Friday Night Previews: River Valley wants repeat, Sutter wants revenge

Always regimented, the Huskies were spread out in groups behind the visitor's bleachers. Blocking drills, blitzing drills, running and passing and special teams — each element critiqued over and over. It was the last week in September 2010 and the sun shot a blinding glare over Wayne Gadberry Field. They were prepping for a game against Yuba City, but even then, there were lingering thoughts about tonight.

River Valley vs. Sutter — this game was circled on the Huskies' proverbial calendar last fall. Their head coach conceded the notion while he chatted about his team during that practice. They were salivating about another shot at their neighbor to the east off Highway 20, a neighbor who downed them 23-20 and celebrated with a playoff-win level of revelry.

The wait is over. Their chance comes tonight at 7 p.m., on their field this time. But unlike last year, when the Huskies seemed to be the favorites and instead were dealt a knockout blow in the fourth quarter, this round of the "Battle of the Buttes" is stuffed with questions concerning who will prevail:

• Will River Valley's pass-heavy variant of the pistol offense keep the chains moving like it did last week against Lindhurst?

All offseason, quarterback Gregory Cannon worked to improve his passing to spearhead a new Falcons' offense. It paid off when he threw for 232 yards, a touchdown and no picks to pace his team to a 23-17 week zero win. In last year's game, he foreshadowed that he could put up big passing numbers when he connected for a 48-yard touchdown strike in the fourth quarter to put R.V. up for good.

For the Falcons, this is an opportunity to test themselves, and their offense, against an opponent that treats big hits and turnovers with the same grandeur as touchdowns. It's an opportunity for which River Valley coach Brandon Asher said his team is ready.

"I think our athletes are going to be able to attack what they give us," he said. "That's what we're shooting for."

• Will Sutter's defense stay strong?

It's a simple enough stat: zero. That's how many points West Valley scored against the Huskies at home in both teams' season-opener. In that win, the Sutter secondary clamped down. They'll be tested again tonight.

• Will Sutter's offense show itself?

Elijah Smith, the Huskies' electrifying-if-he-finds-open-field running back, scored the lone touchdown and rushed for 103 yards on seven carries. That was also the brunt of Sutter's offensive output. Both teams combined for 278 total yards in the 7-0 outcome.

"After (the West Valley) game we feel real good about our defensive play, obviously," Sutter coach Ryan Reynolds said. "But offensively we need to grow up a bunch and we need to improve."

• Will River Valley's new outlook continue?

Asher is more confident than ever about his team. In his third season coaching the Falcons, he concedes this year's team has the right makeup — mentally, talent-wise, work ethic — to excel further. If they can beat Sutter, a team with a seemingly stronger lineup of players than last year, it would be a nice piece of evidence to that theory.

But while all these properties will be answered tonight, there's one facet of this game both coaches agree will be the case: Expect a battle, and expect a great football game.

"When we go to Sutter it's going to be a ball game," Asher said.

Colusa at Live Oak

The goals for these two programs couldn't be more opposite.

For the Live Oak Lions, they'll aim to start strong in what they hope will be a season where they reach a second straight Northern Section Division III title game. And as usual, get used to seeing players like running back Justyn Harned pound the ground in coach Dan Johnson's rarely-ever-pass offense.

For the RedHawks, it's simply to stop the bleeding after their 40-19 loss to Willows brought back memories of their 0-10 season in 2010. Still, it would be prudent for a team in this situation to accentuate the positives: The 19 points they put up on the Honkers is 19 more points than they scored against them in their last year's opener (44-0 loss).

Orland at Lindhurst

The Blazers were so close to topping River Valley on the road last week in what would have been a huge season-opening win. Still, they surprised many with their competitiveness; it's a definite paradigm shift from their two-win 2010. So while the squad fell 23-17 after the Falcons scored in the waning minutes, the outlook is now brighter for Lindhurst, which hosts its home opener against the Trojans.

The spotlight will be on quarterback Timmy Zucco (245 yards passing last week). He'll need to replicate some of his secondary-shredding throws from the R.V. game if Lindhurst wants to contend against Orland, which won its opener 40-0 over Hamilton.

Wheatland at Oroville

Tonight, some big questions about the Pirates start to get answered. They lost a lot from last year's Butte View League championship team (All-Area MVP Derick Seward, et al.) and their season opener against an opponent who perennially struggles (0-10 last year, 1-9 in 2009) could be telling. If they don't win by a decent margin, or lose, it could be a foreboding sign to a rough-and-tumble year in the BVL.

Gridley at Willows

So, what's that Props-Mattos duo got? From the Appeal-Democrat to other papers up north to random chats around the area about football, the possibility of big plays from Bulldogs' quarterback Brad Props and wideout Kevin Mattos was a talking point in the weeks leading up to the season.

The time has come for the pair's first litmus test. Can they shake off double teams? Can they execute with the precision and explosiveness that Gridley fans are hoping for? It's a long season, but there's only one first impression.

Maxwell at Williams

It didn't get much better for either of the teams last year. Maxwell won the Northern Section Division IV title, and Williams won its first seven games, an unexpected surge of a start for a school where soccer comes first.

This time around, both teams are without key components, namely: Quarterbacks. Maxwell's Tyler Wells and the Yellowjackets' Carlos Velazquez are both gone, meaning tonight's season-opener will be a showcase for new faces (George Barajas, Maxwell; Ben Mayes, Williams) under center.

Plus, Maxwell coach Robert Wilson was smarting after Williams topped the Panthers 23-20 last season. Don't think he's let that feeling completely dissipate.

Pierce at Hamilton

What will Isaiah Garcia do next? He was the Bears' offense last year with his 1,155 rushing yards. Last Friday, he was the bulked-up standout (199 all purpose yards, punt-return TD) in Pierce's 34-0 season-opening romp over Esparto.

He's poised for more, and so are the Bears. They opened some eyes with their play on both sides of the ball in that dominating start. Taking into account Hamilton was downed 40-0 by Orland, 2-0 is very possible.

Rio Vista at East Nicolaus

Spartans' coach Mark Varnum told his team after their season opening shellacking (55-12) of Stone Ridge Christian that the "easy" part was over.

No lie. Rio Vista is returnee-heavy. The Rams bring back their quarterback and top two rushers from their 2010 squad, and things already look like their on the upswing for the Spartans' opponent. They smashed Delta 54-8 after losing to them the year before.

Can quarterback Justin Ozcan, running back Mikey Zimmerman and the defense do it again? As Varnum said, it's not going to be "easy."

SATURDAY

Yuba City vs. Maria Carrillo (at Grant H.S.)

It's simple, really, for the Honkers: They just need to hang onto the ball. Five lost fumbles is what spelled defeat for the Honkers in their 22-21 loss to Cosumnes Oaks at home last week.

They proved their defense is more stout than advertised, something that should help the Honkers toward getting win No. 1 against the Santa Rosa-based Pumas.