Part A photos by Jimmy Palmer. Part B photos by Mike LaMarr

Part A front photo is Dunsmuir’s C.J. Palmer. Part B front photo is Etna’s Hayden Kaae

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It was a tight game for the first half, and Fall River had a momentary lead early in the second half, but in the end the Weed Cougars turned Tuesday night’s Shasta Cascade League opener into a run away, 66-55, win over the visiting Bulldogs.

Weed went out to a 7-2 lead to open the contest on a pair of buckets by Trevor Shaffer and a 3-ball from Edgar Casorla. At the 3:58 mark of the first quarter it was 7-4, with all four Bulldog points coming on freebies by Klay Worthan. With 1:18 to go in the quarter, Weed held a 16-10 advantage, but a trey from Tanner Gallion and a hoop by John Westlund made it a one point game going into the second stanza, 16-15.

Weed added one point to their advantage in the second quarter, and went into the locker room with a 25-23 lead. (more…)

Over the next couple of days, I’ll be calculating rankings for all of the different divisions, except D-II. The reason for leaving out D-II is that several teams have not played a game within the division, which really messes with the formula. By next week, all the teams will have played a division opponent, and I’ll have the first rankings for D-II after that.

There are three components to D-I through D-IV rankings: overall record, division record, and strength of schedule. There is more emphasis on overall and division records than on strength of schedule, because win/loss records happen on the field. Strength of schedule happens over the phone, email, text, or in meetings that determine who is in what league, and who plays who. In other words, the actual game has nothing to do with it.

Strength of schedule has two parts. First, you get points for playing good teams. You get some points for playing teams that are .500-.699. You get more points for playing teams that are .700 or better. Even more points are awarded for playing good teams in higher divisions (except for D-I teams because they’re already in the highest division). The second part is actually beating the good teams. There are points for beating .500-.699, and even more for beating teams .700 and higher. Beating a good upper division team really packs on the points. Beating a good team one division below also gets some points, but not a lot. No matter how good a lower division team is, there are no points unless you beat them.

Division-IV Rankings

1. Portola (4-0) 22.56

2. Chester (4-0) 20.56

3. Biggs (3-1) 17.75

4. Maxwell (2-2) 10.25 (more…)

Photos by Jennifer Gross

Jackson Street’s Jacob Gross captured the boys middle school title, running the 1.6 mile course at Yreka’s Greenhorn Park in 10:50.11. Angelic Avery of Jackson St. was the girls middle school winner in 12:17.00.

Scott Valley JH took the boys middle school team title, and Grenada earned the girls middle school title.

Boys 1.6 Mile Middle School
1 Jacob Gross 10:50.11 jss 8
2 Jaykob Caples 11:03.77 sv 8
3 Zackeree Caples 11:30.02 sv 8
4 Isaac Fernandes 11:48.30 jss -
5 Severin Pindell 11:53.97 sv 7
6 Cameron Dienger 12:00.42 jss 5
7 Jesse Martin 12:02.75 sv 7
8 Caleb Morrill 12:14.72 sv 7
9 Sam Chase 12:16.87 sisn 7
10 Trevor Downey 12:21.90 sv 6 (more…)

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Article and slide show photos by Richard Allan

Softball fans packed the Hooker Oak Recreation area in Chico Saturday, June 2, to watch the top seniors in the North Section battle it out in the Chico Lions Breakfast Club seventh annual George Hibdon Classic North-South all-star game.

The North squad, coached by Mt. Shasta’s Joe Spini, dominated the game with pitching and defense for an 8-0 win, halting a four-game win streak by the South. The South leads the series 4-2 with last year’s game getting rained out.

The North pitching staff featured two of the state’s best strikeout artists, Anderson’s Cheridan Hawkins and Mt. Shasta’s Kayla Spini. Along with Fall River’s Mandy Lakey, the North combined for 15 strikeouts in the nine-inning shutout victory.

Hawkins fanned nine in four innings of work and was named the game’s most valuable player. Hawkins led the state in strikeouts with 440 and earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon.

Spini took over in the fifth and tossed three innings, striking out four along the way. Spini will be moving on to play for Shasta College next year.

“It’s a good feeling knowing you can play with the best players of the North, and a great experience to have,” Spini texted to SiskiyouYouth.

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The Weed Cougars (2-6, 10-9) were swept by the Fall River Bulldogs (6-2, 12-6) on Friday afternoon in Weed.

Fall River won the first tilt, 5-3. For Weed, Bryndan Gaither was 2/3, with 2 RBI. James Brunello went 2/3.

