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CONTRIBUTED The Red Bluff Spartans girls' tennis team is pictured, from le , Rylee DuFrain, Victoria Yates, Audra Brown, Maggie Winning, Cleo DuFrain and Megan Boone. ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter RED BLUFF ForthefirsttimeinRed Bluff Union High School history, the girls' tennis team won the section championship Monday and Tuesday with a 5-3 win over the visiting Shasta Wolves. In singles play Monday, Maggie Winning won court 1 handily over her opponent Anagha Chandrahau, 6-3, 6-1. Cleo Dufrain at No. 2 had a difficult first set against Isa Acebal but won 15-13 in a tiebreaker. She finished up the second set convincingly with a 6-1 victory. No. 3 Megan Boone cruised through her match with Megan Cowee for a 6-0, 6-0 win. Rylee DuFrain played a much im- proved Cara Henson, who she had beaten earlier in the season, but lost 6-0, 6-1. Victoria Yates had the same out- come, as she had beaten Sofia Rooney in a tough three-setter in their first matchup, but played well in her 7-5, 7-6 loss. The No. 6 player Audra Brown played a much more experienced Gabby Powell and gave it her all but came up short 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 in a two- and-a-half-hour match. After singles play the match was tied up at three matches apiece. The winning team would need to win two of the three doubles matches remain- ing to take the section championship. The No. 2 doubles team of Boone and Rylee Dufrain secured the vic- tory on court 2 by winning handily 6-2, 6-0. That left the Spartans needing only one win on court 1 or court 3 to secure the section championship. After splitting sets on court 1 and the No. 3 doubles team finishing only four games, the matches were called because of darkness. The Red Bluff victory came Tuesday with Winning and Cleo Dufrain tak- ing the third set with a hard-fought 7-5 victory, securing the school's first TENNIS LadySpartanswinsectiontitle Sectionchampionshipis first in school history for Red Bluff's girls' team By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter REDBLUFF Two Red Bluff Spartans signed letters of intent with univer- sities Wednesday afternoon — Ally- son Drury for softball at Western Oregon University and Wes Claw- son at San Jose State University for baseball. Drury said she chose Western Oregon, which is between Eugene and Portland in Monmouth, be- cause the university is community based and the small town supports the softball team by coming out for the games. Academics have always been important to Drury, so having the chance to attend university and combine it with the sport she loves is icing on the cake, she said. Playing for the California Yard Sharks based in Rocklin during the offseason meant Drury had to do homework in the car on the way to and from practices after school, she said. Drury plans to major in biology with an emphasis on pre-med. Over three seasons at Red Bluff, Drury is hitting .276 with an on- base percentage of .340, 66 hits, 29 RBIs, eight doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 11 stolen bases. Drury has played basketball for the Spartans since she was a fresh- man. Clawson said he had offers from other colleges but chose San Jose State because of the coaching staff. He said he felt at home and the staff was welcoming and interested in him as a person. While Clawson is known to many Spartans fans for his performance on the gridiron, he said baseball has always been his No. 1 sport. Over two seasons with the Spar- tans, Clawson is hitting .260 with LETTERS OF INTENT PAIR OF SPARTANS SIGN TO COLLEGES Drury, Clawson to take the diamond at next level with Western Oregon, San Jose State, respectively Allyson Drury signs a letter of intent for so ball at Western Oregon University on Wednesday while her parents, Wendy and Tim, look on. PHOTOS BY CHIP THOMPSON — DAILY NEWS Wes Clawson signs a letter of intent for baseball at San Jose State University on Wednesday while his parents, Gary and Kim, look on. By Jerry McDonald Bay Area News Group ALAMEDA With it being the bye week and all, Derek Carr al- lowed himself a moment to re- flect how far the Oakland Raid- ers have come in a relatively short time. As a rookie starting quar- terback, Carr started his ca- reer 0-10 before finally break- ing through on Nov. 20, 2014 against the Kansas City Chiefs. "It was tough to come in 0-8, 0-9, and keep doing it," Carr said Wednesday following practice. "We kept our heads down and we knew that there was an end goal in mind. Obviously, we're not there yet." At 7-2, the Raiders are at least temporarily atop the AFC West. The Chiefs can join them there with a win Sunday over the Car- olina Panthers. The Raiders finished 3-13 in 2014, and improved to 7-9 in Jack Del Rio's first season as head coach. "Last year we got better, not RAIDERS Carr reflects on going from 0-10 start to 7-2 By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group Chip Kelly and Trent Baalke haven't made for a winning ticket thus far. But while the 49ers plod through a seven-game los- ing streak, Kelly says he's main- tained a daily line of communi- cation with the general manager. Kelly, speaking before Wednes- day's practice, also defended Baal- ke's penchant for leaving the 49ers during the week to scout college games, such as last week when Baalke traveled to the Mid- west. Simply put, the first-year coach is preaching a harmonious vibe despite the dismal start to his ten- ure with the 49ers (1-7). When it comes to clamoring for better talent or depth, Kelly isn't doing it so much publicly through the media but rather privately with Baalke, who is enduring his most frustrating season in seven years as the personnel czar. Said Kelly: "Before we leave, we'll get together, or the first thing in the morning. Maybe our third-down meeting went really long and Trent left and it was 10:15 or 10:30 Tuesday night, then the first thing I do when I get here at 5:45 (a.m.) is I'll run by Trent's office and we'll get a chance to catch up. But we meet daily." On Wednesday, Baalke joined Kelly as warm-up drills com- menced at practice, as is often the case, at least when Baalke is in town. Kelly had no qualms with Baalke's in-season trips to scout college talent. "That's his job. That's his choice," Kellys aid. "The guys who aren't on the road are watching tape in their office. It's, do you want to watch it live or … What Trent does a good job of is when you're not watching the tape in 49ERS Kelly says he, Baalke both on same page COLLEGES PAGE 2 Staff Report TUCUMCARI, NEW MEXICO Me- salands Community College an- nounced Wednesday that Kasy Baker from Cottonwood was sev- enth in the Grand Canyon Region in the bull riding event. The Mesalands rodeo team hosted the ninth annual Mesalands Grand Canyon Region In- tercollegiate Fall Rodeo in October, which was the last rodeo of the fall se- mester. Baker is a recipi- ent of the Stampede Rodeo Schol- arship and majors in Artistic Sil- versmithing at Mesalands. The Mesalands rodeo team will kick off the spring season in March. RODEO Cottonwood student 7th in region at Mesalands Baker TENNIS PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, November 10, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1