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By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor Spartans athletics will have a dif- ferent look come fall. Red Bluff Union High School football coach John Schwabauer and volleyball coach Kim Wheeler resigned their positions effective Jan. 21. The football team's offensive coordinator, and former co-head coach, Rich Hassay also resigned along with varsity assistant Doug Williams and freshman coach Laird Richards. Hassay said he plans to remain the school's athletic director. Schwabauer and Hassay experi- enced both highs and lows guiding the Spartans over the last decade and being part of the program for the past 20 years. They were a part of staffs that produced section titles in 1991 and 1999 and as head coaches guided Red Bluff to Eastern Athletic League titles in 2001 and another in 2 0 0 3 , when the S p a r t a n s went 10-0 in the regu- lar season. T h e r e was also controver- sy. I n November 2007, a group of around 50 parents, students and community members demanded the Red Bluff Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees fire the two men, who shared the position of co-head coach at the time. A month later, the board elimi- nated the co-coach position in favor of a single head coach and ordered a coaches code of conduct be written to address concerns over discipline and nepotism within the high s c h o o l 's sports pro- grams. Wheel- er, a two- time EAL Coach of the Year, said in an interview Thursday, the board, which she described as not coach- friendly, affected her decision to step down. "We know the administration has our back, but the board doesn't," she said in regards to issues with par- ents. Wheeler guided the Lady Spar- tans to four section titles and to the section championship game 14 times, never missing the playoffs in her 23 seasons as coach. The volleyball program pro- d u c e d more than 70 colle- giate play- ers, 10 of w h o m were Divi- sion I ath- l e t e s , including Wheeler's daughter, during her time with the p r o g r a m . Two players turned professional. Wheeler is the founder and direc- tor of Red Bluff Core Volleyball and Volleyball Camp. She said she anticipates continu- ing her relationship with clinics in the area and possibly still running Red Bluff's tournaments. Schwabauer said a number of factors went into his decision, but he had for awhile been looking at 2009 Sports 1B Friday January 29, 2010 Friday Boys Basketball — Biggs at Los Molinos, 5:30 p.m. Boys Basketball — Providence Christian at Mercy, 7 p.m. Boys Basketball — Shasta at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Boys Basketball — West Valley at Corning Girls Basketball — Providence Christian at Mercy, 5:30 p.m. NBA — Kings at Jazz, 6 p.m., CSNCA Spartans hold on for win in Paradise JEFF LARSON MediaNews Group PARADISE — Three here, three there, three everywhere. That was the second-half motto of the Par- adise High boys basketball team against Red Bluff, and if it wasn't for a 28-12 Spartan first- quarter advantage, the Bobcats' 3-point barrage might have worked. As it stood though, Red Bluff (9-9, 2-4) weathered the perimeter storm and hung on for a 76-66 Eastern Athletic League victory over the Bobcats Wednesday night in Paradise. "They were amazing hitting threes from everywhere (so) I told the guys to weather a storm, go slower and not go up and down the floor like (Paradise)," Red Bluff coach Stan Twitchell said. In all, the Bobcats (6-11, 1-5 EAL) converted 10-of-17 three-pointers, nine of which occurred in the second half and three apiece by sharp- shooters Trevor Edgecomb and Jacob Reinolds. Reinolds drilled the first 3 of the second half, while Edgecomb netted the 10th, and with 30 of its 66 points from 3-point range, the Bobcats cut a 16-point deficit down to three twice in the sec- ond half. The initial one possession deficit occurred when Edgecomb, a perennial right wing shooter, buried a 3 at the 3:43 mark of the third to complete a 15-4 Bobcat run and prompt Twitchell to call timeout. Twitchell's bunch, who lost by just four to league leader