DUNSMUIR – You’ve probably heard the phrase, “over before it started,” to describe a game that was a blow out. While that’s technically not possible, the Dunsmuir Tigers came about as close to doing that as is possible last Friday, when they defeated the Happy Camp Indians 61-8 in 8-man football. Another phase that would fit would be “early and often,” as in 34 points in the first quarter for the Tigers.

The Tigers first touchdown of the onslaught came at the 7:49 mark of the opening frame, when Brian Taylor went 15 yards to the house. A Randy Hix extra point gave Dunsmuir a 7-0 lead. Just 10 seconds later, Jake Mekeel connected with Taylor on a 50-yard TD pass play. Add the Hix PAT, and it was 14-0. Only 12 more seconds left the clock before Cody Rooney scooped up a fumble and went on a 30-yard rumble to pay dirt. With the PAT, it was 21-0.

After scoring 21 points in 22 seconds, the Tigers took a three minute break. Then, with 4:31 on the clock, Rooney scored his second TD of the night on a 5-yard run. Another extra point, and it was 28-0. Rooney made it a TD hat trick, with his third of the night on an 11-yard pass from Mekeel, to extend the Tiger advantage to 34-0, with 3:11 to play in the first quarter. (more…)

DUNSMUIR – The Happy Camp Indians and the Westwood Lumberjacks met at the Dunsmuir City Park on Friday evening for a bit of 8-man football. It was a night the Indians may want to forget.

The game started well enough for Happy Camp, when Charley Reed picked off a Westwood pass on the Lumberjacks first possession. However, the Indians drive stalled, and a fourth down attempt came up just short, giving the Lumberjacks the ball in Indian territory. A few seconds and 42-yards later, Westwood’s quarterback, Christian Hulsey sprinted into the end zone. With a 2-point conversion run by Tristen Servin, the Lumberjack’s held an 8-0 lead, with just over two minutes gone in the game. (more…)

The North Section CIF has released the 2011 baseball playoff seedings. All first round games are scheduled for this Friday at 4:00 pm.

Division-II

Yreka, despite being ranked number four in playoff points is seeded fifth and goes to sixth ranked but fourth seeded Lassen. Lassen moved ahead of Yreka because they won their league (Hate that rule).

Division-III

Mt. Shasta was ranked fourth, was seeded fourth and will host fifth ranked and seeded Trinity.

Division-IV

Etna was ranked sixth, seeded sixth and will go to third seeded and ranked Modoc. (more…)

Some local teams have already finished their regular seasons. But, a few still have a couple of games to play. So, the updated NSCIF playoff points rankings listed below may still have some significant changes. Records given are the ones used by the section and may not be up to date.

Baseball

Division-II: Yreka (15-9) is ranked 5th just behind Winters (16-7).

Division-III: Mt. Shasta (11-9) is ranked 4th behind Colusa (10-11).

Division-IV: Etna (12-8) is ranked 6th behind Portola (12-7). Weed will not make playoffs.

Division-V: Tulelake (11-6) is ranked 2nd behind Maxwell (27-0). Dunsmuir (8-5) is ranked 7th behind Hayfork (7-10). (more…)

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Once again, there’s no games to cover due to rain and snow. The good news is it finally gives me the time to do the Winter Sports Impact Player Awards.

If you think you should have been on the list and you aren’t there are a few possible reasons why not. I didn’t see you play enough times; you already got the award in a different sport; I think your best is yet to come this year. Other things that keep players off the list are: getting in significant trouble in or out of school; quitting any team during the current school year; missing multiple practices; and pretty much anything else that just isn’t right.

The way to get on the list is to play hard, work hard, play clean, and live life right.

Boys Basketball

Jake West, Weed

There’s no way you can talk about Siskiyou County boys basketball without starting with Jake West. Not only did he lead in scoring, rebounding, assists, and blocks for the Shasta Cascade League champion Weed Cougars, his knowledge of the game far surpasses what a high school player should have. If he doesn’t eventually become a coach, a group of kids somewhere will be missing out.

