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Sports 1B Weekend October 5-6, 2013 49ers aim to stay on track Raiders host Chargers in rare late-night affair SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Embattled Texans quarterback Matt Schaub might be better off hitting the road and getting out of Houston for the weekend. Many of his so-called supporters are practically calling for his head. Or, at least, for backup T.J. Yates. A big sign above one freeway blares "Cut Schaub!" Fans burned Schaub's jersey after the Texans (2-2) failed on two overtime opportunities in a demoralizing 23-20 home defeat to unbeaten Seattle last week. "Any loss is painful and you don't enjoy it," defensive end J.J. Watt said. "We have a very good football team. There's no issue with focus or intensity at all." Schaub has thrown pick6s in three straight games. "I don't have time to really even process any of that because it's on to the next one in our world," Schaub said. "You don't have time to look in the rearview mirror and think about your past, good or bad." Now, things get even tougher as they visit Candlestick Park to take on the San Francisco 49ers (2-2). "We expect him to go out there and prepare for us all week as if his life relies on it," 49ers safety Donte Whitner said. "Right now, if he goes out there and makes more mistakes, it probably will." San Francisco understands all the scrutiny and sense of panic from fans. It was crisis mode for the 49ers until they snapped a two-game losing streak with a 35-11 road rout of the Rams. That after being OAKLAND, (AP) — Terrelle Pryor promises the San Diego Chargers will see a completely different quarterback than the one who made his first NFL start in last year's season finale. The footwork is more polished, the passes have more zip and accuracy, and Pryor has put to rest questions whether he can play quarterback in the NFL. "I made big strides and big steps," Pryor said. "I have to keep on working hard and understand you're never good enough." The Chargers (2-2) will see the new and improved version of Pryor on Sunday night when they visit the Oakland Raiders (1-3). The Raiders also will see a different version of San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers has always been a bit of a gunslinger, never afraid to throw the ball deep or into coverage while seeking the big play. That style also led to Rivers committing 47 turnovers the past two seasons, tied for the second most in the NFL over that span. Under new coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, Rivers has played a safer brand of football, completing more than 80 percent of his passes over the past three weeks. "We're still getting some chunk plays, but there is some more high percentage mixed in there," Rivers said. "I think the biggest thing is throw completions and get first downs. When a shot presents itself, we just have to make sure we capitalize." Three things to watch in Chargers-Raiders: LATE START: The start time has shifted from 1:25 p.m. PDT to 8:35 p.m. thanks to a baseball playoff game being played the previous night at the Coliseum. It takes about 18 hours to convert the stadium from baseball to football. leading to the late kickoff. While East Coast teams regularly start prime-time games at that hour, it's unusual for West Coast teams — and their fans. "We have to tee it up whenever they tell us to tee it up," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. "Let's not build in an excuse. Let's go play. ... We'll adjust the schedule a bit at the end of the week, but we'll be ready to go." DEALING WITH DIRT: With the Athletics still in the playoffs, the Coliseum will feature the dirt infield that covers much of the middle of the field. That makes it difficult for pass rushers to get off the ball quickly, receivers to make sharp cuts and kickers to get solid footing on long field goals. "I think you just have to know what it is and make sure you have the right shoes, because you could end up in the dirt a fair amount," Rivers said. "Be ready to get a few strawberries if you land on it. ... Once you get out there just get a feel for the footing, and once the ball is snapped, it's the last thing you're thinking about." PAUCITY