Game of the Week: Shasta and Enterprise set to battle it out during River Bowl XXXI
It’s the date circled every year by Shasta and Enterprise — River Bowl.
This year, River Bowl XXXI kicks off Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Enterprise Community Stadium as the Hornets enter (4-2, 0-1 Eastern Athletic League) and the Wolves visit (5-1,1-0).
But those records don’t matter much when team pride, community bragging rights and, of course, the River Bowl Trophy are up for grabs.
“Since the buzzer (sounded) on Friday, we’ve started focusing on this,” Enterprise coach Chris Combs said about River Bowl. “It seems like it takes forever to get here (when you first see the schedule) and our kids know exactly what it means to our school and community."
The Hornets have won the past two against Shasta and lead the River Bowl series — which started in 1993 — 19-11.
More: Shasta football upsets Foothill with last-second two-point conversion
Combs, who won two River Bowls as a coach and two as a player, knows it’s just one game on the schedule, but that doesn’t diminish its importance.
“I was in River Bowl III and IV and fortunate to win two (as a player),” he said. “The game is much more hyped up now with social media, but the sense of pride is always there.”
Shasta coach Aaron Richards, who played prep ball at West Valley, grew up hearing about the rivalry but didn’t fully understand its importance until he came to the westside.
“I told our kids I’m jealous they get to play in this game,” he said. “To have a worthy opponent in a rivalry game is awesome.”
He said the program’s annual Wednesday chili cookoff drew alumni from the 1983 Section Championship team and hearing their stories — even though it was pre-River Bowl — was inspiring.
“They talked about the importance and all the things they said are all the things we preach ... being strong in the weight room, being together as one,” Richard said.
He added it was exciting for him to hear players like senior safety Kyle Wilkes digest the game and its significance but added, “When the whistle blows it’s our 11 vs. their 11,” the coach recalled.
And the X’s and O’s matchup for the River Bowl is a dandy.
For the Hornets, their prolific starts with junior quarterback JJ Johnson, already a two-year varsity starter. He’s thrown for 1,208 yards on 82-of-147 passing and 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He’s added 635 yards rushing and nine more scores.
More: Red Bluff football blows past West Valley after trailing early
“There’s no doubt they run a quarterback-centric offense,” Richards said. “But they can run the ball well and do it in a number of ways. Chris does a good job of not having too many tendencies.”
Johnson’s favorite target is Porter Fischer, who leads the Northern Section with 668 yards and 13 scores. The pass game is complemented by junior running back Alijah Bobo, who has 468 yards on the ground with four scores.
“Bobo is just a rock for us,” Combs said. “He’s not going to blow you away physically. He’s tough and smart, and still learning to play running back in this offense. He busted one for 66 yards last week that surprised PV and even some of us.”
Defensively, they look to lead on athletic outside backer Jalen Arney, linemen Donovan Gale and DJ Gross and outside linebacker Alex Pineda.
On the Shasta side, junior quarterback Justin Polley has taken the Wolves run-first Wing-T offense and made it multi-dimensional.
“He even ran scout this week for us,” Richards said about trying to replicate Polley's counterpart for the defense.
Polley has thrown for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a game-saving, last-second score in the win over Foothill. He’s added 439 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns.
And, like Enterprise, the Wolves can run the ball behind a thunder-and-lightning combo reminiscent of their state playoff run in 2017. Fullback Ryder May, who scored the game-winning two-point conversion, has 608 yards rushing and eight TDs and runs a bit like Vinnie Smith.Owen Boesiger, who channels his inner-Seth Parks, is a speedster with 439 yards rushing and a team-high 234 yards receiving with six total scores, and can line up at wing or at receiver.
And outside of the X’s and O’s is the River Bowl trophy, which both coaches not so candidly admitted would look perfect in each school’s trophy display.
Red Bluff (4-2) at Foothill (3-3), 7 p.m. Friday
The Cougars look to bounce back with their first EAL win of the season after a tough 25-24 road loss to Shasta last week. Foothill got great play from running back Dawson Mortimer (169 yards rushing, two TDs) and quarterback Huner Marchione (148 yards, 1 TD).
Chico (5-1) at Pleasant Valley (4-2), 7 p.m. FridayThe Almond Bowl runs opposite River Bowl week and both the Panthers are coming off EAL-opening wins.
Senior back Dion Colmen fuels Chico with 1,075 yards and 12 scores. Vikings quarterback Joseph Garcia has thrown for 749 yards and seven scores.
Anderson (3-3, 0-1) at U-Prep (5-1, 1-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Sawyer Hokanson threw for 267 yards and three scores on 14-of-18 passing and added a score on the ground in a 43-21 win over Lassen.
Defensively, Aidan Bunas had 12 tackles, Devin Huegel had a sack and Kaos Martin had an interception.
For Anderson, Mason McFadden and Michael Manley led a Big Blue rushing attack that churned out 239 yards in a loss to Yreka.
Yreka (5-1, 1-0) at Central Valley (3-3, 1-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Diego Recio had a monster night in the loss to West Valley last week. The section’s leading rusher ran for 280 yards and four scores. He has 1,202 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Falcons.
The Miners had quarterback Lucas Day throw for 209 yards and three scores in the win over Anderson last week. Trevan Crane added 121 yards rushing and a score as Yreka is off to its best start in a decade.
West Valley (2-4, 1-0) at Lassen (1-5, 0-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Cooper Staup ran for 203 yards and three scores as the Eagles came back to win the Valley Bowl last week. Sophomore quarterback John Puffer was 15-of-18 passing for 195 yards and two scores, including the game-winner to Jesus Cervantes.
Other Northern Section games:
Modoc (2-4) at Redding Christian (2-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Fall River (5-1) at Portola (7-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Orland (4-1) at Paradise (2-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Las Plumas (3-3) at Corning (1-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Gridley (4-2) at Oroville (0-6), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Hamilton (4-2) at Trinity (2-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Live Oak (4-2) at Pierce (4-2), 7 p.m. Friday
Etna (0-6) at Maxwell (3-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Quincy (3-4) at Weed (5-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Winters (5-1) at East Nicolaus (4-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Durham (1-4) at Colusa (6-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Mount Shasta (0-6) at Willows (1-5), 7 p.m. Friday
Biggs (4-2) at Williams (2-4), 7 p.m. Friday
Bonanza (Ore.) (2-4) at Tulelake (7-0), 6 p.m. Friday
Herlong (3-2) at Hayfork (7-0), 6 p.m. Friday
Big Valley (4-1) at Dunsmuir (2-4), 6 p.m. Friday
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Game of the Week: Shasta, Enterprise set for River Bowl XXXI
