The Butte View Battle

When the prep football schedules were released back in August, many in the area circled tonight's Butte View League showdown between Wheatland and Sutter High schools as being the biggest game of the year.

They were right.

Both the Pirates and the Huskies come in with identical 8-1 records and are unbeaten in league play, meaning the winner will take home the league title.

"This game means so much to people here around town, our school, our players, our staff," Wheatland coach Javier Lopez said. "It doesn't matter if they're 8-1 and we're 5-4, we get up for it."

But there's more at stake than just a league title.

The longtime rivals are seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the Northern Section Division II rankings so the victor will clinch a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, an important factor when long road trips are involved.

"Not only does the winner win the BVL title, but they get the No. 1 seed, so it's a real big deal," said Sutter coach Scott Turner. "Playing at home in the playoffs is a big thing. Nobody wants to make that trip up to West Valley."

The similarities don't end with their records. Both teams operate out of the deceptive Wing-T offense and both are carried by strong defenses.

Sutter is paced by the big three: quarterback Jon Garcia, and running backs Dane Turner and Rowdy Robinson.

Garcia has passed for 1,025 yards and 13 touchdowns and has ran for an additional 267 yards and four TDs, while Robinson and Turner have combined for 1,413 yards on the ground and 29 touchdowns. Wheatland will counter with a big three of their own in Malcolm Webb, Clint Johnson and Vince Vetrone, which has accounted for 1,766 and 18 touchdowns on the ground.

Add to the mix sophomore Lecarlis Moore's 310 yards and four TDs since joining the team in week five and Lopez feels he has the horses to pull out a win.

"The game plan is to change things up. They're so well coached. A lot of times they can tell what play you're going to run by the formation you use," said Lopez, who added the importance of shutting down the Huskies' running game to force Garcia to beat them with his arm. "We've got to change things up to show them things they haven't seen."

The playing surface at Wayne Gadberry Field could be a factor in this one. The stadium hosted three youth football games during Saturday's rain storm which turned the field into a virtual mud-pit between the hash marks.

Hamilton at East Nicolaus

The Spartans have a chance to solidify their playoff position when they take on Mid-Valley League power Hamilton in their regular season finale.

Led by quarterback Andrew Rubalcava and receivers Jessee Gardner and Brian Johnson, East Nicolaus (5-4, 5-1) has risen from an 0-3 start to a No. 4 seed in the Div. III rankings.

Hamilton (7-2, 5-1) is one spot ahead of East Nicolaus at No. 3 Both teams will host first-round playoff games next week.

Rio Vista at Live Oak

The Lions wrap up their regular season campaign with a tough Sacramento Valley League contest against powerhouse Rio Vista.

Live Oak (4-5, 3-2) all but wrapped up a playoff berth with a thrilling 26-21 victory over Pierce last week. Sophomore Tony Montes, who made the transition to quarterback after starting the season as the Lions main running threat, came up big in the win, returning a kickoff for a touchdown, rushing for another score and capped the evening off with the game-winning touchdown pass with just seven seconds left to play.

Rio Vista (8-1, 4-1) is ranked No. 2 in Div. III, while the Lions are ranked No. 5

Lindhurst at Capital Christian

The Blazers look to continue their Golden Empire League dominance when they travel to Rancho Cordova to battle Capital Christian in a rematch of last year's Sac-Joaquin Section Div. VI title game.

Lindhurst (6-2, 4-0) has tore through the GEL thus far by averaging a staggering 52 points per contest in four games. Lurrell Johnson has proven to be the top running back in the area, rushing for 1,329 yards and 16 touchdowns while maintaining a hefty 9.92 yards per carry average.

As good as Johnson as been, the Blazers' passing game is just as lethal. Quarterback Rick Davis has passed for 1,723 yards and 18 touchdowns thanks in large part to the strong receiving corps of Kenny Teasley and Victor and Eric Arroyo.

The Cougars (4-4, 3-1) beat Lindhurst, 35-28, during last year's regular season, but the Blazers rebounded to edge them in the title game, 26-25.

Marysville at Highlands

After posting the biggest win in recent memory and with a showdown against Lindhurst looming around the corner, the Indians will play a "trap" game when they travel to North Highlands to tangle with the winless Scots.

Marysville (6-2, 3-1) moved squarely into the GEL title hunt after its huge 34-21 victory over defending league-champion Capital Christian in a hard-hitting affair last week.

The intensity level should be down a notch in this game however. The Scots (0-8, 0-4) haven't been close in any game this season and have been outscored 318-97.

Pioneer at Yuba City

The Honkers look to pick up their first home victory of the season when they welcome Pioneer into Honker Stadium for a Tri-County Conference clash.

