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ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter CORNING TheWestValleyEa- gles ended Corning's post sea- son in the first round with a 49- 10 blowout in 2015 and Friday night the Cardinals were look- ing for payback at their home- coming game. They got it with 45-30 win that's wasn't as close as the score would suggest. "It wasn't the best week of practice," coach John Studer told his team after the win. "We always find a way to step it up and do what we need to do for homecoming." Step it up the Cardinals did, and the first half was all Corn- ing. The Cardinals stopped the Eagles on the opening drive of the game and took over at their own 30. After a strong drive, Cole Parker rumbled down the sideline to put Corning on the board first, 7-0. After another stop, long runs from Nolan Peterson and Parker put the Cardinals in the red zone but the Eagles would hold them to a Junior Gonzalez field goal and it was 10-0 less than 2 minutes into the second quarter. On the next Eagles drive, Alex Hight was picked off by Noah Maeder, giving the Cards the ball at the West Valley 30. Devin Wunsch connected with Peter- son from the 20 to put Corning up 17-0 with 7:17 left in the half. A Hight sack at the hands of Angel Leal forced the Ea- gles to punt and the Cardinals were back on offense. Curtis McCoy broke off a 35-yard run into West Valley territory and Parker, after being hit at the line, got around the left side for 43 yards and the score. Going into halftime the Car- dinals led 24-0. The second half turned into more of a shootout, but Corning was able to hang on thanks to a big first half cushion. Studer said West Valley coach Greg Grandell lit a fire beneath his players at halftime and the Eagles came out a different team, stopping the Cardinals on the opening drive. An Oscar Garcia punt pinned the Eagles at their own 2, but Boni Escobar would break free to the Corning 36 and West Val- ley looked to be in the groove. The Cardinals halted the Eagles progress until Hight hit Bailey Sulzer on 4th and 9 for a score from the 40 and West Valley was on the board with 7:22 left in the third, 24-7. The teams traded punches over the next few drives, scor- ing quickly and often. Wunsch hit Maeder for 72 yards and a score, putting Corn- ing up 31-7 on the next drive. Sulzer would take it in from the Eagles 45 for the 55-yard score and it was 31-14. Peterson broke free on 4th and 1 for 45 yards to the Eagles 1 before taking it over the line on the next play to put the Cards up 38-14 with 1:12 left in the third. Opening the fourth, the Ea- gles were moving the ball well but without much urgency and a lot of time was ticking off the clock. Sulzer took it into the end zone on 4th and goal from the 1 and it was 38-22 after a conver- sion for 2, with just 6:06 to play. An Eagles onside kick didn't travel the required 10 yards, so Corning started from the West Valley 45. McCoy went up through the middle for 47 yards and the score to extend the Car- dinals lead to 45-22 with 5:10 to play. Craig Eaton would cap off a quick Eagles drive with a touch- down to pull within 15 at 45-30 with 3:02 to play. Wunsch hauled in the ensu- ing onside kick and the Cardi- nals would start from their own 40, just needing to keep the ball out of the Eagles hands. On 4th and 4, Peterson bounced forward for a first down. McCoy and Parker kept the drive going with another first down and the Cardinals were able to go into the victory formation for the final snaps as time ran out for the Eagles. Wunsch was 2 of 3 for 88 yards passing and 2 touch- downs and ran for 34 yards on 3 carries; Corey Busta led the Cardinals with 142 yards on 12 carries; McCoy nearly broke the century mark at 97 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown and Peterson had 86 yards on 13 carries. McCoy led the Cardinals de- fense with 12 tackles, followed by Brendan Stewart with 7 and Maeder with 6. Jake Noble and Wunsch eached caused a fum- ble. The Cardinals (7-1 over- all, 4-0 league) will face their toughest opponent of the sea- son Friday when the Las- sen Grizzlies (7-1 overall, 4-0 league) come to town. The teams are tied for the lead in the Northern Football League standings and both were nearly beaten by the Red Bluff Spar- tans. "Lassen is similar to us," Studer said. "We've played the same against like opponents and we both play old fashioned, hard nosed football." Studer said the Lassen game would amount to a league championship game, with just two games left to play. FOOTBALL CARDINALS CELEBRATE HOMECOMING WITH WIN Corning'sBrendanStewartputsastoponWestValley'sBailey Sulzer Friday night. PHOTOS BY CHIP THOMPSON — DAILY NEWS Corning's Nolan Peterson makes a cut Friday night against the West Valley Eagles. By Janie Mccauley The Associated Press OAKLAND Steve Kerr joked around on what became a post- mosh Monday, feeling some of the natural pressure before his Golden State Warriors get going at last with all