Yuba City headed into harsh territory

For a class that had difficulty earning wins on the freshmen and junior varsity teams, the Honkers have made a quite a run in 2009.

But John Ithurburn isn't ready to call it a season.

Yuba City, which closed out its regular season with a 35-6 win over River Valley in the fourth annual Mayor's Cup, will be a No. 13 seed when it travels to Fairfield to take on No. 4 Vanden (9-1) today in the Division III opener.

The Honkers (6-4) will have their hands full.

"They're good, big, fast and just real athletic," coach Ithurburn said. "They throw the ball around and run, they're just huge too. We've seen some big teams, but nothing like this."

The Vikings boast a balanced offense and a defense which has allowed an average of just 11 points a game.

Quarterback Ben Scott has thrown for 1,682 yards, 24 touchdowns and just seven picks on the year. The Vikings use up to four backs, including leading rusher Damon Treat (829 yards, 11 touchdowns), who averages more than eight yards a carry.

Chris Broadnax is the leading receiver on the team with 35 catches for 816 yards and 13 touchdowns. Two other wideouts share 40 receptions on the team.

Deone Buccannon leads the team in tackles with 107, while defensive back Sean Phillips has six interceptions on the year and Jabari Scott leads the team with 10 sacks.