Eight-man football teams from Dunsmuir and Butte Valley were joined by Hayfork and Champion Christian for a scrimmage last Saturday in Dunsmuir. After the scrimmage, Siskiyou Youth asked Dunsmuir and Butte Valley coaches to assess their Teams. Although Happy Camp was unable to attend the scrimmage, Indian coach John Kufner also provided an abbreviated preview.

The 8-man teams open up play this Friday.

Butte Valley

Butte Valley head coach Jay Allen said that Jeremy Lopez impressed him in the scrimmage. He also said that he was impressed with his younger players, and that they are, “progressing quite nicely,” in particular Ben Field and Colton Struble. (more…)

Updated with coaches’ comments and D-stats, 8/31 5:00 pm

YREKA – The Yreka Miners varsity football team opened up the 2009 season with a comeback win over the Trinity Wolves, 21-18. Travis Fonseca’s 5-yard touchdown run, with 1:03 left to play, gave Yreka the win.

After a scoreless first quarter, Trinity capitalized on a misplayed punt that allowed them to start a dive on the Miner 1-yard-line. On the first play, Trinity’s Jacob Hymas found pay dirt and the Wolves added a 2-point conversion to lead 8-0 with 9: 24 left in the half.

The Miners answered in a matter of seconds, when Joe Wilson took the ensuing kickoff back 75 yards for a TD. With a 2-point conversion, the score was tied 8-8.

Yreka took the lead late in the second quarter on a 55 yard, seven play drive that ended with a 15-yard strike from Adam Kleier to Sarome Eng for a touchdown. With the PAT, the Miners led 15-8, going into the half.

Yreka thwarted a Trinity drive at the 1-yard-line about three minutes into the third quarter, and took over on downs. However, a bad snap from center resulted in a safety for Trinity, and narrowed the margin to 15-10.

Early in the fourth quarter Trinity finished off a 67-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run by QB Justin Jeangerard. The Wolves added the 2-point conversion to take the lead 18-15. (more…)

WEED – Weed varsity head coach Erik Johnson took a different preseason approach than his peers. Johnson held a one-week “boot camp” to prepare his Cougars for the 2009 football campaign. It appears that the strategy has already paid dividends, as the Cougars opened the season with a 14-8 win over the Etna Lions. The win broke a three-year, six-game losing streak against Etna.

“This is going to propel us into the season; It’s the cornerstone going forward,” said Johnson after the game. “The camp paid off. This is a good team and a good group of kids.”

Weed scored first, when they took advantage of a blocked punt by Thad Schnack midway through the second quarter. After the block, the Cougars set up shop at the Etna 2-yard-line. The first two Weed plays netted a total of one yard. On third down, Cougar quarterback Cody Beam powered up the middle on a keeper for a 1-yard TD. The PAT attempt failed, but Weed led 6-0 with 4:22 left in the first half.

The Cougars attempted an onside kick after the TD. The play backfired, when the ball did not travel the necessary 10 yards before recovery, giving Etna excellent field position at the Weed 49-yard-line. (more…)

By Rick Martin

The Mt. Shasta Bears dropped their opening game of the 2009 season on Friday, falling to defending Division-IV titlist, Modoc, 24-14.

The Bears came in with just a handful of returning starters in the fold, and a lot of questions about how players would respond in new roles. And despite the loss, some of those questions were answered. Tim Jaegel – playing his first ever game at QB – threw for a pair of TDs and led the Bear offense on several long series. Colin Waterman and Brendan Hickey made some nifty catches downfield, and the running back corps – led my Mark Maumasi, Dustin Dutra and Bryson Brooks – performed very well against a stout Modoc defense. (more…)

Scores

Friday, August 28

Football

Yreka 21 – Trinity 18
Yreka: Travis Fonseca 5-yard TD run for game winner with 1:03 left. Joe Wilson 75-yard kick return for TD. Adam Kleier 15-yard TD pass to Sarome Eng.

Yreka JV 12 – Trinity JV 0

Mt. Shasta 14 – Modoc 24
Mt. Shasta: Tim Jaegel 2 TD passes.

Mt. Shasta JV 8 – Modoc JV 0
Mt. Shasta: Jordan Hannah game winning TD on 42-yard run.

Weed 14 – Etna 8
Weed: Micah White game winning TD catch, Cody Beam TD pass, TD run.
Etna: Lucas Case TD run

Etna JV 27 – Weed JV 0
Etna: Colby Rimmer  3 rushing TDs, 234 yards rushing,Int; Will Johnson 11 tackles, 46 yards rushing (2 carries)

Tuesday, August 25

Soccer

Mt. Shasta 3 – Butte Valley 0 (scrimmage game)
Mt. Shasta scoring: John Holst- two goals; Andrew Campbell – goal and assist; Sawyer Ducharme – assist. Lucas Morris and James Palmer combine in goal for shutout.

