Honkers hoist Mayor's Cup again

Once again, the Mayor's Cup belongs to Yuba City.

With a chance to secure a playoff berth, the Honkers just wouldn't be denied as the backfield duo Taylor Rowe and Raul Lozano combined for 332 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to lead Yuba City to a 35-6 victory at River Valley on Friday night.

With the win, the Honkers (6-4) improved to a perfect 4-0 against their cross-town rivals and more importantly locked up their first postseason appearance since 2007 when they finished 5-6.

"It's amazing from where we were three years ago to where we are now," Yuba City coach John Ithurburn said. "This is our first winning season in I don't know how long, and the thing is, we're playing against better teams now."

After recovering a fumble near midfield, Yuba City set the tone early by marching 51 yards for a touchdown on their first drive of the game. Rowe did the bulk of the work with 40 yards on seven carries and Lozano finished it off with a 6-yard touchdown jaunt to put the Honkers up 7-0.

River Valley (2-8) answered back with its most impressive drive of the game by going 62 yards on 14 plays to work the ball down to the 2-yard line.

However, Lozano stuffed Dustin Terrell in the backfield for a 3-yard loss on second down to push the Falcons back to the five. A costly false-start penalty then moved River Valley back to the 10 and when sophomore quarterback Greg Cannon couldn't connect on two throws in the end zone, the Falcons came away with no points.

With their backs to the goal line, the Honkers embarked on their best drive of the game. Rowe again carried the load with 45 yards on six carries and Lozano capped the drive with a 10-yard run to give Yuba City a 14-0 halftime lead.

It was all Yuba City in the second half as Lozano zig-zagged his way through the Falcons' defense for a nifty 29-yard scoring run on their first drive of the third period and they never looked back.

"We've been working hard all summer and this is the payoff," said Rowe, who rumbled for 210 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown in another workmanlike effort. "The line has been doing great and they were again tonight. It was just a total team effort."

Bernell Barmore added a 5-yard touchdown run and Rowe finally found the end zone from 18-yards out in the fourth period to give Yuba City a 35-0 lead.

"Good kids make good coaches and he's been the workhorse every night for us," Ithurburn said of Rowe. "The O-line did a great job and the kids came out ready to play tonight."

Lozano, who like Rowe is only a junior, wasn't too bad either and finished the game with 122 yards and three touchdowns while running the Honkers' option offense to near perfection.

River Valley ran just six offensive plays and didn't move the chains in the second half until its final drive of the game. The Falcons averted the shutout when Terrell found the end zone from 3-yards out with 2 minutes remaining in the contest.

"We've built relationships with the kids this season, but you can't build a program overnight," said River Valley coach Brandon Asher, who is eager to get his players into the weight room to take part in an offseason program right away. "It was a learning experience for all of us, but I feel we're on the right track."

Yuba City will found out who and where it will play in the first round when the Sac-Joaquin Section releases its brackets on Sunday.

"My hat's off to coach Ithurburn and I wish them luck," Asher said. "Hopefully they'll get a home game so I can go and watch."