MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: Charging ahead

Eight miles separate Marysville High from Lindhurst, eight miles of road and bridge that takes all but a moment to traverse once the signs let you go 65 mph on Highway 70. The schools are neighbors, spawns of the same school district.

And, of course, the sports teams are rivals. Indians-Blazers, it just sounds so natural, rolls off the tongue when you talk "rivalry." There's a reason for this, one that goes even deeper than the location/history/same district explanations.

This rivalry is authentic as they come in the Mid-Valley.

This rivalry, more than any other in the area, is the truest embodiment of what that word means.

Sure, you've got Wheatland-Sutter. Of course there is Yuba City-River Valley. Old timers can tell you about the days when Biggs-East Nicolaus not only had a radar blip, but was significant in the North State. They're all great, have pomp and memories and all the other required facets that make prep football fun.

What these rivalries don't have is parity, not like Marysville-Lindhurst has had over the last four years. Take away 2010 and Wheatland-Sutter is one-sided. The Huskies didn't compile their self-dubbed "Decade of Dominance" by swapping victories with the Pirates. Yuba City-River Valley? All Honkers, has been since day one.

Marysville-Lindhurst, though? Lately, it's back-and-forth, the type where the outcome really does have some doubt leading up to kickoff. It doesn't have to rely on the past and drummed-up hype, the results themselves help create the matchup's mystique.

Last year was Marysville. The year before that was Lindhurst. The school's split in 2008, with the Indians prevailing on a foggy night at War Memorial Stadium to win a section title. If you were there, you know it felt right, like how a championship game should stimulate the senses. The chill of the November air. The brushing of shoulders as you tried to navigate the overflow crowd. The noise and the aura and the lights that cut through the thick, gray sky to illuminate a mud-laden 100 yards of grass.

Perfect.

Times change, and both the Blazers and the Indians enter their game Friday sitting at 1-5. But even though their records are the same, the moods of these programs are much different.

At War Memorial, as the Indians fell to Capital Christian, the mood was somber, frustrating. They know that every game now is a must-win, that if they want to clinch that second Golden Empire League playoff spot — still more than possible given the league's collective strength — they have to win out.

At Dean Miller Stadium, the Blazers finally stopped the futility. While their rivals have lost five in a row, they just ended a five-game losing streak. Optimism, rather than survival.

Whether they're going for a section title, or trying to get back to .500 in the GEL, there's a reason Marysville-Lindhurst endures, hopefully in a more peaceful fashion than last time. There were no handshakes in 2010 and the game was called early because of worries over a fight breaking out. Parents embarrassed themselves in the stands and some of the talk afterward was reprehensible. A field was vandalized.

So as we get ready for gametime this week, here's a challenge to the players and coaches and parents for both sides: Keep it cordial, it's just a football game.

WHAT WE LEARNED:

WEEK SIX

TCC titans

Yuba City easily passed its first Tri-County Conference test of the season on Friday night.

The Honkers routed visiting Natomas 41-0 in what Yuba City coach John Ithurburn called the team's most complete effort of the season.

Another showing of that caliber will be required this week.

Yuba City hosts four-time defending TCC champion Inderkum on Friday night.

The Tigers (5-1, 1-0) have not lost a TCC game since the 2006 season and are 5-0 against the Honkers all-time.

Yuba City's 23-20 loss in Sacramento last season was the closest margin of victory for the Tigers in series history. In the waning minutes of that game, the Honkers had the Tigers backed up on their own 33-yard line facing fourth-and-28. Miraculously, Inderkum made the first down and went on to escape with the win.

Ithurburn reminded his players of that heartbreaking loss in the postgame huddle following Friday night's victory.

At 3-3, a Yuba City win over the Tigers would be a huge boost for the team's playoff aspirations.

River Valley has its own TCC powerhouse to deal with this Friday.

After a 47-13 loss at Woodland last week, the Falcons will travel back to Yolo County to face Pioneer (4-2, 0-1).

The Patriots are reeling from a 47-20 loss at Inderkum.

BVL battles

Wheatland rolled to its sixth consecutive victory over Winters in both teams' Butte View League opener last week.

The Pirates' 48-21 victory did have a setback after senior fullback, and the team's leading rusher, Tyler Larcom went down with a leg injury.

Coach Javier Lopez said the injury shouldn't keep Larcom out of this week's momentous showdown with upstart Orland (6-0, 1-0).

Wheatland's five wins this season are against teams that have gone a combined 8-22, while the Pirates' one loss was to 6-0 Colfax.

In similar fashion, Sutter's opponents' body of work has yielded a 12-22 composite record. The Huskies will travel to Winters for their BVL openers.

Orland easily dispatched of one Mid-Valley BVL team with a 42-7 win at Gridley.

SVL assessment

Since defeating Live Oak 21-20 on Sept. 23, the Pierce Bears have been coasting.

The A-D's No. 1 small school defeated Colusa (0-6) and Mt. Shasta (1-6) in back-to-back weeks and are now seeing some love from MaxPreps.

The web site has Pierce ranked seventh in the latest Northern California Division IV state bowl rankings.

This week, Pierce (6-0, 2-0) will have to prove it belongs there.

The Bears travel to defending league co-champion Durham. The 5-1 Trojans are also the reigning Northern Section D-III champs.

Durham, which is 3-0 in SVL play, has outscored its opponents 85-0 in its last two games, including last week's 36-0 demolishing of Willows (5-2).

Live Oak will endure the almost 3-hour bus ride from Sutter County up to Weaverville this week to face Trinity, a team that has won its last three games against the Lions.

QUICK HITS

• Maxwell has won five of its last six league's championships, but that stat is in jeopardy of becoming seven.

Chester came into Maxwell on Friday and left with a resounding 32-14 victory, a year after being swept 2-0 in the season series by the Panthers.

Maxwell continues its Mountain Valley League schedule at Biggs this Friday.

• On Friday, a couple slumping Mid-Valley League squads will try to break into the win column in league for the first time this season.

These schools also happen to be only separated by 9 miles.

Colusa County rivals Williams (0-3 in the MVL) and Colusa (0-2 MVL) face off this week.

• The Mid-Valley area's other local MVL school, East Nicolaus, is facing its own two-game losing skid with a trip to Portola looming.

With coach Mark Varnum on administrative leave and Geoff Wahl's departure from the program last week, the East Nic varsity staff is down to three coaches.

HELMET STICKERS

Offense: Pierce's Isaiah Garcia, senior, running back — Already Garcia's third helmet sticker from us this season, but he's definitely earning them.

He set the school record with 307 yards rushing against Mt. Shasta and also scored all five of Pierce's touchdowns in the 35-8 victory.

Defense: Sutter's Philip Robledo, junior, strong safety — A huge part of the Huskies' air-tight defensive unit, Robledo tallied 10 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 49-7 win over Anderson.

Special Teams: Lindhurst's Erick Tallman, senior, kick returner — Tallman returned Friday night's opening kickoff for a 70-yard touchdown to spark the Blazers to their first win of the season.