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ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter ARCATA The Red Bluff Spar- tans followed up Thursday's win over Eureka with pair of losses at the Arcata Tourna- ment over the weekend to fin- ish fourth overall. The Spartnas fell 51-46 to the host Arcata Tigers Friday night and then 74-51 Saturday to the McKinleyville Panthers. The losses drop the Spar- tans to 4-3 as they get ready to host the Holiday Classic, which starts Wednesday. The Spartans will begin play at 7 p.m. Thursday against the U-Prep Panthers (2-6). Other games Thursday will be the Edison Vikings (5-3) of Stockton vs. the Pleasant Val- ley Vikings (5-2) of Chico at 4 p.m.; the Orestimba Warriors (1-2) of Newman vs. the South Medford Panthers (2-2) at 5:30 p.m. and the Franklin Wildcats (3-1) of Elk Grove vs. the Enter- prise Hornets (2-4) at 8:30 p.m. All games will be played in the main gym at Red Bluff Union High School. Cardinals71,LowerLake 56 LIVE OAK The Corning Cardi- nals left the Live Oak Tourna- ment as champions Friday night with a 71-56 win over the Lower Lake Trojans. Noah Zoppi led the Cards with 20 points and 9 rebounds, Corey Busta had 17 points and 9 boards, Tucker Berens had 12 points and 14 rebounds and Brendan Hoag had 11 points and 9 rebounds. The Cardinals remain unde- feated at 7-0 and are scheduled to take on the rival Orland Tro- jans (3-2) at home at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Bulldogs 65, Maxwell 61 MAXWELL The Los Molinos Bulldogs beat the host Maxwell Panthers 65-61 Saturday night at the Maxwell tournament. The win came after falling Friday night 65-58 to the June Jordan School of Equity Jaguars of San Francisco. In Saturday's game fresh- man Ty Isakesen led the Bull- dogs with 23 points followed by sophomore Aaron Hardy with 15 and freshman Devin Hen- derson with 12. On Friday night Isakesen had 17, Kyle Wood had 12, Hardy had 11, Alex Russell had 10 and Hen- derson had 8. The Bulldogs (6-2) are sched- uled to visit Weed to take on the Cougars (1-0) at 8 p.m. Wednes- day. Warriors MAXWELL The Mercy Warriors (1-3) are scheduled to travel to Maxwell to take on the Panthers (3-3) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. BASKETBALL SpartanstakepairoflossesinArcata Zo pp i, B u st a s hi ne i n Corning championship By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter CORNING The host Corning Lady Cardinals notched a pair of victo- ries over the weekend at the Lady Cardinal Elite 4 Tournament. The Cards beat the Willows Honkers 47-36 Friday and the Anderson Cubs 42-33 Saturday. With the wins the Cardinals are 5-3 as they get ready to face the Paradise Bobcats (1-4) at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Red Bluff Holiday Classic. Lady Spartans 67, Oroville 39 OROVILLE The Red Bluff Lady Spartans had no trouble beat- ing the host Oroville Tigers 67- 39 Saturday at the Oroville Tour- nament. The win came after a narrow loss Friday to the Colfax Falcons 45-41 — the team's first loss of the season. The Spartans beat the Las Plumas Thunderbirds 52-46 Thursday. The Spartans are 5-1 as they prepare to host the Anderson Cubs (2-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Holiday Classic Tourna- ment. Other tournament match-ups Wednesday include the Willows Honkers (4-3) vs. the Foothill Cougars (4-2) at 4 p.m. and the Chico Panthers (3-4) vs. the West Valley Eagles (3-2) at 5:30 p.m. Lady Bulldogs 53, Princeton 11 PIERCE The Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs easily beat the Prince- ton Eagles Friday night 53-11 at the Pierce Tournament. Rachel Rogers led the Bulldogs with 23 points, freshman Regan Shannon and sophomore Genesis Acevedo had 8 each, Henna Ace- vedo had 6 and sophomore San- dra Carbajal had 5. The win came on the heels of a loss Thursday to the host Pierce Bears 46-45. Rogers put up 26 points and Henna Acevedo had 9 in Thurs- day's game. The Bulldogs (5-1) are sched- uled to visit Weed to take on the Cougars (1-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lady Warriors MAXWELL the Mercy Lady Warriors (0-4) are scheduled to face the Maxwell Panthers (1-1) Wednesday. BASKETBALL Lady Cardinals win twice Re d Bl u ff s pl it s at Oroville tourney JOSECARLOSFAJARDO—BAYAREANEWSGROUP San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly shakes hands with then-Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher a er the season opener. