Football Preview: Wolves look to remain unbeaten in league against Pleasant Valley

Shasta sits atop the Eastern Athletic League standings with Chico, after the Wolves and Panthers each won their rivalry games last week in the River Bowl and Almond Bowl, respectively.

Shasta (6-1, 2-0 EAL) continues its league gauntlet, perhaps the toughest four-week stretch of any team in the EAL, when it hosts Pleasant Valley (4-3, 1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Thompson Field.

The Wolves got a pick 6 from Jaden Welch to beat Enterprise 27-21 last week in River Bowl XXXI, but must flip the page to a Vikings program that annually tests itself with tough pre-league contests. PV played Oak Ridge (EL Dorado Hills) and Central Catholic (Modesto), ranked fourth and fifth respectively, in the Sac-Joaquin Section, as well as Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park).

The Vikings could be without leading rusher and middle linebacker Lucas Benson, who was dinged up in the Almond Bowl. He has 472 yards rushing and nine TDs. PV also relies on junior quarterback Joseph Garcia. He’s thrown for 771 yards on 48 of 103 passing and seven touchdowns.

Shasta, meanwhile, has been able to spread the ball around with junior quarterback Justin Polley leading the way, with 852 yards passing and 12 touchdowns while adding 462 yards rushing and seven more scores. Senior fullback Ryder May has 703 yards on 119 carries and nine TDs, while wide receiver/wing Owen Boesiger has 174 yards rushing and 295 yards receiving with seven total touchdowns.

U-Prep (6-1, 2-0 Northern Athletic League) at West Valley (2-5, 1-1 NAL), 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Panthers head to the Pasture winners of six straight since a 27-15 season-opening loss at Fortuna, something coach Dustin Fortenberry said helped his team’s focus.

“They did things well (in the loss), but we had so many mistakes,” he said. “It’s allowed us to focus inward more than outward, like something I took from my college coaches — ‘It’s not who we play, but how we play.’”

Senior quarterback Sawyer Hokanson fuels the Panthers’ offense 1,704 yards passing and 19 touchdowns with 259 yards rushing, while back Tyson Wurzer, Bailey Wurzer and D.J. Maples shoulder the ground game. Defensively, Aidan Bunas, Andrew Seamans, Casey Wrathall and Devin Huegel lead the team in tackles.

U-Prep will need to come ready for a West Valley team that has seen its ups and downs, but is capable of putting points on the board. The Eagles beat CV two weeks ago 44-38, but lost 42-0 at Lassen last Friday.

Against CV, they compiled 450 yards offense, but sputtered at Lassen, a notoriously tough road trip, with less than 100 yards offense.

Central Valley (4-3, 1-1 NAL) at Anderson (3-4, 0-2 NAL), 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Falcons are soaring thanks, in part, to the MVP-like play from senior running back Diego Recio who tied the school record for single-season touchdowns last week and is approaching the school record for career yards.

He’s run for 1,452 yards — second-best in the section behind Chico’s Dion Coleman — and has 20 touchdowns. Recio also leads the Falcons with 82 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and 2 interceptions.

“He’s always been a special athlete all the way back to his youth days,” coach Kyle Anderson said, adding his success draws focus that opens things up for other offensive weapons, like quarterback Osker Trompczynski. ‘We’re showing growth overall for us as a program.”

The Cubs struggled against U-Prep last week in a 48-0 loss, but have seven back with more than 100 yards rushing. Malachi Taylor leads the way with 269 yards and five touchdowns, while Michael Manley has 240 on the ground with three scores.

“They run the option, which is always a challenge,” CV’s Anderson said.

Foothill (4-3, 1-1 EAL) at Chico (6-1, 2-0 EAL), 7 p.m. Friday

The Cougars had an extra day this week after beating Red Bluff 34-6 on a game played last Thursday due to referee availability. The Panthers, meanwhile, rode the legs of the Northern Section’s leading rusher, Dion Coleman, who punished PV for 256 yards and five touchdowns in the 35-0 Almond Bowl win.

“He’s a handful,” Foothill coach Ross Griffith said of the Chico back. “He’s a big-play guy for sure and has a great jump cut, which makes him great, and then can go from 0 to 100 in a second.”

Griffith said, like they did in the win over Red Bluff, the Cougars must play good team defense and control the ball offensively.

“We showed a lot of character coming off a heartbreaking loss and on a short week,” he said as the Cougars played Thursday against Red Bluff due to referee shortages. “It was a good, solid team win.”

He said quarterback Hunter Marchione had a great game against the Spartans throwing for three scores on 14 of 19 passing.

Enterprise (4-3, 0-2 EAL) at Red Bluff (4-3, 0-2 EAL), 7 p.m. Friday

The Hornets look to get right against the Spartans as each team battles to avoid an 0-3 league start.

JJ Johnson, Enterprise’s dual threat quarterback, ran for 150 yards and three scores along with 81 yards passing in the River Bowl, but threw a pick 6 late in the 27-20 loss. The three-star player is dynamic and opens things on the ground for junior Alijah Bobo when he’s not either running or finding Porter Fischer, who has a section-best 705 yards receiving with 13 touchdowns.

In last week’s loss to Foothill, Red Bluff’s junior quarterback Kayden Leaf had 155 yards passing and the lone score along with 24 yards on the ground as senior back Chaco Chavez added 90 yards rushing.

Other Northern Section games

Los Molinos (4-3) at Redding Christian (2-6), 7:30 p.m. FridayFall River (5-2) at Maxwell (4-3), 7:30 p.m. FridayMount Shasta (1-2) at Trinity (2-5), 7:30 p.m. FridayOroville, (0-7) at Corning (1-6), 7:30 p.m. FridayEtna (0-7) at Modoc (3-4), 7:30 p.m. FridayOrland (5-1) at Las Plumas (4-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday Durham (1-5) at Winters (6-1), 7:30 p.m. FridayParadise (2-5) at Gridley (5-2), 7:30 p.m. FridayHamilton (5-2) at Biggs (5-2), 7 p.m. FridayWilliams (2-5) at Willows (1-6), 7 p.m. FridayWestwood (1-5) at Princeton (1-5), 6 p.m. FridayChester (4-3) at Burney (3-4), 6 p.m. FridayHayfork (8-0) at Butte Valley (5-2), 6 p.m. Friday

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Wolves look to remain unbeaten in league against Pleasant Valley