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ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter RED BLUFF The Mercy Warriors had a great run in 2015, going un- defeated in league play and advanc- ing to the semi-final round of the playoffs. More than half of the 2015 roster was comprised of seniors, though, and coach Brian Medieros said this year will be one of rebuilding. "I'm looking to compete," Medie- ros said during Thursday's prac- tice at Sacred Heart School. "Every- body wants to repeat, but we hope to compete. I had an exceptional se- nior class last year, but this year I'm still searching for my senior leader." With only about a dozen players coming out for the team, Medieros said he's uncertain whether he'll have the numbers to field a team. The Warriors rolled over the Butte Valley Bulldogs 76-16 at home in the first round of the playoffs last year, and are scheduled to face them in the season opener at 7 p.m Friday in Dorris. Medieros said he expects the Bulldogs to play tough due to last year's punishing loss. Returning for the Warriors is Ka- vin McClellan, who will take over at quarterback and run the ball. In 2015 he was 2-4 through the air for 21 yards and carried the ball 30 times for 211 yards and 2 touch- downs. He had 4 receptions for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Noe Rodriguez will play running back. In 2015 he had 180 yards on 16 carries for 3 touchdowns and 4 catches for 58 yards. Dartagnan Kingwell will anchor the line at center and play nose guard; Alvero de la Fuente will play tackle and defensive end; junior Car- los Rosales will play wide receiver, defensive back and kicker and An- drew Contreras will play wide re- ceiver, linebacker and kicker. All played as underclassmen in 2015 on a team packed with offen- sive talent, so it remains to be seen how they will perform when not competing for playing time. The good news for the Warriors is that several other teams in the PREP FOOTBALL AFTERMEMORABLERUN, MERCY NOW REBUILDING Morethanhalfoflastseason'sWarriorsplayoffsquadwascomprisedofseniors AMercyWarriorsplayerreachesforapassThursdayduring a practice. PHOTOS BY CHIP THOMPSON — DAILY NEWS Mercy Warriors players work on blocking drills during a Thursday practice. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA Colin Kaeper- nick's comeback from arm fa- tigue saw him return to practice Monday and stay on track for an exhibition-season debut Friday against the Green Bay Packers, a franchise he's beaten twice in the playoffs. Kaepernick said his throw- ing arm felt good and was "very" happy to fully practice for the first time since Aug. 10. When a reporter noted the high-speed velocity on his passes, Kaepe- rnick replied: "Yeah, a little something behind it." Kaepernick stretched on the locker room floor during the in- formal chat with reporters an hour after practice, with no ice on his right shoulder that was too tight to throw with for nearly a week. Wide receiver Bruce Elling- ton described Kaepernick's arm as still a "cannon" follow- ing the 90-minute practice. Said Ellington: "Kap, his arm is still strong. He's still throwing it in the right places. As a receiver, you like that." Cornerback Jimmie Ward gave up a Kaepernick com- pletion to Ellington, to which Ward said: "He made a throw on me on a corner route, we were in cover-2, and it was a great throw. I couldn't get my hands on the ball. Kap was making some good throws today." Kaepernick's tight shoulder kept him from even warming up at practice since Aug. 10, though he did go through a 25-minute passing session Saturday be- fore the 49ers' exhibition win at Denver. He also threw on the side Wednesday and Thursday 49ERS Kaepernick brings some heat in return By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press RIODE JANEIRO For all the praise of golf's return to the Olympics, there was no shortage of sugges- tions to make it better. The easy fix is to introduce a team format. All golf leaders had to do for the Rio Games was to combine the scores of the top two play- ers from each country to pro- vide a team medal. There would have been 24 teams for the men and women. For the men, Swe- den would have won by one shot over the Americans, and Justin Rose's birdie putt to win the gold medal also would have given Brit- ain the bronze medal by one shot over Spain. How's that for an additional layer of drama? If only it were that simple. "We didn't have