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA As the NFL coaching carousel started spin- ning Monday with the Los An- geles Rams firing Jeff Fisher, NFC West counterpart Chip Kelly faced another round of questions about a 49ers losing streak that's reached 12 games in his first season. "It'snotlikewe'regettingtaken to the woodshed and don't have an opportunity to compete and play," Kelly said. "Our guys are playing with great effort. Our guys are competing. "We just have to find a way to get over the top." The 49ers (1-12) saw their lat- est loss unfold in overtime fash- ion when the New York Jets ral- lied for a 23-17 victory Sunday at Levi's Stadium. That extended the 49ers' franchise record to 12 consecutive losses since beating the Fisher-coached Rams in the season opener 28-0. Those long- time division rivals will meet again Christmas Eve in Los An- geles, minus Fisher. "We're all frustrated and we're all trying to figure out what the solution is so we can go play the AtlantaFalcons,"Kellysaidofthe 49ers' impending visit Sunday to Atlanta. "... You just have to stand up and fight again." The 49ers take an 0-6 mark on the road, where they've lost by an average of 16.2 points; their six home losses have come by an average of 12.2 points, with Sunday's overtime loss being their closest deficit. Their overall point differential of minus-142 is second only to the winless Cleve- land Browns (minus-168). Whether Kelly's job security is eroding with each loss is un- known, as 49ers ownership has not commented this season on the franchise's direction — or on general manager Trent Baalke's uncertain fate. Rehashing de- feats is a common job require- ment for Kelly, and not just this season. Although he won 10 reg- ular-season games upon joining the Philadelphia Eagles in both 2014 and 2015, he's lost 21 of his past 28 games dating back to last year, and 24 of 32 going back to the final quarter of 2015. 49ERS KELLY REMAINS STRONG AS RAMS' FISHER FIRED Drops, penalties blamed for offense's vanishing act in second half Courtesy of the PRCA LAS VEGAS It's party time in Brazil and for good reason — a country with deep rodeo roots finally has its first world cham- pion in Junior Nogueira. The team roping heeler won the all-around gold buckle dur- ing the 10th and final night Sat- urday of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. "I'm very happy, and not just for myself, but for my family, friends and everyone in Brazil," Nogueira said. "I hope this gives kids in Brazil, and around the world, inspiration that anything is possible if you put your trust in God." The 26-year-old native of Presidente Prudente, Brazil, combined with his heeler, Ka- leb Driggers, to place sixth in Round 10, which was enough to earn Nogueira the gold all- around buckle. Nogueira's season total of $231,728 earned him the title by less than $4,000 over steer wrestler Clayton Hass. However, he was upset that he and Drig- gers didn't win the team roping world titles — they both finished second in the world. "We had a good week, but I didn't rope as good as I usually do," Nogueira said. "But this is motivation for us to get back next year and win it." On a night filled with wild surprises at the Thomas & Mack Center, one thing remained the same — Sage Kimzey is the best bull rider in the world. The Strong City, Okla., cow- boy captured his third straight gold buckle thanks to placing third in the final round, and third in the WNFR average. "It's the greatest feeling in the world, and something I've worked for my whole life and seeing it pay off is great," Kimzey said. "It's just a life-long dream I've worked on for years." This world title was harder to come by than the first two for the 22-year-old. Last year, he clinched the gold buckle in Round 9, but this time, it came down to the last few rides, as he battled childhood friend Bren- non Eldred until the last ride. "It's one of those deals where I wasn't riding up to snuff, and some bulls didn't let me place, and some slipped through my grasp," Kimzey said. "It was a rough Finals from the second round to the 10th; but it was a good fight, and I like that be- cause it shows the character of yourself and what you are made of as a man." Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler made history by simply qualifying for the WNFR. What they did Saturday night sent shockwaves throughout the en- tire rodeo world — namely Can- ada. The first-ever pair of Cana- dian team ropers to compete together in the Thomas & Mack Center became the first-ever Canadian world champions in their event. "We knew there was a math- ematical chance, but with the guys roping behind us, we fig- ured we'd win some money, and that was it," Simpson said. "Then we won the average, and I was jumping for joy." "I can't believe it ... the field of ropers that's here and that we rope against all year ... I can't believe we won," Buhler added. Simpson entered Las Vegas ranked 14th in the world head- ing standings, and Buhler was 12th in the heeling standings. That just made their run to the title that much more improba- ble. The duo's 4.3-second run in Round 10 split the win, and moved them from outside the Top 5 in the world standings to the top spot. RODEO Nogueira's all-around title headlines Round 10 madness 49ERS PAGE 2 Noah Zoppi led the Cards with 20 points and 9 rebounds, Corey Busta had 17 points and 9 boards, Tucker Berens had 12 points and 14 rebounds and Brendan Hoag had 11 points and 9 rebounds. The Cardinals remain undefeated at 7-0 and are scheduled to take on the rival Orland Trojans (3-2) at home at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Spartans are 5-1 as they prepare to host the Anderson Cubs (2-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Holiday Classic Tournament. RODEO PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, December 13, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1