Mark your calendars for the fourth annual Siskiyou Heat girl’s youth American Softball Association (ASA) fund raising dinner at the Montague Hall on Saturday September 12. The Siskiyou Heat are made up of competitive girls softball teams (ages 8 -18) from all over Siskiyou County. They play games and tournaments in California, Oregon and Nevada. Due to the exposure the girls get at these away tournaments many have been awarded scholarships to play with college softball teams.

The funds raised will go to offset costs for equipment, uniforms, field maintenance, and tournament fees. At the present time the club is working with the City of Montague to improve “Scobie Field” as their own home field. (more…)

WEED – If you’ve always wanted to work outdoors and are looking for the skills you need to work in forestry, fisheries, and wildlife management then COS’s new program in Environmental Resources Technology could be for you.
Environmental Resources Technology is one of three new programs College of the Siskiyous is launching this fall. Fall classes start September 8, and include: Introduction to Environmental Resources, Dendrology, Introduction to Field Studies and Forest Ecology. (more…)

MOUNT SHASTA – Jennifer Mckinnon is the new principal at Mt. Shasta High School. McKinnon, who was the principal at Yreka High School for four years before migrating south, took a few minutes on Monday to talk to SiskiyouYouth.com about her new school.

Asked what she likes best about Mt. Shasta High, McKinnon was quick to answer.

“The people,” said McKinnon. “The students and the staff I’ve worked with so far are good. In education the things that you like best are the people. A lot of times it’s the students. But in my position, very often it’s the staff.” (more…)

Yreka, Mt Shasta and Etna high schools met on the gridiron at Mt. Shasta High last Friday for a 3-way scrimmage. The teams alternated offense and defense with each team running or defending 10 plays before switching. Siskiyou Youth followed up after the scrimmage and asked each head coach for an assessment of his team heading into the season openers this Friday.

Yreka

Yreka Miner head coach Orlyn Culp liked what he saw during the scrimmage for the most part.

“Overall, I think it was a positive day for the Miners. We’re a young group, so we’re going to need some time to grow up and become more experienced.  It’s going to be imperative that our senior leaders from last year’s team continue to serve as positive role models of how we do what we do,” said Culp.

Culp liked the competitiveness that he saw from his squad and was pleased that his coaching staff was able to get each player quality reps, in order to evaluate them objectively.

He was especially happy with the work done by a pair of seniors. (more…)

Etna Lions football, Lion Pride boosters club, and Etna HS athletics are sponsoring Kickoff ‘09 as a way to jump start the upcoming year of athletic competition at Etna High School. The festivities will include a barbecue pork dinner being served at the game, introduction of this year’s varsity football coaches and team, a ceremony honoring former Etna coach Bill Wilkins, and an after-game dance for the students. (more…)

WEED – First-year Weed varsity head coach Erik Johnson took a different approach than the rest of the Siskiyou County football programs this summer. The other 11-man teams (Yreka, Mt. Shasta, Etna) had traditional preseason practices, which culminated in a scrimmage held at Mt. Shasta High School last Friday. Johnson, however, opted to take his players to boot camp.

Okay, maybe calling it boot camp is a bit of a stretch, but it was certainly the most intense week that any football players in the area experienced. (more…)

A highlight of the Siskiyou Golden Fair each year is the Junior Livestock program that features youth from Siskiyou County and their project animals–from the furry little cavy to the 1,300-pound steer. The exhibitors compete for numerous awards in showmanship and market classes and are honored with numerous awards which are provided by the Fair and community donors.Market and Showmanship awards

Grand champion hog: Jessica Arellano, Yreka FFA
Reserve champion hog: Natalie Driskell, River Valley 4-H
Grand champion lamb: Brian Sampson, Gazelle 4-H
Reserve champion lamb: David Jesperson, Yreka FFA
Grand champion market beef: Russell Sweet, Grenada 4-H
Reserve champion market beef: Kayla Stonier, Grenada 4-H (more…)

YREKA – Siskiyou Golden Fair CEO Rebecca Desmond reported a 2-percent increase in fair attendance for 2009, with an estimated total of 51,392 visitors. The revenue count is not completed, but Desmond expects the amount to be down a little.

“Pre-sale admission and carnival wristband sales were up over last year, and that can bring overall revenues down, but is a real plus for our customers,” said Desmond

The fair also saw an uptick in participation and attendance for some exhibits and events. (more…)