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10A Double Coverage RB comes up big with playoffs on line DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 RED BLUFF 48, PLEASANT VALLEY 21 off spot likely on the line, the Red Bluff High football team was the one that showed it wanted it most. More importantly, the Spartans were also the ones that looked most like a play- off team. Tucker Gulliford rushed for 174 yards on 20 carries and Christian Jordan had two acrobatic touchdown catches and also returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, leading the Spartans to a 48-21 victory over Pleasant Valley on Fri- day night at Asgard Yard that likely will give Red Bluff the final playoff spot — and leave the Vikings on the outside looking in. "We didn't come out ready to play, plain and sim- ple," first-year PV coach Mark Cooley said. "It's a mentality thing from the get- go. It was a game I felt we could win, and the story of our season shows up again: Turnovers and penalties." Indeed, the Vikings (2-6, 0-4 Eastern Athletic League) lost two fumbles and threw three picks, including the game-turning pick-six by Jordan, who nabbed Greg Darms' pass on the goal line, scurried through traffic and took it back all the way to ruin a red-zone opportunity for the hosts. By TRAVIS SOUDERS MediaNews Group CHICO — With a play- not even close. He showed up twice more in the second quarter, simply winning a pair of end zone jump balls from Gar- rett Sandow as the Spartans (5-3, 1-3)came out aggres- Jordan wasn't done — Saturday mornings online at redbluffdailynews.com • reprinted in Tuesday's print edition Week 8 Friday's results Corning 41, Anderson 20 Red Bluff 48, Pleasant Valley 21 Burney 38, Etna 18 Central Valley 46, Yreka 21 Colusa 49, Quincy 36 East Nicolaus 41, Willows 28 Foothill 41, Chico 28 Hamilton 47, Esparto 6 Las Plumas 49, Gridley 12 Live Oak 44, Mt. Shasta 14 Modoc 50, Fall River 49 Orland 42, Oroville 0 Paradise 56, Shasta 3 Pierce 27, Trinity 6 Portola 27, Maxwell 21 Sutter 34, Enterprise 27 University Prep 33, Biggs 32 West Valley 34, Lassen 14 Wheatland 48, Winters 20 Willows 15, Durham 10 Friday's 8-man results Butte Valley 43, Big Valley 6 Redding Christian 55, Hayfork 0 Princeton 22, Greenville 16 Tulelake 34, Happy Camp 8 Saturday's 8-man results Mercy 2, Liberty Christian 0. forfeit Dunsmuir 48, Loyalton 6 Westwood 60, Herlong 26 Standings Eastern Athletic League Overall Paradise Chico Enterprise Foothill Shasta Red Bluff MediaNews Group photo by Jason Halley Red Bluff's Christian Jordan catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter Friday against Pleasant Valley. sively and never let off the gas. After taking a 28-7 first- quarter lead, Jordan's first touchdown catch made it 35-14 midway through the second quarter — and Red Bluff tried and recovered an onside kick. Clearly, the vis- itors didn't have a close call on their minds. was, 'Get the win, get in the playoffs,'" Jordan said. "It feels really good to come in here and take it from them." Spartans coach Corey Hein said his team was aware of the stakes, though it was obvious just from watching that Red Bluff was the aggressor with some- thing to lose. The Spartans "All we were thinking CORNING 41, ANDERSON 20 Cards ride Lowe, Fultz to vital victory By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor ANDERSON — Thomas Lowe's electri- fying, four-touchdown performance here on Friday gave the Corning Cardinals the spark they've been looking for. The Cardinals (4-4, 1- 2 Northern Athletic League) beat Anderson (2-6, 0-3) 41-20 to notch their first league win on the season and keep their postseason hopes alive. used Gulliford's brutal run- ning style, which provided a 42-yard score in the first quarter, to build their lead and never looked back. "It was a big game for both of us. For them, this would have been a big deal, same as for us," Hein said. "We played a great game and now we feel like we've given ourselves a pretty good chance, so we're excit- ed about that." PV wasn't totally without traction for the duration of the game; in fact, the Vikings looked poised to engage in a shootout when Sam Savercool answered Red Bluff's first score with a 47-yard touchdown run. But Darms' interception with his team already down 20-7 was a killer, and Savercool man- aged just six yards rushing on his other nine carries, and the Spartans pulled away. "They came out and played smash-mouth foot- ball. They came out hitting hard," Cooley said of Red Bluff. "What they did, that's what we need to keep work- ing to do. It's a mentality thing we're trying to change, and we'll keep working on it." Sandow finished with 8- of-18 passing for 115 yards and three