MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: The 200 club

All over Yuba-Sutter, fans were treated to the astounding. In Marysville, under ominous dark clouds. In Olivehurst, amid the dirt-track dust and sounds from Highway 70. In Yuba City, under the fluorescent glow of Honker Stadium's lights. If you were there, you saw it; cheered for it, too.

You saw Cole Hannum carrying the Indians on his hefty shoulders. You saw Lindhurst's Christian George bursting through the backfield. You saw the Honkers' Nate Van Dusen escape again and again before afterburning toward the end zone. You saw Wheatland's Tyler Larcom silence a chorus of doubters over the course of 22 carries.

Different teams, different locales, different players, different systems — same result for each of the running backs. All four rushed for 200-plus yards.

• Hannum: 307 yards, three TDs.

• George: 245 yards, two TDs.

• Van Dusen: 207 yards, three TDs.

• Larcom: 231 yards, two TDs.

These are the kind of performances players will remember and talk about. On Facebook, during practice, in the halls during passing periods and between bites at In-N-Out, they'll recount "that one time against ..."

They're the kind of nights coaches and reporters and the football-obsessed will rattle off in conversation. On message boards, during game-planning sessions, in intra-office debates and podcasts, they'll reference "that one time against ..."

They'll do this until these players start to produce these types of numbers week after week. It will continue until the big-time plays and gaudy stats and touchdown totals become jumbled into a collage where a single game is just a scrap of paper amid the many. They'll do this until the astounding becomes routine, which each of these players has the ability to make happen. Then it's no longer "that one time against ..." It's "that season where ..."

Hannum had that type of year in 2010. He was so impressive as a sophomore, his name and size and exploits became folklore. If you hadn't seen him, you heard about him. Superlatives abound. He seemed 8 feet tall with the brawn of a battleship.

George is a much needed injection of offensive life for the Blazers. They're still winless, but a viable ground game wasn't existent last year for Lindhurst. They may have lost to River Valley and Live Oak, but the Falcons and Lions know who wears No. 2.

Van Dusen is referred to around the ADVarsity office with our complimentary version of the B-word, a word reserved for only a select ilk of player. It's been used in text messages describing his runs and cubicle-to-cubicle conversations: "Beast."

Larcom did exactly what his coach thought he would. It didn't surprise Javier Lopez that his running back could go off. That whole Derick-Seward-is-irreplaceable-and-nobody-can-come-close-to-filling-his-shoes argument is starting to get quieter. Speaking of the Pirates ...

WHAT WE LEARNED:

WEEK TWO

Don't forget about Wheatland

Remember the reigning Butte View League champions? You know, the team that made it all the way to the Northern Section Division II title game last season?

Well, shame on us for doubting the 2011 Wheatland Pirates. Each member of the A-D's sports staff is eating crow for picking Marysville to beat Wheatland at home on Friday night at War Memorial Stadim. Senior fullback Tyler Larcom showed he is fully capable of taking over the responsibliites left by former Pirate Derick Seward as Larcom rushed for 231 yards and two scores in a 29-19 win.

Wheatland (2-0) showed off a different style of offense that we haven't seen from this program before.

Sure, it's still the run-base wing-T attack we're accustomed to seeing, but junior quarterback Justin Bragg has a good arm that provides a vertical threat for Wheatland.

Besides Larcom, the Pirates have playmakers all over the field with good speed including Haydon Leissman, David Quezada, Mark Campos and Michael Robinson. Though none of them are over 5-foot-10, their athleticiscm makes Wheatland's offense versatile.

Wheatland is still the champ until it is knocked off. Right now, the Pirates are playing like it.

Honkers have lift-off

The Yuba City Honkers are in the win column.

Their 41-28 victory over Lincoln at Honker Stadium on Friday night was highlighted by the Van Dusen brothers.

Senior James and his little brother, junior Nate, combined for more than 300 yards of total offense against the Fighting Zebras.

Nate Van Dusen continued his breakout season with his second 200-yard performance in three games this season. He rushed for 207 yards and three scores.

At wideout, James Van Dusen hauled in four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also kicked five extra points.

The Honkers (1-2) cleaned up their ball security, only committing one turnover. Coach John Ithurburn praised the play of his junior quarterback Taylor Elkins, who threw for 165 yards and a score. He also rushed for 52 yards.

Up next for Yuba City is a matchup with Bella Vista (2-0) in Fair Oaks.

Log jam

Sutter's defense continues to impress.

On Friday, the Huskies bottled up the Eureka Loggers, holding them to 176 yards and only seven points in a 14-7 victory.

The Huskies have only allowed 28 points in three games this season. Sutter (3-0) only allows 168 yards per game.

Philip Robledo, Masen Lopez and heavy hitter Ryan Staas each tallied double-digit tackles, containing Eureka's Jose Manzo to just 31 yards rushing. Manzo rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns the week prior.

To improve to 4-0, Sutter will have to find a way to bottle up Marysville's Cole Hannum this week. He ran for more than 300 yards against Wheatland.

QUICK HITS

• A week after rushing for more than 300 yards against Colusa, Live Oak's offense only picked up 98 yards on the ground against Lindhurst — not that it mattered.

Junior quarterback Romario Acosta was more than able to step up with the aerial attack, completing 7 of 9 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

• Through two games this season, Maxwell has outscored opponets 92-6. Senior Brett Cabral had three rushing touchdowns and a touchdown reception to lead the Panthers in a 47-6 victory over Colusa on Friday.

• Maxwell's other victory was a 45-0 win over Williams in week one. The Yellowjackets took out some of the frustration of that loss by thumping Biggs 43-13.

Williams gained 316 yards on the grouind with 100-yard rushing preformances from both Tony Boites and Leo Tapia.

• Division-I Pleasant Valley (Chico) rolled Gridley for the second straight season. P.V. won last year's Butte County showdown 54-0. At least Gridley scored this year. Final score: P.V. 55, Gridley 14. Not the most auspicious start going into this week's Game of the Week, the Harvest Bowl.

HELMET STICKERS

Offense: Marysville's Cole Hannum, junior, runing back — In a week filled with outstanding rushing performances, Hannum gets the nod. He rushed for 307 yards on 33 carries and almost single-handedly brought Marysville back from a 23-7 deficit with his three touchdowns.

Defense: Maxwell's Blake Vierra, sophomore, cornerback — In the Panthers' victory over Colusa, Vierra intercepted a pass and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown.

Special Teams: Sutter's Mat Sanders, junior, punter — In the second half of Friday's win, Sanders tallied punts of 40, 44 and 69 yards. His 69-yard boot pinned Eureka inside its own 2-yard line.

 STAT OF THE WEEK: 9

The number of turnovers Foothill’s (Palo Cedro) defense forced in the Cougars’ 59-7 victory over River Valley.

 QUOTABLE

"The funny thing is, they made up their own play ... and we scored a touchdown on it. We’ve never drawn up a play like that. The kids were confused ... and we scored a touchdown," Yuba City coach John Ithurburn said. He was commenting on a 41-yard scoring run that helped pad the Honkers’ lead in a 41-28 victory over Lincoln.