Mykeil White, Weed

White was the man in the paint for the Cougars. He’s strong with insane moves, and more than once took over a game.

Tim Jaegel, Mt. Shasta

Jaegel was pretty much Mr. Everything for the Bears—scoring, defense, hustle. He’s definitely one of the top athletes in Siskiyou County.

Collin Lattanzio, Dunsmuir

I only saw Dunsmuir a few times this season, and wasn’t 100% sure on who the choice should be. Lattanzio was at the top of my list. But, I decided to text Coach Kale Riccomini and ask if Lattanzio was the right choice. “Without a doubt,” was the reply. Enough said. (more…)

The Butte Valley Lady Bulldogs are the only Siskiyou County team to advance to the semi-finals of the NSCIF playoffs this season. That makes them the 2010-11 PremierWest Bank Basketball Challenge winners. Butte Valley also won last year, when they won the section and went 23-0.

The Lady Bulldogs still have lots of work to do this season, with an eye towards the big prize–back-to-back D-VI section championships. To get to the finals, they have to take down a tough Hayfork Lady Timberjacks team (20-6) on Wednesday, March 2 in Hayfork.

The Lady Bulldogs will be receiving custom made T-Shirts designed by Golden Grotto, in Yreka.

Champions: Butte Valley Girls, 18-3

Eliminated in second round of playoffs

2. Weed Boys, 19-6

3. Happy Camp Boys, 14-5

4. Happy Camp Girls, 13-7

5. Tulelake Boys, 17-9

6. Dunsmuir Girls, 12-11

7. Yreka Girls, 9-16

8. Butte Valley Boys, 7-15

Eliminated in first round of playoffs

9. Tulelake Girls, 16-9 (more…)

DORRIS – In case anyone in the North Section thinks the Butte Valley Lady Bulldogs are a “one horse show,” think again. While post player Kady Porterfield frequently dominates games and headlines, the 3-seed Lady Bulldogs showed that the talent is team-wide, on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs had four players score in double figures against a quality Happy Camp Lady Indian squad.

Butte Valley lit up 6-seed Happy Camp (13-6), 81-48. Point guard Nicole Levesque poured in 28 points, sophomore post player Haley Reynolds put up 20, and Tiffani Yeager added 14 points. Porterfield, who was nearly constantly double-teamed down low, still scored 15 points.

In addition to their offensive explosion, the Lady Bulldogs were tenacious on defense, holding Happy Camp to just two field goals in the first quarter and six total points, on the way to a 17-6 lead at the end of one quarter. Butte Valley effectively shut down the vaunted Lady Indian 3-point shooting trio of Shauniece Polmater, Florence Peters and Kassandra Polmateer for the first 12 minutes of the game. However, the Lady Indians would push back midway through the second quarter. (more…)

The NSCIF basketball playoff seeding meeting is currently taking place.

Division IV

Girls

Yreka (8-15) is the 10-seed and will go to 7th seeded Willows (13-11).

Mt. Shasta (9-11) did not make playoffs.

Anderson (19-7) is the top seeded team.

Boys

Mt. Shasta (13-11) is the 10-seed and goes to number-7 Anderson (1115)  on Wednesday, February 23.

Yreka (5-18)  is the 12-seed and goes to number-5 Gridley (11-11)  on Wednesday, February 23.

Orland (18-8) received the top seed.

Division-V

Girls

Tulelake (16-8) is the 10-seed and will go to 7th seeded Fall River (15-4) on Wednesday, February 23.

Etna (9-13) was seeded 12th and goes to number-5 Quincy (17-7).

Weed (0-20) did not make playoffs.

Colusa 21-3 is the top seed.

Boys

Weed (18-5) is the 4-seed and will host number 13 Williams (11-11) on Wednesday, February 23.

Tulelake (16-8) is seeded 8th and will host 9th seed Fall River (12-9)

Etna (1-22) did not make playoffs.

Trinity at 23-2 is the top seed.

Division-VI

Girls

Butte Valley (17-3) is the 3-seed and has a first round bye.

