By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
When a team loses the leading passer in the Northern Section, one of the top rushers in the section and two of the top receivers, that team might be expected to have a down year the following season. Not so for Matt Ray and the East Nicolaus Spartans.
The Spartans are off to a 3-0 start despite having graduated Fielding Uhland, Jon Limary, Terry Guy and Collin Chandler from last year's Northern Section Division 4 championship team. In their place, players like Andrew Rubalcava, Alex Daddow, Brian Johnson and Alan Silvas have all picked up where the others left off.
Rubalcava leads the Northern Section in passing so far this season with 434 yards through the air. Meanwhile Daddow, a hard-charging fullback in stark contrast to the shifty Limary, has plowed forward for 301 yards, good for fifth in the section. Johnson has 167 receiving yards and Silvas has 147, placing them fourth and fifth in the section.
The Spartans are 3-0 with wins over Esparto, Colusa and Biggs. They will get a true test next week when they meet the Live Oak Lions. Favored to win the Northern Section Division 3 championship, the Lions are off to a rough start at 1-2. However those two losses are to Division 2 power Sutter and defending Sac Joaquin Section Division 5 champion Lindhurst.
Rivalry Games
There are several rivalry games on tap tonight including the Little-Big Game in Willows, the Tehama County Shootout in Corning and the Rice Bowl in Arbuckle.
Orland and Willows have played the Little-Big Game, or the Battle for the Axe, for 84 years and the two teams are tied at 41-41-1. The Trojans host this year's game and come in with an 0-2 mark while Willows is 2-0. It isn't uncommon for the underdog to come up with the stunning win in the Little-Big Game, which is what makes it an intense game each year.
In Corning, the Red Bluff Spartans took the overall lead in the series against the Cardinals, 21-20-1, with a win last season. Red Bluff has opened the season throwing the ball, which is a switch from the Wing-T days when the Spartans used to run teams into the ground. Collin Ramirez has thrown for 421 yards this year in just two games while Cole McKenzie has caught nine passes for 213 yards. Corning counters with running back Ethan Nooner, who ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 40-7 win over Orland.
Yreka off and running
Yreka is off to a solid start this year, posting convincing wins over Red Bluff and Mazama. The Miners have been a passing team under coach Orlyn Culp, but this year they have nearly abandoned the pass in favor of the run.
Manny Barragan (221 yards), Kyson Culp (128) and Jeremy Turner (108) all have over 100 yards rushing this year, yet the Miners have only 94 yards passing in two games, with Culp completing 5 of 17 passes. Culp threw for 954 yards last year and 1,131 as a sophomore. The Miners play Mt. Shasta this week, which is 0-2 after losing 30-0 to Hamilton last week and forfeiting a week one 47-34 win over Modoc due to an ineligible player.
Serving up donuts
The Hamilton Braves have posted three straight shutouts to open the season, including an impressive 30-0 win over defending Division 3 champion Mt. Shasta last week. The Braves figure to get a tougher test this week when they face the Durham Trojans, who have won their past two games after losing their opener to Rio Vista 40-30.
Hamilton was also 3-0 and unscored upon to start last season, but lost to Durham 53-33 in week four. The Braves went on to win the remainder of their regular season games for a 9-1 season mark.
The Braves have the section's top rusher in Craig Lohse with 505 yards on 65 carries. He's improved his output in every game, gaining 146 yards in week one, 164 yards in week two and 195 yards last week.
The Braves also have one of the area's best defenders in junior linebacker Ryan Schimke. As a sophomore, he led the team with 130 tackles. He already has 35 in three games this year.
Paradise tries to rebound
The Bobcats lost just their fourth game in four years with a 31-12 loss to Las Lomas last week. The Bobcats had over 300 yards of offense, but gave up three touchdowns in the first quarter to the quicker Walnut Creek team. Paradise will try to rebound at home against Lassen, which was a 9-7 winner over Enterprise last week.