball court and the baseball diamond, Cook is touching the ball more in the Spartan offense this year and the result is a 4-2 record for Esparto.
Last year, Cook touched the ball only a couple of times from his wide receiver spot. When he did touch it, he usually made things happen, but he didn't touch it enough for the Spartans, who missed the postseason last year.
This season, the Spartans are one of the favorites to win Division 4 this year. The Spartans were Division 3 last year, but a drop in enrollment put Esparto back into Division 4 where it will compete with East Nicolaus and Etna for the title. The Spartans lost a close one to East Nicolaus the first week of the season, showing that the title could be up for grabs.
Cook has been spectacular at times. He ran for 150 yards on 21 carries in a 28-7 win over Pierce, scoring three touchdowns in the process. In a 28-7 win over Colusa, Cook had 177 yards rushing and three more scores.
Cook had his best game of the season against Los Molinos, however, rushing for 180 yards and scoring five times in a 54-0 win.
The Spartans are coached by first-year mentor Rodney Totton, who is remembered as the quarterback of the Spartans last championship team in 1991.