Happy Camp (12-6) is seeded 6th and will host number-11 Princeton (13-8) on Wednesday February 23. The winner goes to Butte Valley on Friday.

Dunsmuir (11-10) is the 9-seed and goes to Champion Christian (11-10).

Westwood (21-4) is the top seed. (more…)

Some league championships have been decided, with others yet to come. Also, the NSCIF released the latest playoff pints rankings on Monday, February 14.

Let’s look at league championships first

Shasta Cascade League

This is pretty simple. For the boys, Weed at 9-0 has it locked up. Mt. Shasta, currently at 7-2, will finish second regardless of the outcome of the Weed at Mt. Shasta regular season finale on Friday.

Fall River, at 8-1, has won the SCL girls title. Second place will go to the winner of the Modoc at Etna game on Friday. Both teams are 6-3. The Etna v Modoc game has major implications for playoff seeding. Etna is currently ahead of Modoc in the points rankings, But if Modoc wins the game, they will finish ahead of Etna in league and automatically jump over Etna in the seeding, regardless of their respective points rankings.

Evergreen League

Boys

Tulelake is currently in first place at 8-0. Happy Camp sits second at 7-1. Happy Camp hosts Tulelake on Tuesday. If the Tulelake Honkers win, the crown belongs to them. A Happy Camp Indian win likely means a co-championship, unless one of the teams loses its last game.

Tulelake finishes its regular season at Big Valley (0-8) on Friday. Happy Camps hosts Butte Valley (4-4) on Thursday.

Girls

Butte Valley has clinched at least a share of the Evergreen title at 8-0, and would clinch the crown outright with a win over Dunsmuir (1-7) on Tuesday or Happy Camp on Thursday. Tulelake and Happy Camp are in second at 6-2. Happy Camp hosts both Tulelake and Butte Valley this week and has a slim chance of sharing the title with Butte Valley. Happy Camp would have to win out and have Butte Valley lose to Dunsmuir. Tulelake would need something close to a miracle to share the title.

Playoff Points Rankings

The rankings may be subject to quite a bit of change, especially in divisions five and six because of the lack of results reporting to MaxPreps by a few schools. The section uses the results posted to MaxPreps in their ranking formula. And, of course, there are still some key games to be played.

The team records in parenthesis are what the section used for the rankings, and may not be accurate in some cases.

Boys
Division-IV (Top 12 make playoffs)
Mt. Shasta (12-11) is 10th. They trail Lassen (6-16) and Wheatland (10-12), who are tied for 8th.

Yreka (5-16) is 13th and currently out of the playoffs. The Miners trail Live Oak (7-15) for the final spot.

Division-V (Top 16 make playoffs. League winners guaranteed 1st round home game)

Weed (18-4) is 4th. They trail Portola (21-3) and lead Chester (20-4). A win on Friday against Mt. Shasta should at least keep the Cougars at number-4.

Tulelake (15-7) is tied for 8th with Fall River (11-9). They trail Los Molinos (13-7) and lead Quincy (12-10). However, should the Honkers win the Evergreen League (currently 1st), they will automatically be seeded in the top eight to get a home game in the first round.

Etna (1-20) will not make playoffs. (more…)

Below are the boys and girls Evergreen League standings at the midway point of the league season

Boys
1. Tulelake (5-0) – the Honkers don’t have it locked up, but they are in pretty good shape. The biggest challenge will be going to Happy Camp on February 15.

2. Happy Camp (4-1) – the Indians still have a legitimate shot at at least a share of the title, but they’ll likely have to run the table in the second half to get there. That starts this Friday in Dunsmuir. (more…)

Below are the boys and girls standings in the Shasta Cascade League at the midway point of the league season.

Boys
1. Weed (5-0) – with their win over Mt. Shasta on Friday, the Cougars are sitting all alone on top. However, Weed still has to play Fall River once more (Weed lost to FR in the preseason and had a tough win in league at FR), and they have to go to Mt. Shasta. The Silver Fox and his team still have some work to do.

