Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/194805
1B Sports 49ers' Davis clicking with Kaepernick SANTA CLARA (AP) — Vernon Davis joked about burning by the Honey Badger, Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu. ''Ran past the Honey Badger,'' Davis said with a grin. ''The Honey Badger didn't see me.'' He razzed Cardinals wide receiver and pal Larry Fitzgerald for having more body fat than the San Francisco tight end who is as fit and fast as ever a few months shy of 30. The sensational day Davis put together last weekend allowed him a little bit of leeway: He caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards and finished with a career-best 180 yards receiving in the 49ers' 32-20 victory against Arizona. After all that, he turned down a game ball from coach Jim Harbaugh given each week to a standout player on offense, defense and special teams. Davis insisted quarterback Colin Kaepernick deserved it more. With six touchdowns through the first six games for San Francisco (4-2), Davis has already topped his TD total of five from last season. His 22 receptions are well on the way to surpassing his 41 in 2012. And Davis didn't even play one of those games, sitting out a 27-7 loss to Indianapolis with a hamstring injury to have his streak of 98 straight games played snapped. Not that Davis is necessarily counting his numbers at this stage. He does know that he and Kaepernick have found a nice groove together at last. Davis said he struggled to click initially with Kaepernick in 2012 when the quarterback took over the starting job from Alex Smith in November. Davis caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards against the Cardinals, his second TD catch of at least 60 yards in as many games after he had a 64-yarder in a 34-3 rout of Houston a week earlier. ''I just run, man. I feel like I've gotten faster,'' Davis said, chuckling in near disbelief. ''I feel like it, but there's no telling. I'm just out there running because that's my biggest asset, my speed. I use it the best way I can and I continue to get open and help this team win.'' He showed off his speed and more on one spectacular leaping, over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline that even had Harbaugh shaking his head, stunned. Davis has practiced that very catch daily for five years with assistant athletic trainer Nate Breske — and Davis gave Breske a shoutout after Sunday's game. ''It's pretty cool,'' Breske said. ''Any chance he gets when there's a break in practice, he's working on that catch or any other catch, and he's ready for me to throw him the ball. He's relentless.'' In his eighth season, Davis said he learned after a few years in the league how to better take care of himself, and those little things are paying off now. He turned more attention to his diet. He is playing at 245 pounds, five pounds lighter than his playing weight early in his career. ''I wasn't fat, a little bit,'' he said, grinning. ''I changed my diet. No fast food, stayed away from steak. I don't eat too much red meat. Chicken, fish, greens. I just feel loose and lean.'' And, of standing next to star Cardinals wideout Fitzgerald before the game, Davis offered this: ''He's pretty big. Except for he probably has more fat than me. That's my guy, I love him.'' Davis' contributions are all the more important with top 2012 wideout Michael Crabtree recovering from a torn right Achilles' tendon that required surgery. He is expected back sometime next month. In the meantime, the 6-foot-3 Davis has been lining up as both a tight end and receiver, depending on the play. ''We knew he'd be a mismatch, he always is,'' Kaepernick said. ''Vernon is someone who has all those tools. So, every route it is going to vary for him, but he uses those tools to his advantage.'' Come February, after what he hopes is a return trip to the Super Bowl and a championship this time, Davis will share his expertise in another forum. For the second time, he will serve as honorary captain to the U.S. men's curling team for the Sochi Olympics. He attended matches at the 2010 Vancouver Games after trying out the sport in San Jose and becoming interested. He has done public service announcements and is taping something for USA Curling's January event in Las Vegas. For now, Davis is focused on keeping San Francisco on a nice roll. The 49ers have won three straight games heading into a difficult stretch with Sunday's game at Tennessee, then a flight straight to London to play Jacksonville the following week. He does a lot to help prepare the Niners' defense each week. ''He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants,'' running back Frank Gore said. ''You can't put a safety on him, you can't even really put corners on him. That's a 250-pound guy running a 4.3 (40-yard dash). He's probably one of the fastest guys on the team. I'm happy we've got him as a look that can go deep.'' Tehama Tracker Today's schedule CROSS COUNTRY Red Bluff at Monterey Bay at Salinas FOOTBALL Wheatland at Red Bluff (Homecoming), 7:30 p.m.; Corning at Central Valley, 7:30 p.m.; University Prep at Los Molinos, 7:30 p.m. TENNIS Corning at Yreka VOLLEYBALL Los Molinos at Nike Invitational in Phoenix Sports on TV AUTO RACING 7:30 a.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Truck Series, practice for Fred's 250, at Talladega, Ala. 11:30 a.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for Camping World RV Sales 500, at Talladega, Ala. 4 p.m. NBCSN — IRL, IndyCar, qualifying for MAVTV 500, at Fontana, Calif. (sameday tape) 1 p.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, "Happy Hour Series," final practice for Camping World RV Sales 500, at Talladega, Ala. CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE 9 a.m. NBCSN — Calgary at Edmonton (same-day tape) COLLEGE FOOTBALL 5 p.m. ESPN — UCF at Louisville GOLF 8 a.m. TGC — LPGA, KEB HanaBank Championship, first round, at Incheon, South Korea (same-day tape) 11 a.m. TGC — Champions Tour, Greater Hickory Classic, first round, at Conover, N.C. 2 p.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, second round, at Las Vegas 9:30 p.