The shortened high school football season begins in less than three weeks and unlike anywhere else in California, the vast Northern Section is uniquely unique again this year.
Not only does the section have large numbers of large and small schools, but its vast geography makes this season a tale of north and south due to regulations that allow schools only to compete against neighboring counties. That means, for example, traditional Eastern Athletic League foes Shasta, Foothill and Enterprise won't play Butte County schools Pleasant Valley and Chico. Toss in the majority of Siskiyou County schools opting not to play, along with mountain schools like Fall River, due to the high number of multi-sport athletes, and the 2020 season will be a piecemeal affair.
Still, there are powerhouses, up-and-comers and those looking for a bounce-back season. But we won't know how anyone really stacks up against one another until next fall.
MaxPreps Top 25 Northern Section football rankings
Kyle Watson will again lead Sutter into the shortened 2020 spring season.
File photo by Todd Shurtleff
The Vikings seem to reload each season and 2020 (or 2021) is no exception. One year removed from a state title, PV returns junior quarterback
Ian Guanzon after throwing for more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding another five scores with 236 yards rushing. Tight end/linebacker
Grant Garretson is poised for a breakout season.
2. Chico, 10-2The Panthers' best season in a handful of years ended with a section finals loss to rival Pleasant Valley, but quarterback
Jake Hamman is back for his senior year after throwing for more than 1,700 yards and 24 scores as a junior.
Jasten Del Carlo, a 6-5 tight end could become his favorite target after all-world receiver Abe Del Real graduated.
3. Sutter, 12-1The final Northern Section season for the Huskies before they move to the Sac-Joaquin Section, Sutter is the reigning Division III champions after beating Paradise 20-7.
Daniel Cummings is back and will have to shoulder the load after Sutter lost its top two backs (and 2,400-plus yards) to graduation. Look for
Landon Cooper and
Trevor Eck to each see time at QB.
4. Paradise, 12-1The Bobcats' magical season rising from the ashes of the Camp Fire didn't have the storybook ending, but the fact Paradise made it to the Division III finals was inspiring. The Bobcats return monster running back
Tyler Harrison, who ran for 2,505 yards and 30 TDs last year.
5. West Valley (Cottonwood), 11-1It's been a turbulent offseason for the Eagles as Greg Grandell and staff resigned amid a hazing scandal, but there is still plenty in the cupboard for new coach Lenny Ehn. Running back/linebacker
Joshua Aguilar (791 yards, eight scores; 57 tackles) should lead the offense while 6-2, 290-pound defensive tackle
Chris Whitney is a monster on the line.
6. Shasta (Redding), 5-6An up-and-down season for JC Hunsaker's squad gives way for the promise of a bounce-back with senior running back
James Weaver ready to shoulder the load at Thompson Field. The Davidson-bound wing ran for nearly 900 yards last year, and will have the Stankey brothers — senior
Bladen Stankey and sophomore
Mason Stankey — leading the way at guard in the Wing-T scheme.
7. East Nicolaus (Nicolaus), 12-2Kramer Hagain takes over for Travis Barker and looks to keep the Spartans' run of success going. East Nic won a state title in 2015 and have made the NorCal postseason in each of the past four years. The Spartans return a pair of linebackers,
Garrett McCray and
Jayden Bendure, who logged more than 100 tackles in 2019.
8. Foothill (Palo Cedro), 6-6The Cougars need to replace a ton of offense after quarterback Brandon Merryman, running back Bryce Henderson and receiver Tyler Carey graduated. Foothill looks to senior
Cooper Laloli, lineman
Jack Maready and linebacker
Garrison Sisneros this season.
9. Lassen (Susanville), 9-3The Jason McCloskey era begins in Susanville after Tom St. Jacques retired following the 2019 season as the fourth-winningest coach in Northern Section history (190-100-1). The Grizzlies return back Tavin Flower, who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards.
10. Pierce (Arbuckle), 8-5Eduardo Paiz returns after logging 2,837 all-purpose yards (2,368 passing, 469 rushing). Two of the top three receivers return in
Justin Mathews and
Luke Voorhees, who combined for 1,300 yards receiving and 13 scores. Middle linebacker
Jesus Ruiz is back after posting 105 tackles last season.
11. Anderson, 6-4The Cubs lost a bunch of skills players from 2019's squad but Don Trotter's bunch will be beefy on the line with
Chiewo Wilson,
Marcus Trotter,
Ethan Schubert and
Soren Weeks. Look for quarterback
Devin Armstrong to lead the troops behind all that size.
