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ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter LIVEOAK TheCorningCardinals beat the Lower Lake Trojans to win the Live Oak Tournament on Friday night. The win came after the Cards bested the Mira Loma Matadors Thursday 66-56. The Cardinals went ahead early and never looked back, outscor- ing the Matadors in all but the third period en route to a com- fortable win. Noah Zoppi had a huge game, scoring 23 and pulling down five rebounds; Corey Busta had 16 points and nine rebounds; Brendan Hoag had 13 points and seven boards and Marco Tapia had 10 points and two rebounds. Tucker Berens had five re- bounds, Daniel Vazquez had four and Tyler Grine had three. The Cardinals go to 7-0 on the young season. Bulldogs61,Greenville51 MAXWELL The Los Molinos Bull- dogs beat the Greenville Indians on Thursday 61-51 at the Maxwell Tournament. Freshman Ty Isaksen led the Bulldogs with 15 points, Alex Rus- sell had 13, Aaron Hardy had 12, freshman Devin Henderson had 10 and Kyle Wood had six. Wood and Henderson each hit a pair of 3-pointers. The Bulldogs (2-0) were sched- uled to continue play in Maxwell Friday night and Saturday. Spartans 36, Eureka 35 ARCATA The Red Bluff Spartans boys basketball team is continu- ing its winning ways at the Arcata Invitational Tournament with a win over the Eureka Loggers 36- 35 Thursday. The Spartans jumped ahead and ended the first period with a 13-5 lead before taking a 21-11 lead into the half. But the Log- gers came out strong in the sec- ond half and outscored the Spar- tans 24-15, with Red Bluff just hanging on for the win. As of 6 p.m. Friday no individ- ual stats had been posted for the game. The Spartans (4-1) were sched- uled to play late Friday against the host Arcata Tigers (2-2). BASKETBALL CardinalswinLiveOakTourney Corning tops Lower Lake in championship game, Spartans, Bulldogs get tournament wins By David Ginsburg The Associated Press BALTIMORE Army-Navy is Amer- ica's Game. That's the way Jeff Monken sees it, and he brings a solid argument to back up the as- sertion. Now in his third season as Ar- my's head coach, Monken pre- viously spent six years as an as- sistant at Navy. Having been an integral part of the annual duel between the esteemed service academies, Monken considers it to be the epitome of college foot- ball. On Saturday, he will proudly stand on the sideline, delighted to again be a part of something special. "Every young man that's play- ing in the game and 9,000 other college-aged students dressed in uniform sitting in the stands have all made a pledge of commitment to serve this nation," Monken said. "Ultimately, they'll put their lives on the line for all of us who aren't willing to make that com- mitment. If people don't see this as America's Game, I don't know that they're paying close enough attention." It doesn't matter that neither Army (6-5) nor Navy (9-3) are in the Top 25, or that the Mid- shipmen have defeated the Black Knights 14 times in a row. "It's just a great rivalry that's been a part of the college football COLLEGE FOOTBALL ARMY-NAVY RIVALRY HAS CENTER STAGE Army coach Monken sees this as 'America's Game,' given players, fans dressed in uniform PATRICKSEMANSKY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, center, celebrates a er a game against Connecticut. MATT SLOCUM — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A Navy Midshipman is tossed in the air as Navy fans celebrate a touchdown during a game against Army. The Army-Navy game is Saturday in Baltimore. By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter OROVILLE The Red Bluff Lady Spartans basketball team opened the Duard Millet Tour- nament in Oroville on Thursday with a 52-46 win over the Las Plumas Thunderbirds. The teams played close most of the evening, with Red Bluff taking just a two-point advan- tage into the locker room at halftime. The teams each put up eight points in the third pe- riod but the Spartans were able to pad their lead in the final frame for the win. Lexi Pritchard led the Spar- tans with 13 points, Kylee Kitch- ell had 12, Maggie Winning put up nine, Megan Boone had seven, Carissa Twitchell had five, Allyson Drury had four and Gloria Abbate had two. The Spartans (4-0) were scheduled to take on the Colfax