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Sports PREP FOOTBALL | RED BLUFF HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY PREVIEW Daily News photos by Andre Byik Members of the Spartans varsity football squad run drills during a practice on Tuesday. We're back, Spartans say By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor The Red Bluff High School varsity football Spartans have a new head coach and a question — "Why not us?" Red Bluff football, head coach Corey Hein said admittedly, has been down for a few years. The team went 2-10 last sea- son, winning its last two games under quarterback Garrett Sandow, who started the last three games of the season and is a returning senior. Sandow said the experience helped a lot, adding that the awards at the end of the season are not set in stone and a playoff run "would mean everything to Tuesday's result Tehama Tracker GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL Williams Los Molinos Today's games MLB Giants Los Angeles SF — Cain, 12-5 LAD — Capuano, 11-8 Minnesota Athletics MIN — Hendriks, 0-5 OAK — Milone, 9-9 On the tube LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL 1 p.m.ESPN — World Series, double elimination, teams TBD, at South Williamsport, Pa. 5 p.m.ESPN — World Series, double elimination, teams TBD, at South Williamsport, Pa. MLB 11 a.m.WGN — Chicago Cubs at Mil- waukee 5 p.m.ESPN2 — N.Y.Yankees at Chica- go White Sox SOCCER 11:30 a.m.ESPN2 — Premier League, Reading at Chelsea FSN — UEFA Champions League, Panathinaikos at Malaga 18-U fast pitch softball travel team will be holding fall ball tryouts at 10 a.m. Sunday at Trainor Park, Frey Field in Red Bluff. For more information con- tact: Mike McEnaney at 530- 366-4875 Around town The Nor Cal Pride girls Follow us on Twitter for live game cover- age, exclu- sive online articles and more. @TehamaSports 12:35 p.m. CSNC MCT file photo Cartwright runs the ball in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings Aug. 10. Cartwright getting new chance SANTA CLARA (AP) — Rock Cartwright never got to say a proper goodbye to his mother eight years ago. discovered a thin film covering her heart that restricted blood flow and ultimately caused her untimely death, fearing her youngest son would be worried sick. That was her nature, and also his. She never told him when doctors word from a cousin that his mom was in the hospital in his hometown of Conroe, Texas, on Memorial Day 2004, he was too late. She was gone at just 46. ''There was nothing they could do By the time Cartwright received at it before every game. He wears a pendant with his initials on one side and her full name and the years she lived on the other. ''I hate that my mom had to leave at such an early age,'' he said. ''It's life. She's in a better place now. I definitely feel she's always with me. She watches down on me.'' Cartwright will be filling a big special teams void after the spring departure of Blake Costanzo, who signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears. about it,'' he said Tuesday. ''It kind of happened unexpectedly.'' To this day, the 49ers special teams standout and running back keeps Johnetta Cartwright close each time he steps onto the football field — and that hasn't changed as he changes teams for the third time in his 11-year NFL career. The 32-year-old Cartwright has a picture of her on his phone and looks over and over again, that he is willing to do whatever the 49ers need to make another run at a Super Bowl that was right within reach last sea- son. Ask Cartwright and he will say, fit in coach Jim Harbaugh's unselfish, team-first system that worked so well last year. Cartwright has 228 career carries for 956 yards and six touch- downs, with another two catches for scores. It was his late maternal grand- See 49ERS, page 2B 7:10 p.m. CSNB 3 0 me." He had high praise for Hein, saying his coaching style is "exactly what the program needs." Miller, has been coaching at the high school for 13 years and teaches in the social studies department, has taken over the varsity program this year but he's no stranger to Red Bluff football. Hein coached junior varsity for 11 of those 13 years. "I'm in a unique position in Hein, who is succeeding John that I've coached all of these kids already," Hein said. It's made his new coaching gig a smooth transition, he said. There are changes though, Hein said, such as a new three- 49ERS front defense for a team that gave up an average of about 30 points per game last season, but because of the familiarity Hein has with the players they're "speaking the same language." But there's still the question of how to turn around a football program that won just six games in the last three years. Hein isn't shy about setting a goal to reach the playoffs, but regardless of strategy on the field, it starts with players believing in their abilities and the team, he said. "That's our No. 1 thing because if they can learn to work and compete as a team then they'll be in positions to win See SPARTANS, page 2B RAIDERS Wisniewski still out with calf injury NAPA (AP) — Stefen Wisniewski has a tough enough adjustment to make in his second year in the NFL after having changed positions and block- ing systems with the Oakland Raiders. Injuries that are keeping him off the practice field are only making that job more difficult. After missing all offseason workouts while recovering from shoulder surgery, Wisniewski has now been sidelined more than a week with an injured calf sustained in the exhibition opener. The lack of time on the practice field for Wis- niewski is becoming a growing concern for the Raiders (tied for No. 23 in the AP Pro32), who are counting on Wisniewski to anchor the line at center this season as the team adapts to the zone blocking system. ''He needs to get the reps,'' coach Dennis Allen 1B Wednesday August 22, 2012 said Tuesday. ''It's football and you don't just show up and play so every day he's not out here he's a little bit farther behind. But he's been keep- ing up mentally as far as taking the mental reps and in the meetings but it's hard to replace those phys- ical reps you get here and in games.'' Wisniewski hurt his shoulder early in his rookie season and played through a labrum tear for most of the year. He still was impressive for the most part as a key part of Oakland's line at left guard, but did struggle at times late in the season. He had surgery after the season and spent the entire offseason pro- gram rehabbing, attend- ing meetings and watch- ing his teammates learn a new system as Oak- land moved from a power blocking to a zone blocking scheme that puts more emphasis on quickness than strength for linemen. ''You got to be able Perhaps that's why he is a perfect Stefen Wisniewski can run, we're athletic. So I think it's going to work for us, especially with the speed we've got at running back.'' to move,'' Wisniewski said. ''If you look at our O-line, that's one thing we all can do across the board. We can move, we lot of work in training camp to make up for lost time as he moved to center to replace the departed The Raiders were hoping to give Wisniewski a See RAIDERS, page 2B