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Tehama Tracker Wednesday's result FIELD HOCKEY Corning Bella Vista 0 2 COR — Shyanne Petty 4 shots, 1 score, Bailey Jennings 4 shots, 1 score Thursday's results VOLLEYBALL Champ.Christian Mercy TENNIS West Valley Red Bluff Today's games FOOTBALL Red Bluff Anderson Corning Oroville Mercy Happy Camp 6 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Corning Hamilton City Los Molinos Fri/Sat Fri/Sat At tournament in Fall River FIELD Corning Daily News photo by Andre Byik The Mercy Warriors volleyball team (2-0) after its 3-0 win over Champion Christian on Thursday.The Warriors swept 25-10, 25-6, 25-15. RAIDERS Receivers give needed boost HOCKEY Fri/Sat At Willow Glenn Tournament MLB Los Angeles Atlanta LAD — Beckett, 1-1 SF — Lincecum, 8-14 Athletics Seattle OAK — Griffin, 4-0 SEA — Hernandez, 13-6 7:05 p.m. CSNC 7:15 p.m. CSNB ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders' thin receiving corps got a boost Thursday when Denarius Moore returned to practice from an injury and the team signed Derek Hagan. Moore practiced on a limited basis for the first time since Aug. 4 as he has been dealing with a hamstring injury first sus- tained during minicamp in June. ''It felt really good to be back out there with my teammates and get my timing down with the quarterback, just getting a feel for things,'' he said. ''I've been out for so long you somewhat forget the fun- 49ERS On the tube Linebackers among NFL's elite COLLEGE FOOTBALL • 5 p.m. ESPN2 — Utah at Utah St. GOLF • 5:30 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, KLM Open, second round, at Hilversum, Netherlands • 9:30 a.m. TGC — LPGA, Kingsmill Championship, second round, at Williamsburg, Va. • Noon TGC — PGA Tour, BMW Championship, second round, at Carmel, Ind. MLB • 7 p.m. MLB — Regional coverage, L.A. Dodgers at San Francisco or Ari- zona at San Diego PREP FOOTBALL • 4 p.m.FSN — St.Paul's (La.) vs. Lin- coln (Fla.), at New Orleans • 7 p.m. FSN — John Curtis (La.) vs. Plant (Fla.), at New Orleans TENNIS • 9:30 a.m.CBS — U.S. Open, men's doubles championship match and women's semifinals, at New York A's McCarthy alert after surgery OAKLAND (AP) — Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy is alert after having surgery for a skull fracture and brain con- tusion caused by a line drive. SANTA CLARA (AP) — Two are All- Pros. One was the run- ner-up for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. The other just received a new $44.5 million, six-year con- tract extension. Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks might not only the biggest rea- son behind the San Francisco 49ers' defen- sive success last season, they form a close-knit linebacker group that has quickly become the NFL's new elite unit. Call them the Fear- The Oakland right- hander was hit in the head Wednesday by a liner off the bat of Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels. The Athletics said Thursday that McCarthy was awake, resting comfortably in the critical care unit of a Bay Area hospital and showing signs of improvement. Follow us on Twitter for live game cover- age, exclu- sive online articles and more. @TehamaSports some Foursome. ''I think they're the best tandem of 3-4 line- backers in the league,'' Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers said this week. He should know. When the Packers host the 49ers in the regular-season opener for both teams Sunday, the quarterback's eyes will likely be locked into the linebackers more than any other group on the field. Willis and Bowman, causing chaos, the 49ers led the league in rushing defense (77.2 yards per game), tied with the Packers in takeaways (38) and finished second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers (14.2) in points allowed per game (14.3) en route to the NFC championship game last season. ''There are certainly high expectations,'' Willis said, ''knowing what we did last year.'' The success has also bred a friendly but fierce competition throughout training camp and preseason practice. the two All-Pros, com- bined for 235 tackles, 20 pass deflections, four sacks and four forced fumbles last season. Smith set a franchise- rookie record with 14 sacks to go with two forced fumbles. Brooks, who signed a new deal over the summer that will carry him through the 2017 season, had seven sacks and a forced fumble. With the linebackers Brooks and Smith are so competitive on the outside they started a game about who is best, often yelling out ''left side'' and ''strong side'' after big plays, mimick- ing the catch phrase from a scene in the movie ''Remember the Titans.'' Even defensive ends Justin Smith and Ray McDonald have gotten in on the fun. While the Smiths are often quieter and prefer to let their play do most of the talking, left- siders Brooks and McDonald can often be more rambunctious. ''There were guys that said, 'Left side! Strong side!''' Brooks said. ''One day last year Ray was like, 'Left side!' And I was like, 'Strong side!' It stuck with us.'' All four believe the playful antics have motivated the defense even more. ''It's not a rivalry, it's like a friendly competi- damentals.'' Moore's return was welcome news to a Raiders offense that struggled at times during the preseason. He had a stellar rookie season, catching 33 passes for 618 yards and five touchdowns. His 18.7 yards per catch were the fourth-highest in the league and his eight catches on passes more than 20 yards downfield gave Oak- land a much-needed vertical threat that opened up opposing defenses. Moore has been unable to work much with quarterback Carson Palmer this off- season. He was on the field for OTAs but got hurt early in minicamp. He had four full practices in training camp before being hurt again and had not made it back on the field with the team until Thursday. ''I know it's been a frustrating training camp for him because he's a football player and that's what he wants to be doing,'' Palmer said. ''It's good to see him out there getting reps, getting his legs back out there underneath him. He's going to need that. You lose football shape really fast and it's hard to get it back. So it's good to see him getting some See RAIDERS, page 2B 4 5 3 0 Sports PREP VOLLEYBALL | MERCY 7: 30 p.m. 7 p.m. 1B Friday September 7, 2012 MCT file photo 49ers defender Patrick Willis denies New Orleans' Jimmy Graham a catch. tion,'' Aldon Smith said. ''We want to see who can get more than the other. And just get 'em period.'' The success also has created a bond that extends beyond the field. Willis and Bowman are basically brothers. The two have pictures of each other and their families in each of their lockers, and Willis also is the godfather to Bow- man's newborn twins. Sometimes it's even hard to tell who is who between No. 52 (Willis) and No. 53 (Bowman) the way both move all over the field. See 49ERS, page 2B