Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/743970
ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter CORNING The Corning Cardi- nals are knotted with the Las- sen Grizzlies atop the Northern League standings at 4-0 in league play and 7-1 overall as they pre- pare to take the field Friday for the No. 1 seed. With both schools facing rea- sonably safe match-ups in the fi- nal week of the season Nov. 4, Fri- day's winner will likely carry the top seed into the playoffs. Prior to the start of the season Cardinals coach John Studer said his goal was to make it deeper into the playoffs, and that had to begin with earning a higher seed in the regular season. The team hasn't let him down, going unde- feated since an opening night loss to the non-conference Enterprise Hornets. To win, on what is likely to be a sloppy home field after a week of rain, the Cardinals will have to find a way to stop Lassen's Travis Wood, who has 727 passing yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions on the season, and Colby Harris, with 988 rushing yards on 106 carries for 12 touch- downs. The Grizzlies present a bal- anced rushing game, having five backs with more than 100 yards on the season and three with more than 370. Same goes for the receiving corps, with four players having more than 100 yards on the season. The Cardinals have their own weapons, with Devin Wunsch posting nearly identical numbers through the air at 719 yards with five touchdowns and three picks, but Wunsch is more of a threat on the keeper, posting 292 yards on the season compared to Wood with just 17 yards on nine carries. On the ground Oscar Garcia and Nolan Peterson each have well more than 500 yards rushing and a combined 19 touchdowns. The Cardinals tend to put up more points, averaging 42 per game compared to 33 for the Griz- zlies, but they give up more scores — 23 per game compared to Las- sen's 17. Kickoff is scheduled for around 7:30 p.m. at Corning High School. SpartansatCentralValley SHASTA LAKE The Spartans (1- 7, 1-3) will look for their second win of the season Friday and their chances won't get much better than the match-up with the Cen- tral Valley Falcons (1-7, 0-4), who are winless in league play and searching for their second win in three years. Coming off a bye and a near win in the Tehama County Shoot- out against the Corning Cardinals Oct. 14, the Spartans should be rested and motivated. Quarterback Marshall Brose will look to pad his 1,222 pass- ing yards, 213 rushing yards and a combined 16 touchdowns on the years, while Tanner Tweedt should build on 270 yards on the ground. With a forecast of rain the Spartans may rely more on their ground game, which hasn't been as stout as the threat through the air. Receivers Conner McK- enzie and Cameron Ortega had 889 yards and 426 yards, respec- tively, and a combined 15 touch- downs on the year. If the wet conditions do play a factor, they will have an even big- ger impact on the Falcons, who FOOTBALL Cardinals,Grizzliesplayfortopseed Spartans look for win over Central Valley By Steve Megargee The Associated Press NASHVILLE, TENN. Marcus Mar- iota threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns to end his home strug- gles and the Tennessee Titans had their highest point total of the sea- son in a 36-22 victory over the Jack- sonville Jaguars on Thursday night. Since the start of the 2014 sea- son, the Titans' home record is 3-0 against the Jaguars and 1-17 against everybody else. The Titans are 3-8 in home games started by Mariota, a second-year pro out of Oregon. Mariota was 18 of 22 for 270 yards and had a 148.1 passer rating, the second-highest of his career. De- Marco Murray ran for 123 yards and a touchdown. The Titans (4-4) gained a season- high 494 total yards and won for the third time in four games. They scored on six straight possessions during a stretch that began in the first quarter and stretched into the third period. Tennessee already led 3-0 before Mariota threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright on the first play of the second quarter. Rookie Derrick Henry capped the Titans' next drive by scoring his first career touchdown on a 6-yard run. Murray added a 14-yard touch- down run 3 minutes later. After starting out to his right and encountering traffic, Murray reversed his field, capitalized on a downfield block from Mariota and NFL TITANS END HOME WOES, THUMP JAGS Mariota throws for 270 yards, 2 touchdowns while Murray runs for 123 yards and a score TennesseeTitansquarterbackMarcusMariotarollsout against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. PHOTOS BY MARK ZALESKI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) is brought down by Tennessee Titans outside linebacker David Bass (51) in the first half Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. By Jimmy Durkin Bay Area News Group SARASOTA, FLA. The Oakland Raiders defense could get a boost if two key players are able to return down the stretch. Outside linebacker Aldon Smith has applied for reinstate- ment to the NFL, a source con- firmed to the Bay Area News Group. The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to re- port the news. Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. also could finally be getting closer to a return to action. He joined the team in Florida on Thursday, although he was not in sight when the team hit the practice field at IMG Academy in Bradenton. If all goes well, the Raiders (5- 2) could theoretically have both players in uniform when they travel to Mexico City to face the Houston Texans on Nov. 21. That could be a stretch for Smith though. His one-year banishment for violating the league's substance abuse policy expires Nov. 17, but he still must be cleared to return by commis- sioner Roger Goodell. The Raiders have not been able to have direct contact with Smith, with the exception of di- rector of player engagement Lamonte Winston. "Aldon is doing well," Raiders general manager Reggie McKen- zie told the Chronicle. "That sit- uation is going to be totally up to the league because he's been in the program and they've mon- itored him. It's up to Goodell to say yah, nay or when. And he could say no to everything." Smith is expected to meet with Goodell at some point. A request to speak with McKen- RAIDERS Potential returns of key players may boost 'D' Series: Tied 1-1. Game 3: Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs, 5:08p.m. Friday, TV on FOX. TUNEIN By Jay Cohen The Associated Press CHICAGO Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber was followed by cameras and cellphones. A cou- ple of pitchers from the Cleveland Indians played hacky sack in the outfield. The giant videoboard in left field flashed "World Series." So, no, nothing like the last Fall Classic at Wrigley Field. The World Series returns to one of baseball's iconic ballparks on Friday when the Cubs and Indi- ans face off in Game 3 after split- ting the first two nights in chilly Cleveland. It's the first World Se- ries game at Wrigley since Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg helped the Detroit Tigers to a 9-3 victory in Game 7 on October 10, 1945. The expectation is, well, even more bedlam than usual. The Cubs, seeking their first cham- pionship in 108 years, played in front of packed, frenzied crowds for much of the season, and even the Indians are looking forward to the scene. "Tomorrow's going to be unbe- lievable," Cleveland slugger Mike Napoli said. "I watched when they clinched to go to the World Se- ries and how crazy it was and see- ing the fans in the streets where they had to have police escorts. You could just see the crowd just part ways. "So it's going to be fun. It's something that I wanted to be a part of, and thought that it would be an unbelievable World Series," he said. It's been pretty great so far, and it's only getting started. Corey Kluber pitched the In- dians to a 6-0 win on Tuesday, striking out nine in a dazzling performance. After Josh Tomlin makes his third playoff start in the Wrigley opener, Kluber looms over Game 4 on Saturday night on short rest. The Cubs returned to Chicago on a high after working over Cleveland's pitching staff in a 5-1 victory Wednesday night. Trevor Bauer lasted just 3 2/3 innings, beginning a parade to the mound that included six relievers and a total of 196 pitches. "That was the plan, to get at least one over there and bring it back home," second baseman Ja- vier Baez said. "Everybody is ex- cited to be here in Chicago. Ev- erybody has been waiting for this moment." Schwarber will be relegated to pinch-hitting moments for the next three games after doctors said it was too soon after ma- jor left knee surgery to risk put- ting him in the outfield. The move takes one of Chicago's best bats out of the lineup after a surpris- ing return by the slugger for the Series. "We're going to respect the doc- tors," president of baseball oper- WORLD SERIES Se ri es a t Wrigley, 1st time in 71 years FOOTBALL PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 SERIES PAGE 2 TITANS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, October 28, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1