It's Crunch Time

It turns out that Sutter High's 42-15 trouncing of Wheatland Friday wasn't enough to earn the Huskies the top spot when the Northern Section Division II playoffs begin on Friday.

Despite an 8-2 overall record and a third consecutive perfect Butte View League campaign, the two-time defending section champion Huskies found themselves as the No. 2 seed when the brackets were released on Saturday.

Sutter, which has won 25 straight games against Northern Section competition, finished just a single point behind Northern Athletic League champion Lassen (7-3), which got the nod based on strength of schedule.

While the Huskies' opponents finished with a combined record of 44-53, Lassen's schedule boasted teams that fared a bit better at 57-42. The Grizzlies also faced six teams with records above .500 and won four, while Sutter faced only four such schools and won two.

Wheatland (8-2) dropped to the No. 3 spot after the loss and should have had a first-round home game against No. 6 Anderson (4-6) on Friday night. However, the playoff seeding committee jumped the Cubs up to the No. 5 position after their 22-15 victory over Central Valley (7-3) on Oct. 23.

The committee then flipped the division's bottom two seeds, giving Wheatland a home date with the now sixth-seeded Falcons in the opener. Should the Pirates prevail, it would set up a rematch with the Huskies a week later in the semifinals, this time in Sutter.

In Division III, Pierce (6-4) secured the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Colusa (6-4) in a battle between county rivals. The teams met back in Colusa on Sept. 4 with the Redskins prevailing 21-0.

Four consecutive losses had Live Oak (5-5) on the outside looking in heading into Friday's regular season finale against Rio Vista. But with a 24-14 victory, the Lions not only snapped their losing skid, but made it in as the No. 6 seed. And with a 28-14 win over Colusa in the season opener, Live Oak was bumped up to the No. 5 slot and will travel to play No. 4 Willows (4-6) to kick off the postseason.

East Nicolaus (6-4) finished tied with Quincy (7-3) as the No. 4 seed in the Division IV bracket, but with the Trojans winning the head-to-head matchup 36-8 two weeks ago, the Spartans will have to hit the road for an opening round rematch.

And in Division V, Maxwell (7-3) locked up the No. 2 position and will host No. 3 Burney (7-3) in the semifinals Friday. A Panthers win would no doubt set the table for its annual championship game battle with No. 1 Fall River (8-2) the following week.