Game-two went Fall River’s way, 8-2. For Weed, Gaither was tops at the plate again, going 2/3. Aidan Hagarty went 1/2.

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The Etna Lady Lions  and the Fall River Lady Bulldogs played two games, put up 53 total runs, and split a double header on Tuesday afternoon in Etna. The Lady Lions won the first game, 12-9, and Fall River took the second contest, 18-14.

The Lady Bullodgs grabbed a lead in the first inning of game-one. With one down, Brook Small took a walk, stole second, went to third on a passed ball, and scored when Mandy Lakey reached on a dropped third strike and an error. Lakey went to second on the play. Maryann Parker knocked in Lakey, making it 2-0.

Etna answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Tessa Burrone led off with a double and went to third on an error. Rhyan Smith reached on a fielder’s choice, when Fall River was unsuccessful in trying to get Burrone at home. Jessie Eiler launched a rocket to give Etna the lead 3-2. (more…)

Photos by Richard Allan, The Inter-MountainNews.

The 2012 North Section CIF Masters Wrestling Tournament was held at the Redding Convention Center last Friday and Saturday.

Trinity’s Josh Plotzke earned a medal with a fourth place finish in the 120 lb division, going 3-2 in the tournament.

Also bringing home a medal was Etna’s Hayden Kaae, finishing 5th in the 182 lb division. He went 4-2 in the tourney

Tulelake’s Derek Wood went 1-1 in the 138 lb division. (more…)

By Rick Martin, KCWH Radio 102.3 FM

The Mt. Shasta Bear boys came up about a foot short Friday night, falling to visiting Fall River 64-61, after rallying from an 18-pt. deficit.

The Bears (13-8, 4-3) got off to a slow start, as the Bulldogs (18-4, 7-1) scored the game’s first 9 points. The Bears responded with a 6-0 run, but then the Bulldogs threatened to run away and hide, closing the quarter with a 16-7 run and opening a 25-13 advantage. Juke Parker put up 10 in the quarter. When he went to the bench with a second foul early in the second quarter, his replacement, Derek Lowry, picked up where he left off. Lowry tallied 7 quick points in the second, as the Bears struggled to even get shots. With just over 4 minutes remaining in the half, it was 36-18, and the Bears looked lost.

But coach Donnie Gray called a timeout, gathered the troops and got the Bears heading in the right direction. A Dylan Padula bucket got it rolling, and the Bears started getting stops on defense. A three by Dylan Morris, a bucket by Paul Thelander, then a 3-pt play by Kegan Snure made it 36-28. Logan Gress added a three, and then Padule converted a three point play in the final minute of the half to bring the Bears within 4, at 36-32, with a 14-0 run. (more…)

By Rick Martin, KCWH Radio 102.3 FM

The Mt. Shasta Bear varsity girls are one win away from a Shasta Cascade League championship after holding off visiting Fall River, 48-43, on Friday night. But it wasn’t easy.
Mt. Shasta coach Kirk Andrus knew better than to be happy with the big lead his varsity girls built against the SCL co-leaders. His concern almost became prophetic.

“I looked up at the scoreboard and thought, ‘We should have enough points now that they can’t come back’. I should have known better,” he said. “The next thing we knew, they were coming back.”

The Bears (12-10, 7-1) built a 20-point advantage, then sweated out a 4th quarter that saw the Bulldogs have the ball in their hands with a chance to tie it late. But Mt. Shasta prevailed despite mustering only 13 points in the second half.

“They played great defense, and we got tight,” Andrus said. “They did a good job defensively, and we didn’t execute the way we wanted to on offense. But the win is what matters.”

Indeed. The victory pushed the Bears’ record in the SCL to 7-1. They lead Weed (7-2) by half a game, and Fall River (15-6, 6-2) by one. They finish the season with road games against those schools next week.

“This is the position we work to be in: controlling our own destiny with our two biggest rivals still to play,” Andrus said. “We travel well, we play well on the road, and we know what we can do next week.” (more…)

Video has both Etna & Fall River highlights (more…)

The Fall River Bulldogs took the overall school championship at the Etna Tip-Off Challenge basketball tournament held on Friday and Saturday. The tourney championship went to the school with the highest point total based on the finishes of each of its four teams. A first place finished earned 4 points, second place earned 3 points, and so on. See scoreboard posted earlier on SiskiyouYouth.com for Saturday’s varsity game results.

1. Fall River (15) – the Bulldogs had first place finishes by the varsity boys, varsity girls, and JV boys. The JV girls were 2nd.

