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StaffReports REDBLUFF The Red Bluff Spar- tans came as close as they have all season to their first win last week against the Lassen Grizzlies, com- ing up short in the closing min- utes 42-41. The strong performance sug- gests the Spartans (0-5 over- all, 0-1 league) are due to break the streak and what better time to do so than homecoming to- night against the Yreka Miners (3-2 overall, 1-0 league). The Min- ers are coming off a 24-21 road win over the West Valley Eagles in Cottonwood last week. Marshal Brose, who stepped up at quarterback when starter Wes Clawson went down with a bro- ken leg against Foothill in week 3, was impressive against the Griz- zlies, going 13 of 25 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and an intercep- tion. He also was the team's No. 2 rusher with 37 yards and a touch- down on two carries. Brose's top target looks to be Conner McKenzie, who leads the section by a mile with 22 re- ceptions for 529 yards and three touchdowns, followed by Cam- eron Ortega, who is tied for sec- ond in the league with 19 recep- tions for 226 yards and three scores. To balance out the passing game, the Spartans will lean on Quentin Tatro, who leads the team with 128 yards on 27 car- ries, Tanner Tweedt, who had 87 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns against the Grizzlies, and Ortega, who has 74 yards and a touchdown. The Spartans will have to find a way to stop David Ruiz, who is averaging 162 rushing yards per game and has six touchdowns on the year, but was held to 118 and a touchdown against the Eagles. The Miners' passing game is al- most nonexistent, with quarter- back Dawson Fraley completing just five passes on 18 attempts for 87 yards and two touchdowns on the season. The homecoming coronation will take place after the junior varsity game and before kick- off for the varsity game, which is scheduled around 7:30 p.m. CardinalsatAnderson ANDERSON The Corning Car- dinals (4-1, 1-0 league) are on a roll, with four weeks of wins since opening the season with a home loss to the Enterprise Hornets, and three of those wins were by 45 points or more. The road leads to Anderson tonight as the Cardinals take on a Cubs team (3-1, 0-0) that has three straight wins of its own af- ter a season-opening loss to the Shasta Wolves. But the Cubs' big- gest margin of victory on the year is 16. Both teams have beaten Orland and Oroville this year. The Cards won 27-25 and 53-6, respectively, while the Cubs won 6-0 and 34-12. Starting quarterback Devin Wunsch went out of last week's game with a head injury and coach John Studer said his avail- ability this week would depend on the severity of the injury. But it may not matter, as Nolan Peter- son moved under center and led the Cardinals to a 48-13 blowout win over the Central Valley Fal- cons. Corning is a rushing team and Oscar Garcia leads the way with 357 yards on 45 carries, making FOOTBALL Spartansneedhomecomingwin RedBluffhostsYreka; Cardinals, Bulldogs both take to the road By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA As the San Fran- cisco 49ers prepare to host Dallas on Sunday, tailback Carlos Hyde is downplaying his personal matchup against Cowboys rookie back and former Ohio State understudy Eze- kiel Elliott. Hyde maintains he got more fired up playing against the Seattle Se- ahawks' defense last weekend than he will be facing off against El- liott. The fact that he isn't facing off directly against his old Buckeyes teammate was part of his rationale. "I knew there was going to be this day, and it's coming up now," Hyde said Thursday. "But I wasn't really paying too much attention to it. I don't have to play against Zeke. Bo does." "Bo" is linebacker NaVorro Bow- man, who believes Hyde's noncha- lance about Elliott coming to town is nothing more than a good piece of acting. "Carlos had (Elliott) underneath his wing at Ohio State, so he can't let the young guy get the best of him in this game," Bowman said. "I think Carlos will be holding this one special in his heart." For a runner who readily admits 49ERS BATTLE OF BUCKEYE BACKS COMPELLING Hyde served as mentor to Dallas rookie Elliott at Ohio State, and better performer may decide game RONJENKINS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) leaps over a tackle attempt by the Chicago Bears' Chris Prosinski (31) in the second half Sunday in Arlington, Texas. JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP The San Francisco 49ers' Carlos Hyde is fourth in the NFC in rushing with 225yards on 58carries. Sunday: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers, 1:25p.m., TV on FOX. TUNEIN By Jimmy Durkin Bay Area News Group ALAMEDA Khalil Mack was a popular preseason pick for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award. Former teammate Charles Woodson even pegged him as his pick for league MVP. Every expectation was that Mack, the first player to make the Associated Press' first-team All-Pro at two positions, would build off his 15-sack sophomore season. But through three games, the Oakland Raiders star pass rusher had yet to take down a quarterback or record a single tackle for loss. He has 13 tack- les, putting him close to normal career pace in that statistic, and has five quarterback hits, but his impact on the defense has been tough to notice. "He'll get his numbers," Raider coach Jack Del Rio said this week. "It's not about Khalil. It's about us." Teams are putting an extra focus on Mack, throwing dou- ble and triple teams his way, and that's keeping him from show- ing up in the stat book. "There's more to playing football than getting sacks and there's more that he's involved in," Del Rio insisted. "He's di- rectly involved in everything that we're doing and he's a fine football player and he's busting his butt and doing a nice job for us. Just keep playing. I don't want him to start pressing for numbers. It's not about num- RAIDERS Oakland not worried about Mack's numbers Sunday: Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens, 10a.m., TV on CBS. TUNEIN BENGALS 22, DOLPHINS 7 Up next: Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 9; Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys, Oct. 9. THESCORE By Joe Kay The Associated Press CINCINNATI Bengals receiver A.J. Green followed his disappointing game with a dominating one — 173 yards and a touchdown — and the Cincinnati defense that was inspired by Vontaze Burfict's re- turn clamped down on the Miami Dolphins for a 22-7 victory Thurs- day night. The Bengals (3-1) rebounded from a 29-17 home loss to Denver on Sunday with a solid all-around game against a depleted team. Green led the way, beating the Dolphins (1-3) on every type of route. He was upset with himself after he dropped a pivotal third- down pass and failed to make an impact against the Broncos. During the first three quarters, Green had 166 yards on catches while Miami had 152 total yards. The Bengals' season-long prob- lem of stalling out near the goal line forced them to settle for Mike Nugent's season-high five field goals. The Dolphins were missing four starting offensive linemen, two linebackers, running back Arian Foster and tight end Jordan Cameron. They had one big play — Ryan Tannehill threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills — but couldn't do anything else on offense. The Bengals' defense expected to get a lift from Burfict's return. The volatile linebacker was sus- pended by the NFL for the first three games because of his illegal hits. He got a loud ovation when he ran onto the field during intro- ductions wearing a baseball cap. Burfict knocked down a pass and had three tackles. Mostly, it was Green's show. He caught a 51-yard pass off Andy Dalton's scramble in the first half, and had a 43-yard catch that set up another field goal in the third quarter for a 19-7 lead. He fin- ished with 10 catches. Injuries DOLPHINS LT Branden Albert and C Anthony Steen were inac- tive with sprained ankles. Also missing were LBs Koa Misi (neck) and Jelani Jenkins (groin). C Mike Pouncey has missed all four games with a hip injury. BENGALS TE Tyler Eifert was in- active again, contributing to the Bengals' trouble close to the goal line. He's recovering from offsea- son ankle surgery and returned to practice on a limited basis last week. CB Dre Kirkpatrick was inactive with a hamstring injury suffered Sunday. G Clint Boling sat out most of the fourth quar- ter with an injured left shoulder. Anthem Statements Stills and Dolphins safety Mi- chael Thomas knelt with their hands over their hearts during the anthem. NFL Gr ee n ha s big game, Bengals dominate FOOTBALL PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, September 30, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1