Chico earlier this year, immediate- ly answered with a run of its own, capped by a pair of threes by Trevor Capik, to stretch a once narrow 46-43 lead to 56-47 after three quarters. "That was big (because) that was when the storm was at its fiercest," Twitchell said. "We weren't doing anything from the perimeter and those were two big threes that gave us a cushion and got us relaxed." Jonathan Breevaart, with a few jab steps and pump fakes, rose up to connect on the team's sixth three-point bucket of the game to tip off the fourth quarter. Reinolds then hit on two more to finish with a team-high 17 points, before Red Bluff began to impose its will again. Just as it did in the first quarter, when Spartan guards Trevor Miller and Grant Blaser forced five Par- adise turnovers within the first 5 minutes of the game to jump out to a 21-8 opening-quarter lead. Blaser, the team's leading scorer, extended the lead to 28-12 with his 10th point of the quar- ter. The 6-foot, senior finished with a game-high 19 points and two steals, while Miller led the Spartans defensively with five of the team's nine takeaways on the night. "We turned the ball over quite a bit and that's uncharacteristic of us," Paradise coach Bruce Crist said. "They were pretty quick; their guards have quick hands and they pressured the ball." While Crist is pleased his team shot 58 per- cent from 3-point range, he said the end result was still a loss, and it's one Paradise might have avoided with ball control. "We have shooters on our team and I was happy to see our kids shoot the ball like they're capable of shooting," he said. "But I think some turnovers and a few mental mistakes cost us … and on we go." Paradise guard Zach Saylors led the Bobcats with seven rebounds, while Edgecomb delivered 12 points on 3-of-5 from the perimeter to finish as the team's secondary offensive weapon. Jeff Larson is the sports editor at the Paradise Post. Jeff Larson/MediaNews Group Red Bluff senior Grant Blaser strips Paradise's Zach Saylors, Wednesday. Tehama Tracker Last chance Little League It's not too late. Red Bluff Little League will be holding a last chance registration, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, at Red Bluff High School The program is for boys and girls between the ages of five and 15. For more information call Scott Smith 736-5822. Red Bluff wrestling The Spartans got pinfall victo- ries from Sultan Beardsley, Bryce Eggert, Taylor Hickson, Jeff Skag- gs and Taylor Wilson, Wednesday, and beat Foothill 49-14. Beardsley pinned Austin Huff in 1:47 at 132 pounds. Eggert pinned Dalton Lettler in 1:26 at 162 pounds. Hickson got his win at 173 pounds in 50 seconds over Mike Cournyer. Skaggs pinned Joe Jones at the one-minute mark at 217 and Wil- son pinned Andrew Huff at heavy- weight in 4:21. Dillon Reid earned a 15-3 major decision win over Dallas Poston at 154 pounds. Other Spartan victories includ- ed: • Kurt Buxton (105) def. Jaxson Fitzgerald, 10-2 • Dan St. John (114) def. Zeke Andrade, 3-1 • Bryce Blanchard (137) def. Marcos Duarte, 8-2 • JT Reid (147) def. Hunter Wallace, 10-6 • Dylan Gorbet (191) def. Hunter Kepon, 11-6 Corning basketball Another strong defensive effort, highlighted by a superb second quarter, helped the Cardinals to a 48-30 win over Central Valley, Tuesday, and to sole possession of first place in the Northern Athletic League. Corning allowed just 30 points for the second consecutive game and outscored Central Valley 15-4 during the second quarter. Cameron Nye led the Cardinals with 12 points. Tyler McIntyre scored all 10 of his points in the second half as the Cardinals improved to 14-5 and 3- 0 in league play. Lady Cardinal basketball The Lady Cardinal bench sparked Corning to a 46-40 win, Tuesday, against Central Valley. The Cardinals trailed 21-15 at halftime, but turned things around in the second half with their defense and reserves. "Our bench stepped up and got us going offensively," coach Kurt Eller said. "We played focused and weren't going to be denied in the second half." Catherine Kinkle led the way with 12 points and Brittney Garrett