It's go time

It's been a long time coming, but for the first time in 23 years the Yuba City High football team finally has an opportunity to play a postseason game in front of the home crowd.

It all begins tonight when No. 7 seeded Yuba City welcomes No. 10 Lincoln into Honker Stadium for the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

It's an exciting time for the Honker faithful, who haven't seen their team host a playoff game since the 1987 season.

"It's kind of like a rumbling," Yuba City coach John Ithurburn said of the mood around campus. "You can feel it with the kids and we're focused."

Offensively, the Honkers (7-3) are led into action by workhorse running back Taylor Rowe, who has bullied his way for 1,461 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground this year.

But he's not the only one who can supply the offensive fireworks for Yuba City.

Bernell Barmore and Raul Lozano are two explosive backs who can score from anywhere on the field and quarterback David Schroeder has a pair of go-to guys in the passing game with wideout Max Flores and tight end Bryce Peterson.

Like the Honkers, the Fighting Zebras (6-4) are also a run-heavy team that prefers to do most of their damage on the ground. Isaac Allen (896 yards, 13 TDs) and Oscar Fernandez (843 yards, 6 TDs) are their top two leading rushers, while wing back Bobby Humiston gives them a valuable third option in the running game, according to Yuba City's coach.

"Those three kids are good. They're fast, physical and they stick their nose in there," Ithurburn said. "We have to be prepared. If a kid misses an assignment, they can hurt you."

The game will be the second meeting between the teams this season. Yuba City won 41-35 when the teams met in Lincoln on Sept. 10, in a game in which the Honkers had to battle back from an early deficit.

"Their defensive front is physical. We had trouble last time moving them around and running the ball," Ithurburn said. "We were successful throwing the ball, but I think it will be decided up front by whoever controls the line of scrimmage this time."

A Honkers' win will propel them into the second round where they will face the winner of No. 2 Patterson and No. 15 Sierra.

"We can't remember more than two teams that have had home playoff games in the history of the school," Ithurburn said. "It's a pretty special thing. I think it says something about the kids and the team we have."

DIVISION IV

No. 6 Bear River at No. 3 Marysville

The Golden Empire League champion Indians will have a test on their hands when they open the newly-formed Division IV-A playoffs against Bear River at the friendly confines of War Memorial Stadium.

Marysville coach Cullen Meyer said that the Bruins are a mirror image of his team in that they prefer to play a physical brand of football predicated on a strong ground attack.

"This team is a lot like us in their run-pass ratio and the way they control the clock," Meyer said. "They're basically a Wing-T version of what we like to do."

Marysville (7-3) is led by a powerful running game that features two of the top running backs in the Mid-Valley area. Senior tailback Michael Barabin leads the way with 1,202 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns while sophomore sensation Cole Hannum is right behind him with 1,032 yards and nine scores.

But while the Indians rely on their solid 1-2 punch, the Bruins (7-3) tend to spread the ball around as six different backs have carried the ball at least 25 times this season.

Sam Houston is the Bruins' leading ground-gainer with 792 yards and 12 touchdowns and just behind him is Josh Toft, who has added 659 yards and five scores on the ground.

"They shuffle guys in and out of there quite a bit," said Meyer, who is hopeful that his team will get off to a better start in this one. "We can't have the starts we've had in the last couple weeks. We've been asleep at the wheel at the start and then woke up and played well."

That said, the Marysville coach is looking forward to a hard-hitting affair in front of a packed home crowd.

"I think it's going to be one of those old-school games with a lot of banging," he said. "It should be a low-scoring game where every touchdown counts."