Falcons (5-1) on Friday night and play continues through Satur- day. Cardinals 51, McKinleyville 45 CORNING The Corning Lady Cardinals beat the McKin- leyville Panthers 51-45 on Thurs- day evening at the Lady Cardi- nal Tournament. The Cardinals led early and held off a late charge from the Panthers for the win. As of 5 p.m. Friday no stats had been posted for the game. The Cardinals (3-3) were scheduled to play the Willows Honkers (3-1) on Friday night and play continues Saturday at the tournament. Pierce 46, Bulldogs 45 PIERCE The Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs fell by the slimmest of margins Thursday evening to the host Pierce Bears 46-45 at the Pierce tournament. Despite a dominant open- ing period, the Bulldogs strug- gled in the second and went into halftime down one. The teams played even in the second half and the Bears eked out the vic- tory. Rachel Rogers had a mon- ster evening with 23 points, followed by Henna Acevedo with nine, Valeria Garnica and Regan Shannon with four each and Genesis Acev- edo with two. The Bulldogs (4-1) were sched- uled to play the Princeton Ea- gles (1-4) on Friday afternoon and travel to Weed on Wednes- day to face the Cougars (1-2). BASKETBALL Lady Spartans open tournament with victory Courtesy of the PRCA LAS VEGAS Orin Larsen cele- brated Canada Night in style. The Inglis, Manitoba, bareback rider won Round 8 of the Wran- gler National Finals Rodeo with an 87.5-point trip on Frontier Rodeo's Full Baggage, earning a much-needed $26,231. Larsen badly separated his ribs on the third jump of the first round of this WNFR. He's been receiving daily treatment and rid- ing through a lot of pain. It was all worth it Thursday night. "I don't have a choice," Larsen said of gritting his teeth and gut- ting it out. "I've worked my whole career to be tough enough to never say 'uncle,' and I've made it this far. So I'm not quitting and will ride through the 10th round. The gold buckle isn't in my pic- ture this year, but I want to leave my mark. Winning tonight really made the last seven nights a lot better." It was his first ride aboard the acclaimed horse, and the win came on Canada Night, which made it all the sweeter for Larsen. "I've wanted to do better in the early rounds at both of the NFRs I've been to, but to win on Can- ada Night is icing on the cake," he said. "I've always wanted to have Full Baggage, and there's no bet- ter place to draw him than here in Vegas. It was like a boxing match, and luckily I came out on top. I've been waiting since I was 8 years old to win a go-round buckle here, so it'll be emotional to get it to- night." The bareback riding world ti- tle chase seems like it's just about concluded, as Tim O'Connell has a $104,000 lead over the field with two nights left, and also leads the average. If O'Connell holds a world standings lead of more than $93,500 after Round 9, he will clinch the world title. Clayton Hass is trying to run down his friend and traveling partner Tyler Waguespack, as both men are chasing their first gold steer wrestling buckle. Hass put more pressure on his buddy in Round 7, winning with a time of 4.1 seconds and moving to within $30,000 of Waguespack, who's currently the leader in the world standings and the WNFR average. "I knew the round was pretty soft, and I needed to go make a business run and try and make all the money I could," Hass said. "I didn't want to push the barrier too hard, and wanted to be pro- fessional about it." Both Hass and Waguespack are riding Cadillac, the 2016 PRCA/ AQHA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. It appears the world ti- tle may be won on the impressive horse, either way. In addition to chasing a world bulldogging title, Hass is also right in the thick of the all-around gold buckle race. He currently only trails Dustin Bird by about $20,000, and has a good chance at the all-round with two more solid runs. "These guys are battling it out just like I am, and they are trying to win first every time they nod their head," Hass said. "I have to go first before the guys I'm chas- ing, and they will know what I FINALS 'Baggage' doesn't slow down Larsen RODEO PAGE 2 RIVALRY PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, December 10, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1