OF PICKS: Oakland's rebuilt secondary is still looking for its first interception. The Raiders and Steelers are the only team without a pick through four weeks. They aren't even getting their hands on balls, ranking 31st in the league with nine passes defensed. AP photo San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis scores on a 12-yard touchdown reception against the St. Louis Rams on Sept. 26 in St. Louis. held to 10 total points in the first consecutive losses of coach Jim Harbaugh's tenure. "The fact of the matter in the National Football League is you lose a couple of games in a row, you're in a rut, you're in big trouble," Whitner said. "They can say that about us a couple weeks ago when we lost a couple in a row, and it was true. Same thing goes for the Texans." Here are three things to watch for in Sunday's prime-time matchup: NO IDENTITY CRISIS HERE: Just when everybody began questioning the NFC champion Niners' defense — a unit missing linebacker Aldon Smith as he undergoes treatment for substance abuse, and injured All-Pro Patrick Willis — the group came back with a big perfor- mance. With NaVorro Bowman leading the way in Willis' absence, San Francisco returned to that swarming, run-stopping defense that has defined the team in recent seasons. Bowman had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against St. Louis. "The last couple years that's what this team has been built on, stopping the run and running the football," defensive end Justin Smith said. "It just seems like that St. Louis game, that's our calling card, that's our identity." GORE ON A ROLL: Harbaugh is all about getting the ball to Frank Gore. No criticism of his touches now. Not after the 49ers' franchise rushing leader gained 153 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown at St. Louis. Gore typically builds off a big game. "I think it's a positive. I think Frank knows who he is as a player and what he's capable of," Harbaugh said. "We know he's capable of that. He knows he's capable of that. And our offensive line knows he's capable of that. No question that everybody's inspired by what he does. Nobody does it like Frank Gore." DAVIS' HANDS: Vernon Davis remembers plenty from the last time the 49ers played Houston nearly four years ago. The tight end, then in his fourth NFL season, had his first threetouchdown game in the 2421 loss. Davis is San Francisco's second-leading receiver this season behind Anquan Boldin, with 11 catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Tehama Tracker Pirates cruise; Red Sox pummel Rays Saturday's schedule 8-MAN FOOTBALL Princeton at Mercy, 10 a.m. CROSS COUNTRY Corning, Red Bluff at Clam Beach at Arcata FIELD HOCKEY Corning at Yuba City Tournament MLB PLAYOFFS DIVISIONAL SERIES Tampa Bay at Boston, 2:30 p.m. Detroit at Oakland, 6 p.m. NHL Phoenix at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's schedule MLB PLAYOFFS DIVISIONAL SERIES St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 1:30 p.m. Atlanta at L.A. Dodgers, 5 p.m. NFL Houston at San Francisco, 5:30 p.m. San Diego at Oakland, 8:35 p.m. Monday's schedule FIELD HOCKEY Corning at Davis, 4 p.m. MLB PLAYOFFS DIVISIONAL SERIES Atlanta at Los Angeles, TBD Boston at Tampa Bay, TBD Oakland at Detroit, TBD St. Louis at Pittsburgh, TBD Sports on TV Saturday AUTO RACING • Noon, NBCSN — IRL, IndyCar, Grand Prix of Houston, race 1 • 12:30 p.m., ESPN — NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Kansas Lottery 300, at Kansas City, Kan. • 10:30 p.m. , NBCSN — Formula One, Korean Grand Prix, at Yeongam, South Korea BOXING • 12:30 p.m., HBO — Champion Wladimir Klitschko (60-3-0) vs. Alexander Povetkin (26-0-0), for WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight titles, at Moscow • 6:45 p.m., HBO — Lightweights, Terence Crawford (21-0-0) vs. Adrey Klimov (16-0-0); super welterweights, Miguel Cotto (37-4-0) vs. Delvin Rodriguez (286-3), at Orlando, Fla. COLLEGE FOOTBALL • 8:30 a.m., CBS — Air Force at Navy • 9 a.m., Big Ten Network — Penn State at Indiana • 9 a.m., CBSSN — Lehigh at Fordham • 9 a.m., CSNB — New Hampshire at Towson • 9 a.m. , ESPN — Maryland at Florida St. • 9 a.m., ESPN2 — Michigan St. at Iowa • 9 a.m., ESPNEWS — Rutgers at SMU • 9 a.m., ESPNU — Illinois at Nebraska • 9 a.m., FS1 — Texas Tech at Kansas • 12:30 p.m., ABC — Minnesota at Michigan • 12:30 p.m., CBS — Georgia at Tennessee • 12:30 p.m., CBSSN — Rice at Tulsa • 12:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Clemson at Syracuse or Kansas St. at Oklahoma St. • 12:30 p.m., ESPNU — Georgia Tech at Miami • 12:30 p.m., FSN — East Carolina at Middle Tenn. • 1 p.m. , FS1 — Washington St. at California • 3 p.m., PAC-12 Network — Oregon at Colorado • 4 p.m., ESPN — LSU at Mississippi St. • 4 p.m., ESPN2 — Arkansas at Florida • 4 p.m., ESPNU — Mississippi at Auburn • 4 p.m., FOX — TCU at Oklahoma • 4:30 p.m., CBSSN — Louisiana Tech at UTEP • 4:30 p.m., CSNB — Missouri at Vanderbilt • 4:30 p.m., NBC — Arizona St. at Notre Dame • 5 p.m. , ABC — Ohio St. at Northwestern • 5 p.m., FS1 — West Virginia at Baylor • 7:30 p.m., ESPN — Washington at Stanford GOLF • 5 a.m., NBC — PGA Tour, Presidents Cup, third round, at Dublin, Ohio • 5 a.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, Seve Trophy, third round, at Paris (sameday tape) • Noon, TGC — LPGA, Reignwood Classic, third round, at Beijing (same-day tape) MLB PLAYOFFS • 2:30 p.m., TBS — ALDS, Game 2, Tampa Bay at Boston • 6 p.m., TBS — ALDS, Game 2, Detroit at Oakland NHL • 4 p.m., NHL NETWORK — Detroit at Boston • 7:30 p.m., CSNC — Phoenix at San Jose SOCCER • 4:40 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Everton at Manchester City • 6:55 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace • 9:25 a.m. , NBCSN — Premier League, Manchester United at Sunderland • 7 p.m., NBCSN — MLS, Seattle at Colorado Sunday AUTO RACING • 12:30 a.m., ESPN2 — NHRA, qualifying for Auto-Plus Nationals, at Reading, Pa. (delayed tape) • 10 a.m., NBCSN — IRL, IndyCar, Grand Prix of Houston, race 2 • 11 a.m., ESPN — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Hollywood Casino 400, at Kansas City, Kan. • 5 p.m. , ESPN2 — NHRA, Auto-Plus Nationals, at Reading, Pa. (same-day tape) GOLF • 9 a.m., NBC — PGA Tour, Presidents Cup, final round, at Dublin, Ohio • 9 a.m., TGC — European PGA Tour, Seve Trophy, final round, at Paris (sameday tape) • Noon, TGC — LPGA, Reignwood Classic, final round, at Beijing (same-day tape) MLB PLAYOFFS • 1:30 p.m., TBS — NLDS, Game 3, St. Louis at Pittsburgh • 5 p.m., TBS — NLDS, Game 3, Atlanta at Los Angeles NFL • 10 a.m., CBS — New England at Cincinnati • 10 a.m., FOX — Detroit at Green Bay • 1:25 p.m., CBS — Denver at Dallas • 5 p.m. , NBC — Houston at San Francisco • 8:30 p.m., NFL — San Diego at Oakland SOCCER • 5:25 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Chelsea at Norwich • 7:55 a.m., NBCSN — Premier League, Arsenal at West Bromwich WNBA • 5:30 p.m., ESPN — Playoffs, finals, game 1, Atlanta vs Minnesota Monday MLB PLAYOFFS TO BE DETERMINED NFL • 5:25 p.m., ESPN — N.Y. Jets at Atlanta Pirates 7, Cardinals 1 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh Pirates played like veterans. Cole gave up two hits in six dominant innings and had an RBI in his postseason debut, Pedro Alvarez homered for the second straight day and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Friday to even their NL division series at a game apiece. After taking advantage of several Cardinals mistakes, the Pirates head home for Game 3 on Sunday. Wildcard game winner Francisco Liriano faces Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly. Roles were reversed from the Cardinals' 9-1 win in the opener, with the Pirates showing poise in their first postseason appearance since 1992 and St. Louis looking tentative in the field. Cardinals starter Lance Lynn, who hasn't lasted long enough to qualify for the victory in any of his three career postseason starts, yielded five runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings. He found trouble early. Alvarez doubled in the second on a fly ball that was misjudged by center fielder Jon Jay and he scored on Cole's single to put the Pirates ahead — eighth-place hitter Jordy Mercer was walked intentionally ahead of Cole. Alvarez then hit a 418-foot two-run homer in the third. Third baseman David Freese dropped Marlon Byrd's pop fly for an error in gusting wind in the seventh inning, leading to a run. Cole