had 12 points and eight rebounds. Chante Dale scored nine for the Lady Cardinals who improved to 11-7 and 3-0 in the NAL. Corning wrestling Corning pulled out a 39-37 win, Thursday, against Anderson. Derek Wats, Sean Lowe, Tan- ner Johnson and Nick Johnson secured pinfall victories for the Cardinals. Wats defeated Ryan Walker in 3:24 in the heavyweight division. At 121 pounds, Sean Lowe beat Austin Langley in 5:29. Tanner Johnson defeated Alex Miller at 127 pounds in 2:35 and Nick Johnson needed just one minute to defeat Spencer Larson at 142 pounds. Other Cardinal wins included: • Calvin Meister (147) def. Nick Ortiz, 7-0 • Johnathon Jones (154) def. Chris Webb, 4-1 • Billy Crawford (162) def. Donnie Wonder, 7-3 • Thomas Marshall (217) def. Europa Mataia, 3-2 Los Molinos basketball Poor shooting and 33 turnovers doomed the Bulldogs, Tuesday, as East Nicolaus defeated Los Moli- nos 68-42. Los Molinos shot 28 percent from the field. Ryan Mekech had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Dominique Ceja filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. The Bulldogs remained winless in the Mid-Valley League at 0-3 and fell to 8-11 on the season. Lady Bulldog basketball The Lady Bulldogs held on in the second half, Tuesday, for a 51- 48 win over East Nicolaus. Los Molinos had led 31-13 at halftime. Kiersten Seaman had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Samantha Andrews had 12 points and nine rebounds and Car- olyna Salazar scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs had 25 offensive rebounds as they improved to 2-1 in the MVL and 5-8 on the season. Mercy basketball A slow start, Wednesday, doomed the Warriors to a 49-31 loss at Weed. Mercy fell behind 19-7 after the first period and was in a deep 34- 12 hole by halftime. Coach Steve Shellabarger said Mercy's bright spot came from its bench play, which has continued to develop throughout the season. Jeremie Jones led MErcy with six points and Cameron Vietti had seven rebounds. Mercy fell to 8-7 in the non- league contest. They Lady Warriors lost 527- 24 to Weed. Prep soccer Los Molinos and Mercy played to a 3-3 tie, Wednesday. Oracio Vargas had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs. Alberto Rodriguez and Adrian Hernandez also scored for Los Molinos. Gaumel Murillo had an assist. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs thrashed Liberty Christian 7-0, behind a hat trick and an assist from Rodriguez. Freddy Castellon had four assists and one goal. Alex Fausto, Vargas and Hernandez also scored. Christ Butler had an assist. Red Bluff coaches step down Schwabauer Hassay Wheeler See RB, page 2B MELBOURNE, Aus- tralia (AP) — Even Sere- n a Williams likes the story of J u s t i n e H e n i n ' s c o m e - back. It's an "amazing" tale, Williams said. Only two tournaments into her return from a 20- month retirement, Henin has made it all the way to the Australian Open final. Her only obstacle to a happy ending is Williams, who faces Henin on Saturday. "Justine hasn't been gone that long, but it's still a good story," said Williams, who has a long and intense rivalry with Henin that has never included a Grand Slam final. The top-ranked Williams and the former No. 1 Henin have played 13 times, including six Grand Slam showdowns that only went as far as the semifinals. Serena holds a 7-6 edge in their overall matchups. In Grand Slams, Henin leads 4-2. The last time Williams played a Belgian at a Grand Slam, it didn't go so well. Williams' tirade over a line call in her U.S. Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters cost her a record $82,500 fine. Cli- jsters was also fresh from a comeback after two years off to get married and have a baby — and Clijsters went on to win the title. Henin is usually cau- tious about sounding too optimistic. But she was elated Thursday after winning her semifinal against 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie 6- 1, 6-0. The match lasted 51 minutes and was the most lopsided semifinal at the Australian Open Stars align for Williams-Henin final in Australia See FINAL, page 2B