By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
No game will have a bigger impact on the Northern Section playoff points this week than the matchup between unbeaten Foothill and Pleasant Valley. Besides determining who will likely win the Eastern Athletic League championship, the contest will also move one team to the top of the Division 1 rankings.
Of course a win during the regular season and a league championship don't always translate into a Northern Section championship. No team knows that better than the Foothill Cougars, who won the EAL last year but lost to Paradise, a team it had defeated during the regular season.
The Cougars, 19-1 over the past two seasons, are still looking for the school's first ever Northern Section championship. One team that has stood in the Cougars' way on more than one occasion is the Pleasant Valley Vikings, who have made a habit of knocking the Cougars out of the playoffs and spoiling perfect Foothill seasons.
The Vikings got with junior signal caller Erik Hoffman, who is starting just his fifth game behind center. The first four have been solid to spectacular. He debuted with a 131-yard effort against Shasta in a 35-21 win. Then he tossed three touchdown passes in a 35-0 win over Enterprise. Although Chico held Hoffman to just 110 yards, he did throw the winning 48-yard touchdown pass in the waning minutes to lift the Vikings to the Almond Bowl win, 13-12.
Hoffman then had hit best outing of the season with a 205 yards and four touchdowns in a 32-7 win over Red Bluff.
While Hoffman has started just four games, Foothill's Cole Johnston is in his 21st game behind center for the Cougars. While Johnston has thrown for just 328 yards on the year, his deft work in the Cougars' spread offense makes it difficult for the defense to figure out who has the ball. Foothill has three ballcarriers with over 500 yards on the season, including Johnston with 518 yards, brother Kyle Johnston with 648 yards and Buzz Ward with 682 yards.
Pleasant Valley currently holds the No. 1 spot in the playoff rankings and a win over Foothill would solidify that ranking. Foothill takes over the No. 1 spot with a win and neither team would fall farther than No. 2 with a loss.
The tightest race for the top seed comes in Division 3, where Hamilton, Live Oak and Rio Vista are all separated by less than a point. Hamilton currently holds the top spot, due to its unbeaten 9-0 record, but Live Oak and Rio Vista both have better strength of schedule totals, which will push both teams past Hamilton, as long as they continue to win.
Both Live Oak and Rio Vista have tough games ahead. The Lions have their two toughest tests, Trinity and Willows, while Rio Vista finishes the season with rival Delta. Hamilton has a bye this week and finishes with Mercy last week.
The Division 5 rankings may be a bit surprising to those who follow the defending champion Maxwell Panthers, but not to those who follow the Fall River Bulldogs. Maxwell has won 16 games in a row, the longest current win streak in the Northern Section. Among those 16 wins is a victory over Fall River in last year's playoffs. However the Bulldogs have a better strength of schedule and thus rank ahead of the Panthers at this point on in the season. However the Bulldogs have their two toughest games in the final two weeks as they face 6-2 Etna and 5-3 Modoc to conclude the season.
Much has been made here about the kicking exploits of Hamilton's Oscar Pineda, and for good reason. The junior kicker has nine field goals and 41 extra points and leads the state in kick scoring, according to MaxPreps, with 68 points. However Pineda is an accomplished punter as well. How good? Well, he leads the state in punting as well, averaging over 47 yards a kick.
Speaking of kicking, Rafael Arias of Princeton leads the state in kick scoring for 8-man teams with 27 extra points on the season.
The Gridley Bulldogs had to forfeit two of their wins after it was discovered they had used an ineligible player through the first four weeks of the season. The Bulldogs defeated Corning and Lindhurst during that span and both of those teams now receive forfeit wins. The forfeit win could help Corning secure a playoff berth. The Cardinals are seventh in Division 2, but could gain the sixth spot with a win over Anderson tonight.