2. Etna (13) – the Lady Lion JVs took first. The varsity boys, girls, and JV boys were second.

3. Burney (7) – the Raider varsity boys, JV boys, and JV girls all finished 3rd. The varsity girls were 4th.

4. Happy Camp (5) – the varsity girls finished 3rd. The varsity boys, JV boys, and JV girls were 4th.

All-Tourney teams

Varsity Boys

Juke Parker, Fall River (MVP)
Austin Reynolds, Fall River
Tyler Murphy, Etna
Michael Gallagher, Burney
Charley Reed, Happy Camp (more…)

The Etna Lady Lions junior varsity defeated the JV Fall River Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the Etna Tip-Off  Tournament on Saturday afternoon, 39-29. Although the Lady Bulldogs made a late push, Etna controlled the game most of the way, leading 8-3 at the end of the first quarter, and 31-16 at the half.

Etna’s Hannah Seeley was the JV tourney MVP, and Natalie Aldrich was an All-Tourney selection. KayCee Jasperse was All-Tourney for the 2nd place Lady Bulldogs.

Etna and Fall River also battled for the title in the boys championship game. Etna led at the end of the first quarter, 13-10, but Fall River came back to take the lead 26-19 at the intermission. It was a 1-point game at the end of the third quarter, with the Bulldogs on top 37-36. (more…)

Opinion

I’ve been meaning to write this for years. Yes, literally “years.” Finally, I’ve had enough with the North Section CIF system for football playoff ranking. The North Section’s way of determining football playoff teams is seriously flawed. It rewards mediocrity and it often denies good teams a fair shot at making the playoffs or being ranked as high as they should be in playoff points. If you want to skip all the explanation and just get to my proposed formula, click “more” and scroll down.

For a concrete example of a team in this year’s playoffs that greatly benefited from this bogus system, we can look at Gridley (4-6) in Division-II.

What did Gridley, a team with a losing record, do to merit not just being a playoff team, but a 5-seed? Well, they went 0-2 against D-III teams. They were 2-3 against D-II teams. Of course they were 2-1 against D-I schools—D-I schools with a combined 8-22 (.364) record , including that 0-10 powerhouse Las Plumas. They did not beat a single team with a winning record.

On the other hand, there were two 5-5 teams left out, Central Valley and Yreka. Let’s compare.

Central Valley was 1-0 against D-III teams, 3-3 against D-II teams, and 1-2 against D-I teams. CV’s D-I opponents were a combined 17-13 (.567), including 8-2 Enterprise and 8-2 West Valley. While the Falcons didn’t beat a team with a winning record, they did beat Gridley, 32-15, in Gridley…that’s a pretty decisive road win.

So, how about Yreka. Hmm, Yreka was 1-1 against D-III opponents, 4-3 against D-II opponents, and 0-1 against D-I. Yreka’s D-I opponent was 8-2.They beat Central Valley, 21-6, in CV, during the Falcons’ homecoming none the less. Oh, and they had that win over some pretty good team. Now, who was that? Oh ya, number-1 ranked, 9-1 Orland—a team that beat Gridley 42-7! So, the team that handed the top team it’s only defeat, has a better winning percentage than Gridley, both overall and in division, doesn’t make the playoffs?

Can you maybe see why I refer to the North Sections’ playoff ranking formula as “flawed.” (more…)

MCARTHUR – Perhaps Fall River High School should have a warning sign at the entrance to campus: Beware of Bulldogs and rabid fans. Why? Well, when it comes to volleyball, the Lady Bulldogs are next to unbeatable at home in Shasta Cascade League play, going 42-2 since the 04-05 season. Add in a well organized, vocal and pretty funny cheering section, and coming home with a win for visiting teams is more than a little difficult. The previously undefeated Lady Bears found that out on Thursday night, as Fall River moved into a virtual tie for first place with a 3-1 win.

Mt. Shasta took the first set, 25-18, and it seemed like the Bulldog mystique might have little effect on the battling Bears. The score was tied 13-13, when Mt. Shasta made its move. Kayla Spini put the Bears up 14-13 with a kill. Haleigh Tuiolemotu and Leah Maumausi added aces, and Haley Brown knocked down a kill in Mt. Shasta’s run to victory.

It was a different story in the second set, as the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind two kills by Catie Thompson, a kill from Emily Vigil, and an ace from Mandy Lakey. Mt. Shasta battled back to within one point at 10-9 on a kill from Julie Ostrowski, and would later tie it at 15-15, and then again at 22-22, but the Lady Bulldogs won it 25-22 on a kill by Maryann Parker. (more…)