faced the Cardinals for the first time and left most of them shaking their heads, striking out five and walking one. After allowing Carlos Beltran's double with one out in the first, he retired 11 straight before Yadier Molina led off the fifth with his third career postseason homer. Relying on a fastball that peaked at 99 mph on the stadium radar gun and one that TBS had at 100, Cole had hitters helpless at times even without shadows that benefited pitchers early in Game 1. He retired the side in order on seven pitches in the third, finishing by striking out Lynn and leadoff man Matt Carpenter. The 22-year-old rookie didn't allow a ball out of the infield in the fourth. Red Sox 12, Rays 2 BOSTON (AP) — One ball fell between two outfielders. Another took a bad hop off the Green Monster standings. One batter reached safely on a dropped third strike and another when the pitcher was slow to cover first. By the time it was over, the Boston Red Sox had scored five runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of Tampa Bay's bad luck and bad defense to beat the Rays 12-2 on Friday in Game 1 of the AL division series. Every Boston starter got a hit and scored a run. The Red Sox tweeted that it was the first time a team had done that in the postseason since 1936 — Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees did it in the World Series. Needing a 163rd game to earn a wild-card berth, the Rays took three win-or-go home matchups in three different cities to reach this series. Now they need a victory in Game 2 on Saturday to tie the series before the teams shift to St. Petersburg, Fla., for Games 3 and 4. Jon Lester allowed three hits in 7 23 innings for the AL East champions, giving up a pair of solo homers over the Monster by Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist to spot the Rays a 2-0 lead through the top of the fourth. Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore had still not given up a hit. But Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom half with a single up the middle, and then David Ortiz hit a high fly ball that center fielder Desmond Jennings and rookie right fielder Wil Myers converged on. Myers raised his left hand to call off Jennings but let it fall behind him, bouncing off the warning track a few feet in front of the fence and into the bullpen for a double. PREP ROUNDUP GOLF While the Chico High girls golf team took first Thursday in an Eastern Athletic League match at Bidwell Park Golf Course with a score of 240, Red Bluff and Chico are tied for first in the overall standings at 24 points apiece. Red Bluff finished the day with a score of 262, led by the low score of 47 by Yazmin Villalobos. Summer Frantz finished with a score of 51, Michelle Mitchell scored a 53 and Autumn Poole shot a 54. Red Bluff's Sofia Frantz finished with a score of 57, and Bailey Patchen finished with a 63. Enterprise finished with a 264, and Pleasant Valley and Foothill both finished with a score of 265. Paradise notched a 270, and Shasta tailed with a 271. VOLLEYBALL The Mercy Lady Warriors kept its unbeaten league streak alive with a couple of wins against Chester and Hayfork this week. Mercy bested chester, 25-19, 2517, 25-16. The Warriors were led by Jessica Curl's 15 kills, 8 digs and 7 points on serve. Breana Kemp added 12 digs, and 10 points on serve with 4 aces. In Mercy's 25-13, 25-15, 25-13 win against Hayork, Kemp led with 14 points on serve with 5 aces and 6 assists. Marissa Starman notched 5 digs, and Curl had 4 kills. Mercy holds a 3-0 Five Star League record and next visits Liberty Christian on Tuesday. The Corning Lady Cardinals finished its week of play with a loss and and win. The Cards fell at home to Gridley, 22-25, 19-25, 8-25, but won Thursday's matchup at Las Plumas, 25-16, 25-16, 25-14. In the win, the Cards were led by Miranda Kremer's 9 kills and 5 blocks. Auree Mulliner had 18 points on serve with 2 aces, and Nina Womack notched 18 points on serve with 13 assists. Corning (8-14) next visits Yreka on Tuesday for its league opener. TENNIS Mercy High fell to Wheatland Thursday, 8-1. The Mercy doubles team of Ayeong Seo and Nicole Kim beat Chiann Polines and Lauryn Kelly, 8-1. Mercy fell to Orland, 9-0 on Tuesday.