2. Mt. Shasta (4-1) – the Bears have to go to Fall River and Modoc. Mt. Shasta handled FR at home, but it’s tougher in McArthur. And, although the Bears beat Modoc at home, the Braves nearly pulled off a huge comeback. This Tuesday, they have to go to Alturas to face the Braves. If the Bears can survive the road trips, they may well be in position to play for the SCL championship at home against Weed on February 18. (more…)

McCLOUD – The Happy Camp Indians played host to the Surprise Valley Hornets at McCloud High School on Thursday evening. By the end of the first quarter, the Indians held a double digit lead, 16-6. It would get worse for the Hornets.

Happy Camp led by 18 points at the half, 31-13, and 25 points after three quarters, 44-19, on the way to a 34-point victory, 61-27. (more…)

McCLOUD – The Happy Camp Lady Indians and the Surprise Valley Lady Hornets met at McCloud High School on Thursday afternoon. The good news for the Hornets was that they produced their highest point total of the season, with 36. The bad news is they needed another 30 to beat the Lady Indians, who in typical Happy Camp fashion singed the nets with long-range bombs, to win 64-36.

The Lady Indians led 16-6 at the end of the first quarter, 26-11 at the half, and 46-22 after three quarters. (more…)

HAPPY CAMP – The Happy Camp Indians boys basketball team moved to 2-0 in the Evergreen League with an easy, 65-48, victory over the Dunsmuir Tigers on Friday night. Easy, is not how it looked during the first six minutes of the contest.

The squads were tied, 8-8, with 1:55 left in the first quarter. But from that point on, it was all Indians. Happy Camp went on a 14-0 offensive tear to lead 22-8 at the buzzer, and scored the first hoop of the second quarter, for 16 unanswered points.

Kevin Harrison got the Happy Camp score-fest started with a baseline drive for a basket. Back-to-back buckets by Rony Reed, made it 14-8. A put-back by Justin Wright doubled up the Tigers, 16-8. Harrison added a freebie, and then took a pass from Brent Boykin to the hole for a deuce. A trey from Harrison finished off the scoring in the opening frame, with Happy Camp leading 22-8. (more…)

HAPPY CAMP – The Dunsmuir Lady Tigers rolled into Happy Camp sporting the best record of any team in Siskiyou County at 9-2. When the horn sounded at the end of four quarters of basketball, Dunsmuir was 9-3, and the Lady Indians owned the county’s best record at 8-2.

Dunsmuir led once in the contest, when Clara Weld dished up a nice assist to Chelsea Helms for the game’s first basket. Shauniece Polmateer quickly answered with a 3-ball, giving the Lady Indians the lead 3-2. Kassandra Polmateer followed with a hoop, and the game’s high scorer Summer Goodwin added a put back, making it 7-2. In all, Happy Camp scored 11 unanswered points, as part of an 18-2 run in the opening quarter. The only interruption to the outburst was a basket by Dunsmuir’s Krystale Palmer at about the midway point. Happy Camp led 18-4 after one quarter of play.

After the tough first frame, the Lady Tigers played Happy Camp more than even, trimming two points off the deficit over the next three quarters. The score at the half was Happy Camp 26 – Dunsmuir 14. (more…)

It’s looking like a pretty exciting year in the Evergreen League for both the boys and the girls, with three strong boys teams and four tough girls teams. This might be pretty interesting. I have to admit, I’m not real comfortable with these predictions, but here they are.

Boys

1. Tulelake – while the Honkers are just 5-5 in the preseason, their level of early competition exceeds the rest of the league by quite a bit, and they have a couple of pretty good wins, including against Fall River.

2. Happy Camp – the Indians have started strong at 5-1 and seem to have the talent to win a lot of games this season.

3. Dunsmuir – the Tigers tend to get much stronger as the season progresses. Currently, they are 4-5, and have lost to Happy Camp in the preseason. It would not be a surprise to see Dunsmuir wind up in the 2-spot at the end of the season.

4. Butte Valley – at 2-7, there’s not too much impressive about the Bulldogs. However, there’s a good group of athletes on the roster. So, as the season moves on, there may be improvement for the Dogs. (more…)