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ByRichGreene rgreene@redbluffdailynews.com @richgreenenews on Twitter REDBLUFF Inthefinalfivemin- utes of a desperation game the Red Bluff Spartans pulled to- gether. Red Bluff forced two turn- overs in the final minutes and came back from down two scores to beat visiting Foothill 21-17 Friday night to save their season and start their Eastern Athletic League campaign on a winning note. Leading with five minutes remaining Foothill was deep in Red Bluff territory with a 14-6 lead when the Spartans defense made the stop they needed to. The Cougars settled for a 22- yard field goal which put them up 17-6 with 4:14 remaining. Red Bluff didn't panic. Walker Dodero, filling in all game for the injured Kade Lewis at quarterback, hooked up with Aaron Lyon on a 31-yard pass re- ception to the Foothill 35. Dodero then threw up what was basically a Hail Mary in the area of three Cougars and two Spartans. With coaches yelling "bat it down" Joey Skaggs instead leaped up caught it, kept his balance as he fell to the ground with his arm and sprinted the final 10 yards into the end zone for the score. "I was just going for the ball, made the best of it," Skaggs said. Dodero rushed in the 2-point conversion and the Spartans had cut the lead to 17-14 with 3:17 on the clock. Red Bluff's onside attempt went out-of-bounds, but two plays later KJ Hinkston ripped the ball free and Lyon pounced on it. Tough running by Dodero and Daniel Koenig with a Dale Danis reception sandwiched in between gave Red Bluff a first down at Foothill's 32. Lane Pritchard, who had a monster game with three recep- tions for 95 yards plus a touch- down pass, sprinted down the sideline and was hauled down for pass interference. On the next play at Foothill's 16 Dodero found Lyon for his second touchdown reception of the game and Red Bluff took a 21-17 lead. Lyon finished with five catches for 122 yards and two scores. Foothill got the ball back on their own 39 with 1:35 left and one time out. They reached the Red Bluff 41 with 41 seconds remaining when Pritchard sealed the game with an interception at the Spartans 12. "I challenged our kids this week," coach Corey Hein said. "A lot of times you like to keep the pressure off the kids, but I told them 'they're young men now they're not little boys any- more it's time for them to try to win the game.' And they did a good job. We kind of went back- and-forth in the first half and we kind of had some penalties and dropped passes and things like that. But we kind of called out our guys at halftime and fixed some things up on the board and they came out and didn't make many mistakes." One of those dropped passes seemed to only make the re- ceiver play better. With the game scoreless late in the first quarter Pritchard, playing in his first game of the season, dropped a wide-open pass. Pritchard went back to the line of scrimmage for the next play, shook his head as the snap FOOTBALL Spartanscomeback tobeatFoothill TheSpartansdefensecollapsesonaFoothillballcarrierFridaynight. By Nick Woodard nwoodard@chicoer.com @nwoodard25 on Twitter OROVILLE Alex Davila told his coach that he could score at the goal line. His coach trusted him, and he burst into the end zone from six yards out. It was the dif- ference in the game. Davila scored with less than eight minutes to go in the game to help the Corning High foot- ball team beat Oroville 27-26 Friday night at Harrison Sta- dium. Oroville had a chance to tie the game with three minutes left, but a muffed point-after snap resulted in a blocked kick. Davila ended up with 167 yards on the ground and two scores for the Cardinals. "He is really the captain on the field for us," said Corning coach John Studer. "In addi- tion to making plays, he's our top communicator." Corning (3-1) had the ball first on offense, and the game looked uneven early. Running back Aiden Nye had a 26-yard carry early, and Chance Nelson fin- ished off a quick 69-yard drive with a touchdown from close. Nelson finished the game with 10 carries for 76 yards. Davila broke away for an 81- yard score for the only play of Corning's next drive. On the en- suing kickoff, the Tigers fum- bled and Corning had the ball back with the chance to add to its lead early. Then, Corning fumbled on a 4th and 5 from Oroville's 14- yard line. The next drive ended with an interception, the next FOOTBALL Cardinals get 27-26 edge over Oroville PHOTO BY JASON O'HANLON Oroville's Dylan Shoemaker (26) runs for short gain before being tackled by Corning's Alex Davila (3) during the first quarter of Friday's game at Harrison Stadium in Oroville. RED BLUFF With Mercy leading 21-0 in the third quarter Satur- day, visiting Herlong had to for- feit the remainder of the game due to player injuries. The win improved the Warriors to 2-0 in California - South league play and 3-2 overall on the season. Koleby Potter threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Teddy Ran- berg, ran in another score and led Mercy in tackles. Al House led Mercy with 118 yards and a rushing touchdown. Ranberg picked up an intercep- tion and Bryce Baer had a sack. Herlong dropped to 2-1 overall with the loss and 0-1 in league play. The Warriors continue league play when they travel to Prince- ton (3-2, 1-0) 4 p.m. Friday. 8-MAN FOOTBALL Mercy wins via forfeit Was leading Herlong 21-0 in third quarter By Dave Skretta The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, MO. The Kansas City Royals made one of the bold- est trades in franchise history two years ago. The Oakland Athletics made a similarly aggressive move just a couple of months ago. The results of both will be in the starting spotlight Tuesday night. For the Royals, it's "Big Game James" — James Shields, the cen- terpiece of a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that finally pushed the long-downtrodden franchise into the postseason for the first time in 29 years. For the A's, it's Jon Lester — the postseason star of the Red Sox last season who was acquired by Oakland at the trad- ing deadline just for this moment. The one-game AL wild-card playoff. The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five division series Thurs- day. The loser trudges away into the offseason. "I've only been here for two years," Shields said Monday, "but when I got traded over here, I knew the magnitude of what this organization was headed for. And when I got here, walking around the city and talking to the fans and really relishing the 29 years, it's a special moment." The teams share plenty of sim- ilarities: pop-gun offenses backed by strong starting pitching and two of the dominant bullpens in baseball. They also share a significant difference: Oakland has plenty of postseason experience, making it three straight years, while Kansas City has languished near the cel- lar for decades. That's the biggest reason why MLB A's Lester, Royals' Shields focus of AL wild-card San Francisco must win Wednesday at Pittsburgh to advance into the best-of-five NL division series against the NL East champion Washing- ton Nationals. GIANTS SFnostrangerto elimination games FULLSTORYONPAGEB5 All three Tehama County prep tennis teams are hosting matches today at 3:30p.m. West Valley will be at Red Bluff, Anderson is at Corn- ing and University Prep is at Mercy. TENNIS Local teams hosting matches today Today's volleyball matches in- clude Corning visiting Gridley at 7p.m., Los Molinos at Wil- liams at 7p.m. and the Mercy Lady Warriors hosting visiting Hayfork at 6:30p.m. VOLLEYBALL Lady Warriors host Hayfork at 6:30 p.m. Raiders owner Mark Davis on Monday fired head coach Dennis Allen, according to a Fox Sports report, on the heels of his team's 0-4 start and no obvious signs of the progress he expected this season. RAIDERS Coach Dennis Allen fired a er 0-4 start SPARTANS PAGE 5 CARDINALS PAGE 5 MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jon Lester throws to the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning on Wednesday in Oakland. A'S PAGE 5 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, September 30, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4