touchdowns, the other to Wyatt Houghtby. Darms was 11 of 22 for 109 yards, also adding 26 rush- ing yards. The Vikings showed some potency at times, but obviously are still adapting to the learning curve a new coaching staff always presents. new offense, new defense, and then we've got injuries, we're moving people around and trying to get the right person in the right place," Cooley explained. "Then we do that, and feel like we're getting somewhere, and someone gets hurt or doesn't show up to practice. It's a multitude of things. But we've done some good things, and I still believe this team can win ballgames. We just have to keep working." "It's a transition thing. A 4-1 3-1 3-1 3-2 2-2 1-3 Pleasant Valley 0-4 6-2 6-2 5-3 5-3 5-3 5-3 2-6 Northern Athletic League Overall Central Valley West Valley Lassen Yreka Corning Anderson 3-0 2-1 2-1 1-2 1-2 0-3 8-Man South League Overall Loyalton G Greenville Princeton Mercy H W Westwood Herlong 4-0 3-1 3-1 2-3 1-3 0-5 6-2 5-3 5-3 4-4 1-6 0-8 Playoff Points 1. Paradise 6-2 2. Enterprise 5-3 3. Foothill 5-3 4. Chico 5-3 5. Shasta 5-3 6. Red Bluff 5-3 7. Las Plumas 3-5 Division I — Top 6 qualify 23.10 20.60 18.65 15.55 15.35 11.80 11.25 8. Pleasant Valley 2-6 7.00 9. Oroville 1-7 1. Sutter 8-0 5.55 Division II — Top 8 qualify 25.80 2. Central Valley 4-4 20.50 3. West Valley 7-1 4. Wheatland 6-2 5. Orland 6-2 6. Live Oak 6-2 7. Lassen 3-5 8. Yreka 6-2 But when Lowe inter- cepted and ran back an Anderson pass for his fourth touchdown on the night midway through the fourth quarter, Corn- ing head coach John Studer said "it felt like it was the first time I exhaled in about three weeks." The play put Corning up 41-20. Lowe said. "The coach- es having trust in me with the ball and just showing them what I can do with the help of my offense. Just a big credit to them." At halftime, the teams were even at 13- all. their first possession strong, scoring on a 10- play, 76-yard drive that The Cards started Corning limped into the match. The team was coming off three straight losses and was without junior starting quarter- back Chayce Maday, who hurt his ankle against Central Valley in Week 7. 9. Corning 4-4 10. Winters 4-4 11. Anderson2-6 12. Gridley 0-8 20.38 20.35 19.25 16.43 16.28 14.27 13.37 12.95 8.10 5.60 Week 9 Schedule All games 7:30 p.m. except where noted Friday's games Corning at Yreka Paradise at Red Bluff Anderson at West Valley, 7 p.m. Biggs at Maxwell, 7 p.m. Burney at Modoc Daily News photo by Andre Byik The Corning Cardinals' Cody Long carries the ball against Anderson on Friday at Bob Reid Stadium. go. "It just felt great," had senior running back Nathan Fultz and Lowe carrying the brunt of the load. Lowe scored on a 15- yard run and a good extra point put the Cards up 7-0 early. blink. Anderson didn't The Cubs' Jeremiah Emershy returned the resulting kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt bounced off the left upright to preserve a 7-6 Corning lead, but it was how the first half would from two yards out with 7:52 left in the first half, and Anderson quarter- back Jason Cruickshank countered with a 46- yard touchdown com- pletion to Tristan Smith to even the score at 13. The game was vin- tage Corning. A merci- less dedication to their ground game. Lowe scored again Tarren Dahlgren was one of one on the night, completing his only pass attempt for 30 yards Corning quarterback early in the second. Studer said when his team has success carry- ing the ball play after play, "even if we're not wearing (Anderson) down physically, I think we're wearing them down mentally." Corning ended the third quarter with a 13- play, 81-yard drive capped by a three-yard touchdown run from Fultz to put the Cards up 27-20. Anderson wouldn't score again. Fultz finished the night with 176 rushing yards and a touchdown. "It was a must-win," Fultz said. "I think this is a start for us right now because we gotta win the rest of our games I believe to make play- offs. So we gotta keep going. Gotta win the rest of them." Corning visits Yreka (6-2, 1-2 NAL) next week. Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Follow him on Twitter:@TehamaSports. ——— Central Valley at Lassen Chester at University Prep, 5:30 Esparto at East Nicolaus Hamilton at Colusa, 5:30 Las Plumas at Sutter Live Oak at Pierce Mt. Shasta at Durham Orland at Wheatland Oroville at Foothill Pleasant Valley at Chico Quincy at Williams Shasta at Enterprise Willows at Trinity Winters at Gridley, 5:30 Saturday's game Etna at St. Mary's Friday's 8-man games Happy Camp at Butte Valley, 6 p.m. Tulelake at Hayfork, 6 p.m. Loyalton at Greenville, 7 p.m. Dunsmuir at Redding Christian, 7 p.m. Princeton at Westwood, 7 p.m. 4-4 7-1 4-4 6-2 4-4 2-6