12. Biggs, 9-2Coach Tyler Rutledge was hoping to get the Wolverines on the field as the 2020 squad is among the best he'd had. Biggs' two top runners return in All-Northern Section back
Shavon Gramps-Green (994 yards, 20 TDs) and junior
Camren Jackson (649 yards, three scores), and
Gregg Slusser is back under center for his senior season. The Wolverines also return their top three tacklers: Gramps-Green, Jackson and
Casen Rivero.
13. Gridley, 5-5Senior running back
Ardin Anderson is back at the Boneyard after rushing for more than 1,000 yards last season. He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry for the Bulldogs. Look for
Christopher Richins to lead the defense after an 86-tackle performance in 2019.
14. Live Oak, 8-3The Lions bring back the 1-2 punch of
Odin Moody and
Hayden Langley, who combined for 2,100 rushing yards as Live Oak had its best season since 2011. Live Oak also sees
Nick Gomes and
Eddie Torres return on defense after logging more than 100 tackles combined.
15. Wheatland, 6-5The Pirates look to offset the loss of Tariq Parker (1,666 yards, 14 TDs) with a host of returners led by junior quarterback
Ashton Agricula, backs
Manny Galvan and
Trystan Rymer and middle linebacker
Matthew Soderlund.
16. Enterprise (Redding), 1-10The weapons are there for the Hornets to bounce back after a very un-Enterprise-like season. Chris Combs had a riches of skills players led by 1,800-yard rusher
Eli Cortinas. Wideout
Jahari Johnson whose breakout sophomore year opened eyes, and
Jason Butcher is athletic on both sides of the ball and a nice compliment to Johnson.
Zack McNeil looks to lead the Hornets under center after being injured last season.
17. Orland, 5-5The Trojans were senior heavy at running back, losing nearly 2,000 yards rushing, but Nick Velazquez likes what he sees out of two-way linemen
Joel Lopez and
Angel Bravo, who led Orland with 61 tackles and 16.5 tackle-for-loss.
18. Corning, 7-4Nick Brown looks to fill big shoes left by Devin Toth's graduation. The junior was the team's second-leading rusher with 620 yards and 10 TDs in 2019.
Caelan Meader is back for his senior season after leading the Cards at quarterback after Toth moved to running back.
19. U-Prep (Redding), 8-3The Panthers take the field with new coach Dustin Fortenberry and heavy heart after losing former coach Darren Trueblood to cancer. U-Prep has weapons in two-way starters
Jacob Reuss at linebacker and running back and
Ryan Hart at tackle and defensive end.
20. Los Molinos, 7-4The Bulldogs fell to Fall River (McArthur) in the snow in last year's D-V title game but return a few key pieces now with championship game experience.
Nick Macias threw for more than 900 yards and four TDs as a freshman while
Logan Rose was the team's second-leading rusher with 442 yards and four scores. He will have to fill the shoes of Hunter Landingham, who ran for 2,404 yards and 18 TDs.
21. Portola, 7-5The Tigers have
Shane Curren back after a monster year rushing with nearly 1,500 yards and 20 TDs. Rising senior quarterback
Dylan Gonsalves is back along with
Carver Wearin, who led the Portola defense with 89 tackles.
22. Winters, 5-7Dual-threat quarterback
Carson Lowrie is back after throwing for nearly 1,000 yards and adding 1,474 and 20 scores on the ground. Defensively, Winters returns its top three tacklers in
Aidan Cruz,
Jose Escobedo and Lowrie.
23. Oroville 4-6The Tigers had wins over Gridley, CV and rival Las Plumas in the Victory Bell Bowl last season. Oroville returns its top two backs in
Kacie Riley (664 yards rushing, six TDs) and
Isiah Price (318, five TDs). A handful of seniors all logged numbers of defense including Riley and
LJ Weston.
24. Central Valley (Shasta Lake), 3-7Aaron Richards enters his second year with guys who've bought into his system. Small, but athletic
Willie Mowry will lead the Falcons under center as the option offense runs through him.
Kade Crowell is a player on both sides of the ball, while
Christian Maughs will see time on both sides of the line and Richards hopes to have 6-4, 210 tight end
Charlie Stevens healthy this season.
25. Red Bluff, 0-10Former Los Molinos coach Jacob Daricek inherits a winless Spartan program that has pieces to compete in the shortened season. Receiver
Clyde Shaver was a bright spot for Red Bluff last year with 1,381 all-purpose yards (108 rushing, 723 receiving, 478 return yards and 72 interception).
Braden Robinson led the Spartans as a junior with 127 tackles in 2019.
Tavin Fowler, Lassen
File photo by Greg Wallace
