Yuba City managed to slip by Chico the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Honkers came up short against the Panthers on Friday, falling 26-6. The Honkers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Panthers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in September of 2024.
Despite the loss, Yuba City still got an impressive performance from Hank Watson, who rushed for 116 yards and one touchdown while picking up 7.3 yards per carry.
A big part of Chico's win came down to the chemistry between John Bernardez and his top target Jorden Neugebauer. Bernardez threw for 131 yards and one TD while completing 77.8% of his passes while Neugebauer picked up 98 receiving yards and one score. Neugebauer got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 81 yards.
This is the second loss in a row for Yuba City and nudges their season record down to 2-2. As for Chico, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Looking ahead, Yuba City will host River Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Honkers will be up against the Falcons' rather soft defense (which has allowed 31 points per match), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance. As for Chico, they are taking a road trip to square off against Ukiah at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