time," said Ty Votaw, vice president of the Inter- national Golf Federation. Votaw said the International Olympic Committee doesn't al- low for two competitions in one. A team format would have had to be a separate competition. Try squeezing that into two weeks, on an 18-hole golf course that was brand new for competition with- out knowing how much stress it could take. "The IOC rejected it," Votaw said. The other option was to have a team format in place of the in- dividual competition. Sure, that might have enticed some of the countries that skipped out (the Australians and South Africans come to mind), but it would have reduced the number of flags raised along the 18th fairway at Olympic Golf Course. "We thought having the most countries was better than team competition," he said. "And then someone like Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) would not have had a partner." Lydia Ko would have been left out, too. As it was, six medals went to six nations over two weeks. So it wasn't all that bad. One element that won't change — or shouldn't — is 72 holes of stroke play. All but a few tournaments throughout the year use that for- mat, and there's a reason for that. It remains the best way to mea- sure who played the best golf that week. And that's what the Olym- pics should be. Match play is bad for television and leaves specta- tors only one match to follow at the end, and there's a history ap- proaching 20 years at the Match Play Championship that illustrates how unpredictable it can be. Any other format would be a gimmick, or best saved for the silly season. "The last thing the IOC wants is a trial format," IGF President Peter Dawson said. The IGF needed to keep it sim- ple in the first year, and it needed support of the top players when making its bid. Votaw won't rule out the IGF trying to persuade the IOC to reconsider the two-man team played at the same time as the individual competition. "What we wanted to do is put our best foot forward, and I think we did that," Votaw said. "We'll look at all sorts of things. We do have a time issue in terms of how many things we can fit into a two- week period." There are a few steps to take before golf starts contemplating any changes. The IGF president has a limit of three two-year terms, and Daw- son's time is up at the end of the year. The only exception is if the IGF board unanimously votes to keep him on. Dawson wasn't about to speculate on those pros- GOLF The simple fix that isn't so simple PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY LONG Los Molinos' Liset Castillo takes a shot Friday in a win over CORE Butte in Chico. CHICO The Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs volleyball team beat the CORE Butte Lions on Friday evening in three sets, 25-23, 25-15 and 25-17. Rachel Rogers led the Bulldogs with 13 kills, 5 aces, 2 blocks and 8 digs and Liset Castillo had 11 kills, 4 aces and 11 digs. Kendall Williams had 11 assists and 3 aces and Heather Rodriguez had 10 assists and an ace. Henna Acevedo had a kill, 4 aces and 5 digs and Gen- esis Acevedo had a kill and 4 aces. Sugey Cota had 4 digs and Lizzy Belcher had 3 digs and an ace. Kami Vandoren had a block and a kill. The Bulldogs remain un- beaten in the pre-season at 2-0 and are scheduled to host the Paradise Adventist Academy at 6:15 tonight. The team will then travel to Elko, Nevada to begin the Yerington Invitational Tour- nament Friday. Otherschools The Mercy Warriors are scheduled to kick off the pre- season at 6:30 tonight, when they will host CORE Butte in Red Bluff. The Red Bluff Spartans get underway at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against the West Valley Eagles in Cot- tonwood. The Corning Cardinals begin action at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31 when they will host the Bulldogs. VOLLEYBALL LadyBulldogssweep COREButtein3sets BULLDOGSVS.BUTTECORE Set 1: Los Molinos, 25-23. Set 2: Los Molinos, 25-15. Set 3: Los Molinos, 25-17. Next: Bulldogs host Paradise Adventist @ 6:15p.m. tonight LOSMOLINOSPRESEASON CHRIS CARLSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Leona Maguire of Ireland, right, stands with her twin sister and caddie Lisa Maguire, le , on the 16th tee during the third round of women's golf at the 2016Summer Olympics on Friday. GOLF PAGE 2 WARRIORS PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, August 23, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1