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Perth International, second round, at Perth, Australia (delayed tape) MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 5 p.m. TBS — Playoffs, National League Championship Series, game 6, Los Angeles at St. Louis PREP FOOTBALL 4 p.m. FS1 — Cypress Bay (Fla.) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) 5 p.m. ESPN2 — Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) at Paramus Catholic (N.J.) SOCCER 5 p.m. NBCSN — MLS, DC United at Kansas City Friday October 18, 2013 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Chico High forfeits 'W' vs. Red Bluff By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Chico High School is forfeiting their football win over Red Bluff, Spartans Athletic Director Brad Wagner said. On Oct. 11 Chico beat the Spartans 61-20 on the field, but the game will go down in the record books as a 2-0 Red Bluff win. Red Bluff Coach Corey Hein said the team was notified by email that they were receiving a forfeit win and are now 4-2. It's quite the boost for the Spartans, who after starting 3-0 had lost three straight and been outscored 136-34 in those games. Now the Spartans go from likely on the outside of the playoff bubble looking in, to having a legitimate shot at hosting a playoff game should the team return to its early season form. But it's not all positive news coming from the Northern Section office for Red Bluff. Wagner and Hein both confirmed that star running back Christian Shaffer will have to sit out the Homecoming game Friday against Wheatland. Shaffer was ejected in the second quarter against Chico after two consecutive plays received penalty flags for roughing the kicker on Daily News photo by Rich Greene Chico High School forfeited its 61-20 victory over the Red Bluff Spartans on Friday after it was learned that the Panthers used an ineligible player. an extra point attempt. Section rules state that a player in any sport that is ejected from a game, must sit the following game. The Spartans appealed the decision, but were denied the appeal. A call to the Northern Section office Thursday was not returned to the Daily News. "Obviously an unfortunate set of circumstances," Hein said of the situation. "We coach our kids to play to the whistle and he was just trying to block the kick. He's blocked four or five of them on the year and he's blocked over 30 in his high school career. We felt like he was trying to block it, but the section made a decision and we'll support it. Junior running back Daniel Koenig saw the majority of carries when Shaffer was forced to sit the second half against Chico. He finished the game with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Chico High Athletic Director Chip Carton took responsibility for the Pan- thers' reversal of fortune. Carton said the fault was his and his alone for approving the playing status of a Pleasant Valley transfer student-athlete, citing a misinterpretation of Northern Section CIF bylaws. "I just made a mistake. I misunderstood some language in the eligibility process and let him play football Friday night," Carton said Thursday. "It's fully on me — nobody on campus, the team, or anybody else made a mistake. The See FORFEIT, page 2B Red Bluff High Homecoming Court Hannah Woodall, 17, daughter of Rebecca Benson, Ryland Sander, Bobby Bullit, is involved in Varsity Volleyball, Varsity soccer, Varsity Track, Red Bluff Rowdies, Student Government, and Connect Crew. Karlee Garcia, 17, daughter of Kathy and Ronnye Garcia is involved in Connect Crew, CSF, Math and Science Club, SCNAC Club, Red Bluff Rowdies, Leadership, Student Government, Dance Team, Varsity Volleyball, and the Austrian Exchange. Red Bluff High School's homecoming ceremonies are set for today between the Spartans' junior varsity and varsity football games against the Wheatland Pirates at Spartans Stadium. The junior varsity game is set to start at 5 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled after the queen's coronation. The homecoming court includes Hannah Woodall, Karlee Garcia, Maggie Tallan, Marissa Chase, Megan DiDio and Tori Garcia. Bios were provided by Red Bluff High School. Maggie Tallan, 17, daughter of Melissa Tallan in involved in Bluffer, Spartan Radio, and LARP Club. Marissa Chase, 17, daughter of Lida Chase, is involved in The Bluffer, NASA Lassen Astrobiology Internship Program, Outdoor Adventure Club, CSF, Go Green Club, Math and Science Club, Cross Country, JV/Varsity Soccer, Freshman/JV Basketball, and the Italian Exchange. Megan DiDio, 16, daughter of Jim DiDio is involved in CSF, Key Club, Red Bluff Rowdies, Varsity Cheer, Connect Crew, Student Government, Senior Class President, Math and Science Club, and Pursuit of Happiness Club. Tori Garcia, 16, daughter of Debbie and Alvin Garcia is involved in Leadership, Varsity Cheer, CSF, Dance, and volunteer work at Our Little House. BoSox a win from pennant after beating Tigers 4-3 DETROIT (AP) — Mike Napoli's majestic homer began a rare early Boston breakthrough, Junichi Tazawa again bested Miguel Cabrera in a crucial spot and the Red Sox moved within one win of reaching the World Series by edging the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Thursday night. Boston returns to Fenway Park with a 3-2 lead in the AL championship series. Game 6 is Saturday with the Tigers' Max Scherzer facing the Red Sox's Clay Buchholz. Cabrera was thrown out at the plate in the first inning, halting an early Detroit rally, and he hit into a double play against Tazawa with runners at the corners in the seventh. The Tigers scored a run on the grounder, but it was a trade-off the Red Sox were willing to make. Napoli led off a three-run second with a drive off Anibal Sanchez into the ivy beyond the wall in center field. Detroit's starters had allowed only three runs in 27 innings through the first four games of the series. After pitching six no-hit innings in Game 1, Sanchez allowed four — three earned — in six innings Thursday. Jon Lester allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings Thursday. He walked three and struck out three, and the Boston bullpen held on to fin- See ALCS, page 2B