Yuba City (3-5, 1-2), which has dropped four tightly-contested games this season, is 0-3 playing in front of the home crowd, while Pioneer (5-3, 2-1) is 3-0 on the road.

Fullback Dragos Simeon leads the Honkers' running game with 594 yards and eight touchdowns, while quarterback Justin Crook has kept defenses honest by throwing for 787 yards and 10 TDs.

River Valley at Natomas

The Falcons have a golden opportunity to pick up their first TCC victory then they travel to Natomas to take on the Nighthawks.

River Valley (2-6, 0-3) enters the contest after a tough 48-27 home loss to Pioneer, but looks to get on track against a Natomas team that has dropped its last six games. Senior running back Cody Miller leads the Falcons offensively with 635 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.

The Nighthawks (1-7, 0-3) have been outscored 308-104 on the year after last week's 28-0 loss to Woodland.

Portola at Colusa

The Redskins wrap up a successful season when they welcome a tough Portola team into town for a season finale at an early start of 6:30 p.m.

Colusa (5-4, 2-4) enters the contest with a two-game winning streak after consecutive victories over Williams and Biggs. They are led by bruising fullback Carlos Gutierrez, who has rumbled for 1,280 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Portola (8-1, 5-1), which is ranked No. 2 in Div. IV, averages 36 points per contest and can clinch the league title with a victory.

Williams at Biggs

Both the Wolverines and Yellowjackets enter the game winless in the MVL, so something has to give.

Williams (2-7, 0-6) is riding a six-game losing streak after last week's 44-0 loss to Hamilton, while Biggs (2-7, 0-6) has lost its last seven games, including a 26-0 loss to Colusa last week.

Gridley at Winters

The Bulldogs conclude their season by traveling to Winters to play the Warriors (3-6, 2-2).

It's been a long year for Gridley (1-8, 1-3), which has been shut out five times while being outscored 314-58 through nine games. However, the Bulldogs have showed improvement as the season has progressed and turned in a strong performance against Wheatland last week. Although they fell 18-0, they trailed by only six entering the fourth quarter.

Hayfork at Maxwell

The Panthers can clinch a home-playoff game with a victory over Hayfork (4-5, 1-2) in their Evergreen League finale.

Led by Gerardo Parra's 787 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and backfield mate Eddie Hernandez's 782 yards and six scores, Maxwell (4-5, 2-1) has rebounded from an 0-4 start to work its way up to the No. 2 spot in the Div. V rankings.

Pierce at Willows

The Bears will have one last chance to break into the win column when they travel to Willows to play the SVL champion Honkers (8-1, 5-0).

Pierce (0-9, 0-5) played its best game of the year last week, but fell in the final seconds to Live Oak. Rudy Godinez leads the Bears' offense with 868 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Staff Predictions

Bryan DeMain

• Sutter 38, Wheatland 18

• East Nicolaus 24, Hamilton 23

• Rio Vista 34, Live Oak 16

• Lindhurst 48, Captial Christian 34

• Marysville 20, Highlands 6

• Yuba City 28, Pioneer 24

• River Valley 45, Natomas 17

• Portola 30, Colusa 18

• Biggs 14, Williams 13

• Winters 27, Gridley 10

• Maxwell 18, Hayfork 6

• Willows 31, Pierce 17

Richard Myers

• Sutter 42, Wheatland 14

• Hamilton 28, East Nicolaus 27

• Rio Vista 18, Live Oak 14

• Lindhurst 24, Captial Christian 21

• Marysville 28, Highlands 18

• Yuba City 17, Pioneer 14

• River Valley 13, Natomas 12

• Portola 24, Colusa 17

• Biggs 17, Williams 13

• Winters 21, Gridley 10

• Maxwell 24, Hayfork 18

• Willows 35, Pierce 7

Andy Arrenquin

• Wheatland 28, Sutter 26

• Hamilton 27, East Nicolaus 24

• Rio Vista 36, Live Oak 19

• Lindhurst 35, Captial Christian 28

• Marysville 38, Highlands 12

• Yuba City 21, Pioneer 19

• River Valley 28, Natomas 7

• Portola 28, Colusa 16

• Williams 22, Biggs 12

• Winters 35, Gridley 14

• Maxwell 27, Hayfork 13

• Willows 31, Pierce 14

Cassie Bryant

• Sutter 42, Wheatland 17

• East Nicolaus 35, Hamilton 21

• Live Oak 24, Rio Vista 21

• Lindhurst 28, Captial Christian 27

• Marysville 23, Highlands 0

• Pioneer 21, Yuba City 10

• Natomas 21, River Valley 17

• Portola 17, Colusa 13

• Williams 28, Biggs 21

• Winters 28, Gridley 7

• Hayfork 17, Maxwell 13

• Willows 36, Pierce 23