'This is our super bowl': Fair Bowl's love affair in Burney, Big Valley and Fall River

Big Valley High School junior 6-foot-1 running and linebacker Josue Barba spent this past summer working at Mitchell Ranch Enterprises.

Barba fertilized, watered and dragged a tractor across the vast hay farm in Bieber, a small town in Northern California.

For boys like Barba who grow up in the intermountain regions of Shasta and Lassen counties — farming and ranching is the way of life.

Barba and many of the other teenagers who grew up in the rural, lush country have coarse hands withered from the 10-hour-long days of working in the hot sun. His grip strength jerks down like an alligator death roll.

"These are great kids who are very respectful and they work their butts off," said Mitchell Ranch Enterprises owner Kevin Mitchell.

Playing football is the reward that comes for the high school farm kids that attend Big Valley along with their fellow rancher compatriots from Fall River and Burney high schools that share the lonesome Highway 299 strip due south.

Big Valley, Burney and Fall River combined have less than 200 students attending their schools

Uniting the neighboring valleys under a single banner has been the Fair Bowl — a yearly high school football game played intermittently between Burney, Big Valley and Fall River since 1984.

The game sets the tone for the Inter Mountain Fair which takes place this weekend between Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. The football players use the Inter Mountain Fair to sell livestock like pigs, cows and goats at auction.

And while the Future Farmers of America auctions at the fair are a form of competition, the yearly bragging rights go to the team that wins the Fair Bowl.

"This is our Rose Rowl, this is our Super Bowl," Burney coach Jedediah Tate said. "People are jacked up for this and then people get to go eat their corn dogs and you feel that pride when you're at the fair over the weekend."

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The Fair Bowl was contested first between Big Valley and Burney between 1984-2000 before the rivalry switched to Fall River and Burney between 2001-19 when Big Valley became an 8-man school.

Burney made the switch after the 2019 season; the Fair Bowl has been contested between the Raiders and Big Valley since 2021. Fall River is the last remaining 11-man school in the region and has won 32 straight games — the longest current winning streak in California.

With over 200 fans watching at the dimly lit field on a breezy Wednesday night, the Fair Bowl was the small but proud capital of high school football in California.

Among the devoted fans was former United States Marine Corps member Adam Westlake. Westlake, a 2001 Burney graduate who played in the Fair Bowl in 2000 drove 2,035 miles from West Columbia, Texas to watch his Raiders battle Big Valley.

"I plan my schedule every year to be around the game," Westlake said. "It's high school football and this is where (the game) is fun. I remember the long days and long hours of practice and it was hard-hitting."

Bieber resident Abby Salters grew up in the intermountain areas and attended previous Fair Bowl games. Salters has been the athletic director at Big Valley since 2022 and also helps manage Gerig Ranch in Lassen County.

Salters has seen the impact the Fair Bowl has on Big Valley and the surrounding schools.

"You can be rivals on the field but when you get to the fair everyone shares a friendship," Salters said. "You're helping each other out at the fair and it's about sportsmanship on the field. It starts at the game and then you become friends off the field."

Bonds of neighborly competition created a near-perfect storm for the battle that ensued between Big Valley and Burney for Fair Bowl bragging rights.

The 35th Fair Bowl provided both highlight reel catches, hard hits and an unsung hero playing an unconventional position.

Here are five takeaways from the tightly-fought game that took place Wednesday night.

1. Big Valley outslugs Burney for Fair Bowl title

Big Valley senior quarterback Kade Lemke and Barba provided the force both offensively and defensively for the Cardinals.

Lemke and Barba combined for over 300 all-purpose yards and Big Valley edged Burney 24-22 — earning the program its first Fair Bowl title since 1999.

Big Valley and Burney have contested the revamped Fair Bowl since 2021. Burney won the previous two contests including a win on the road to the Cardinals 42-32 in 2022.

The lead switched three times in the first half before Big Valley kept the lead for good in the second quarter. Lemke threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Marcus Mitchell and Big Valley led 24-14 with 9:57 left in the second quarter.

Neither team scored in the second half.

"We knew we had to step up because we didn't want to go home with a loss," Lemke said. "It started with the line and they stepped up. Then the wide receivers stepped up and we scored touchdowns."

2. Moya delivers the hits for Big Valley

Big Valley junior Tzintzintli Moya could be heard yelling at her team from the sidelines.

Moya was playing on the defensive line and was frustrated with the penalties her team was allowing in the first quarter. Adding to her frustration was how easy Burney had scored using the run game.

But Moya kept battling and eventually helped turn the tide of the game with her own brand of tackling. Moya is part of a growing number of women who are playing tackle football on either youth or high school programs.

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NFL operations noted that 2,404 girls played tackle football in 2018. Gender was never even a talking point on Wednesday. Moya was in the trenches, using her strength and opponents' lack of leverage to stop the run game and sack the quarterback.

3. Noah's athleticism proves key for Burney

Burney junior Kyle Noah showed impressive quickness against Big Valley on Wednesday night.

Noah guided Burney to all three touchdown drives including a 3-yard touchdown run with 5:42 left in the second quarter.

"We are still getting the pieces together," Tate said. "We had some dudes who had a late start and couldn't come out on July 31 when we started the season. Their development was a little bit behind."

4. Impressive grab by Barba key against Burney

Barba made the play of the game after hauling in a 20-yard touchdown pass at the back of the end zone from Lemke.

Barba was able to keep his right foot inbound and maintain possession through the catch in the first quarter.

"I know Josue and I know what he can do," Lemke said. "I put my trust in him, I throw it to him and I know he'll be there for me."

5. Burney sees possible reunion with Big Valley in 8-man playoffs

Tate has optimism for Burney despite dropping 0-2 to start the 2023 season.

Burney won the CIF Northern Section 8-man title in 2022. Tate believes Wednesday's performance was a positive step after losing to Loyalton 38-14 in Week 0 and welcomes a potential rematch with Big Valley.

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least considering the scores we saw in the first week of 8-man," Tate said. "It's anybody's game. All of my preseason favorites aren't looking that hot and it wouldn't surprise me to see Big Valley win their division."

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Fair Bowl and historic legacy in Shasta and Lassen Counties