the weight of trying to win another NBA championship on their star-studded shoulders. The reigning NBA Coach of the Year said he cut short practice given Kevin Durant's jostling in the mosh pit at a Kanye West con- cert the previous evening. "He got a great workout last night," Kerr said with a smile. Kanye performed at Oracle Arena,whereKDwillbecomeTHE show Tuesday night for the defend- ing Western Conference champi- ons. And MVP Stephen Curry, too, of course. "We all have pressure. That's a good thing," Kerr said Monday. "The alternative is, 'Maybe we can win 30 this year instead of 25.' Who wants that? Unfortunately, a lot of the teams in the league have that, teams that are going through rebuilding stuff, and they're trying to get where we are. So we're in a really enviable position. We know how lucky we are to be together with this group. We understand the responsibility that comes with it, and that's fine. It's a good posi- tion to be in." A day away from his highly an- ticipated Warriors debut, Durant insisted he had no idea just how much daily interest Golden State would generate before the season even began. How much Durant's every move would be intently watched — whether it was his concert-go- ing or riding the BART train to get around. "I never had a chance to get to a show. I was always moving around, Olympics and traveling a lot," Durant said of attending West's show. "I'm glad he came through here. I was telling all my friends. I've always told them I wanted to get in a mosh pit. It was amazing." Durant had no concerns about anything going wrong with all those people in tight quarters. "I'm covered, man. I'm cov- ered by a higher power upstairs, no matter what happens," he said. Four months after squander- ing a 3-1 series lead and losing Game 7 of the NBA Finals to LeB- ron James and Cleveland, the Warriors are ready to start fresh without any thought on chas- ing the regular-season wins re- cord they now hold at 73. They will host San Antonio and Kerr's former coach and mentor, Gregg Popovich, on Tuesday night. "It's the Spurs, so it makes it even more fun," Kerr said. Golden State also will honor TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who is fighting leukemia, with a special T-shirt for all fans at the opener. Kerr has said all along Durant would need time to adjust. "He's light years beyond where he was three weeks ago," Kerr said. "He's embracing the chaos, for sure." With Durant and so many new players, Kerr still expects every- thing to take time before the War- riors really start clicking. Kerr wasn't even on the bench for last season's opener, missing the ini- tial 43 games and a record 24-0 start while dealing with complica- tions from a pair of back surgeries. WARRIORS Durant eager to get started at last By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter RED BLUFF The Mercy Warriors and Los Molinos Bulldogs football squads hit the road Saturday and both came home with lopsided losses. The Warriors visited The Bran- son School Bulls in Ross and fell behind early, going into halftime trailing 44-0. Despite finding the end zone in the second half, Mercy fell 60-26. The Bulldogs were in Upper Lake facing the Cougars and had a similar slow start, going into half- time down 36-14. A push in the third quarter wouldn't be enough and Los Molinos lost 44-20. The Warriors named Kavin Mc- Clellan the overall player of the game, Carlos Rosales the offen- sive player, Noe Rodriguez defen- sive player and Gavin Parker the special teams player. McClellan wen 8 of 10 for 145 yards through the air for 2 touch- downs and no picks and ran for 267 yards on 17 carries and 2 touchdowns. Rosales ran for 116 yards on 8 carries and had an interception; Rodriguez ran for 134 yards on 11 carries, caught 4 passes for 55 yards and led the Warriors, tied with McClellan, with 8 tackles and Parker had 3 kickoffs for 73 yards. The Warriors (3-4 overall, 2-2 league) are scheduled to host the fifth place Loyalton Grizzlies (2-5 overall, 1-3 league) at 1 p.m. Satur- day at Sacred Heart Parish School. The Bulldogs saw the return of play maker Alex Russell, who was 9 of 12 through the air for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns and an interception. Russell ran for 172 yards on 22 carries. Kyle Wood had 122 yards on 6 catches for 3 touchdowns and Hunter Landingham pulled in 3 catches for 40 yards. Dawson Spencer led the defense for the Bulldogs with 14 tackles and an interception, followed by Henry McHale with 9 tackles. The Bulldogs (3-5 overall, 2-2 league) are scheduled to host the second place Greenville Indians (4-4 overall, 3-1 league) at 7 p.m. Friday in Los Molinos. FOOTBALL Warriors,Bulldogscomeupshort Bothteamslosewhileontheroad Corning defeats West Valley 45-30 After a strong drive, Cole Parker rumbled down the sideline to put Corning on the board first, 7-0. SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, October 25, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1