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ByJanieMcCauley TheAssociatedPress SANTACLARA LinebackerMi- chael Wilhoite calls him "Man- genius." That nickname for Niners defensive coordinator Eric Mangini might just catch on if San Francisco can replicate its defensive shutdown of Min- nesota this weekend against a tougher test: on the road at Pittsburgh in a short week. "With all the tools that we installed in OTAs and fall camp, we just showed a small package of what we can do," Wilhoite said. "There's a lot of stuff Mangenius has, and a lot of tricks up his sleeve." Wilhoite is unconcerned with who is no longer on San Francisco's menacing defense long known as one of the NFL's toughest. He insists the men- tality will stay the same re- gardless of personnel and ma- jor alterations. Mangini appreciates the compliments, but knows how fast things can change in this league. "Well, I hope he was using in a complimentary way, not ironically," Mangini said Fri- day. "You have a good week, you get positive things, and if you don't, then that name NFL 49ersdefensevows toremaindominant SanFrancisco'scoordinatorMangini has more to unveil with different packages PHOTOSBYMARCIOJOSESANCHEZ—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson runs against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half Monday in Santa Clara. San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea sacks Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater during the second half Monday in Santa Clara. By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press JOLIET, ILL. Kevin Harvick will begin defense of his Sprint Cup championship from the pole in the opening round of NASCAR's playoffs. Heavy rain washed out qual- ifying Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, and NASCAR set the field based on speeds from the only practice session of the day. Knowing that weather was likely going to be an issue, Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team focused on laying down a fast lap that they could fall back on should qualifying indeed be scratched. It was the right play, and Harvick will lead the field to green Sunday in the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. "I'm just most proud of my team for having the fast race car and coming to the track and having a plan, and doing all the things they did to (an- ticipate) the weather," Harvick said. "They put a lot of empha- sis on laying a fast lap down, just like everybody else, to get a good starting position." It seemed like everyone had that same plan as the top four starting spots went to Chase drivers, and 12 of the fastest 15 NASCAR SPRINT CUP Harvick to start on pole due to rainout Field based on speeds from only practice session of day before qualifying scratched NAM Y. HUH — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kevin Harvick will begin defense of his Sprint Cup championship from the pole in the opening round of NASCAR's playoffs Sunday. Heavy rain washed out Friday's qualifying. Sunday: San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 10a.m., TV on FOX. TUNEIN Staff Reports LOS MOLINOS The Bulldogs took straight-set victories in all three matches Thursday at the Beth Pil- ger Invitational at Los Molinos High School. Opening the tournament, the Bulldogs beat Chester 25-9 and 25-15. Team leaders were Rachel Rog- ers with seven kills and three aces; Liset Castillo with six kills and 10 digs and Vanessa Cota with four aces and 16 assists. In the second match, the Bull- dogs bested Princeton 25-3 and 25-5. Team leaders were Rogers with seven kills and seven aces and Cota with four aces and 16 assists. To close out the first day of the tournament, the Bulldogs beat Williams 25-13 and 25-12. Top performances were from Rogers with 11 kills and two aces; Castillo with five kills, nine digs and four aces; Henna Acevedo with three kills and seven aces and Cota with 18 assists. The tournament continues to- day. MERCY FALLS TO FALL RIVER The Mercy Warriors lost a home match Thursday to Fall River in three sets, 25-15, 25-18 and 25-20. Standouts for the Warriors were Madeline Flynn with 10 kills, two blocks and eight digs; C.J. Johnson with four kills and 12 digs; Laura Keane with three kills, an ace and a block and Ta- sha Pimentel with four aces and 19 assists. The Warriors are scheduled to face Durham on Wednesday at Durham High School. ROUNDUP Bulldogs perfect so far at own tourney Mercy drops home match to Fall River in three sets By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group ALAMEDA Charles Woodson was officially listed as questionable Friday, which unofficially ren- dered the Oakland Raiders' sec- ondary even more so if Woodson's banged-up shoulder won't allow him to play. After being sliced up by Cin- cinnati's Andy Dalton in Week 1, the Raiders will face a Super Bowl winner in Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on Sun- day and could do so with a de- fensive backfield comprised of two journeyman reserve safeties, Larry Asante and Taylor Mays, as the starters. Asante, who has played in four NFL organizations and made a grand total of two starts, will as- sume the free safety spot in place of veteran Nate Allen, who will be out for several weeks with a knee injury. Mays, who has 10 starts in five prior seasons with the 49ers and Bengals and was cut by Oak- land during training camp, will likely man the strong safety spot if Woodson can't go. Collectively, Asante and Mays will have to develop a patchwork cohesion on the fly with corner- backs D.J. Hayden and T.J. Car- rie against a Ravens offensive unit NFL Woodson case puts Raiders' secondary in tough spot Sunday: Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders, 1:05p.m., TV on CBS. TUNEIN Evidence reviewed by The As- sociated Press confirms that police bullets hit bikers in the deadly shootout involving two rival motorcycle clubs that clashed last spring outside a Waco restaurant. ASSOCIATED PRESS REVIEW Wacopolicebulletshit bikers in deadly melee FULL STORY ON PAGE B3 Thousands of migrants were trapped Friday in a vicious tug-of-war as bickering Euro- pean governments shut border crossings, blocked bridges and erected fences in a bid to stem the wave of humanity. ASYLUM-SEEKERS Europeans shut borders to halt migrant surge FULL STORY ON PAGE B8 For the first time in 7years, there was a new coach at the front of the room when the Sharks opened training camp Friday. Peter DeBoer is tasked with getting the Sharks back into the playoffs. HOCKEY Sharks open training camp with new coach The Sacred Heart and Mercy High Color Dash 5K fun run and walk is scheduled for 10a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Sacred Heart. Visit newcol- ordash5k.ticketmob.com/ to register. FUN RUN Sacred Heart plans Color Dash 5K run, walk 49ERS PAGE 2 NASCAR PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, September 19, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1