SUNDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: Keeping it clean

The best move made by anyone Friday night at War Memorial Stadium occurred at midfield before the first whistle was even blown.

Marysville's and Lindhurst High's football teams have been playing each other for nearly 40 years — two schools, same school district, same county, but recently, things had been getting ugly.

In 2010, the two teams didn't shake hands following a 38-0 win by Marysville after several players were ejected for physical altercations.

Last year, the game was canceled after eight Lindhurst players were suspended for defacing Marysville High's campus.

This season, a bright new chapter in the Battle of the Bell unfolded.

The two teams left past transgressions where they belong and met each other to shake hands before Friday night's contest.

The players and coaches were led out to midfield by the principals of both schools where they greeted each other with handshakes and hugs, a tremendous display of sportsmanship by both teams.

"The past is the past," Lindhurst coach Jason Neiber said. "That was the final step in saying 'You know what, that happened, it's over, let's move on and let's have this be a rivalry about football.'"

Following last year's incident, the two schools' soccer teams showed a similar sign of sportsmanship before their Golden Empire League match against each other.

Lindhurst came to the Marysville sideline and apologized for the acts of a minuscule amount of students, stating that the actions of a few don't represent the Lindhurst community.

Rivalries like the one we have right here in Yuba County are great.

In 2008, Lindhurst and Marysville played each other for the Sac-Joaquin Section championship. That says a lot about our area when two local teams play each other in the biggest game of the season.

Whether it's the Battle of the Bell, the Rice Bowl, Harvest Bowl or Mayor's Cup, all of these rivalries should be about the athletes and coaches on the field.

Everyone has pride in their school or community, but the bragging rights aren't settled in the stands with obscenity-filled arguments, or off-campus with brawls and vandalism.

Let's remember that this is a game played by teenagers who are coached by people giving up tons of time and energy away from their families to help better these young men (and women — shout out to Erika Linch).

Of course these teams want to win games, but most of our local coaches are more concerned with helping their players become better people for the rest of their lives than stats in a scorebook.

Things got ugly for the Marysville-Lindhurst rival there for a while, but Friday night was a tremendous step in the right direction. For the first time in two years, these players and coaches actually shook hands with each other.

"I thought it was a good way to show that we're all here for the same thing," Marysville coach Cullen Meyer said "to go out and compete and leave the other stuff out of it.

"For that 48 minutes you're rivals, but after that it's over and you move on to the next week."

WHAT WE LEARNED

WEEK EIGHT

Beekeepers

The Sutter Huskies not only raised eyebrows in the Northern Section, they made waves across the North State on Friday night.

Sutter's résumé is looking great for a state bowl bid after the Huskies upset Division-I Enterprise with a 34-27 victory.

That final score doesn't indicate how much Sutter dominated the game. The Huskies' defense forced five Hornet turnovers, and at one point Sutter led 34-13.

"This is a huge statement and proves that Division II football is just as competitive as Division I," Sutter coach Ryan Reynolds told the Redding Record Searchlight. "We may be a school with only 600 kids, but we play for real and we are a good football team."

And they are that much closer to a historical season.

The Huskies end the regular season with Las Plumas and Oroville as they shoot for their first Butte View League title since 2009.

Looking ahead, the biggest hurdle to overcome will likely be in the Northern Section Division II postseason where Sutter may cross paths with West Valley.

The Huskies have to win the Northern Section title to qualify for a state bowl.

Tiger trap

River Valley's defense gave an inspired effort on Friday night, but Inderkum came away with a crucial 21-0 victory over the Falcons.

RV's offense could only amass 69 total yards against the Tigers' defense and threw four interceptions.

The Falcons' defense, however, held Inderkum to its lowest point total of the season. Going into the fourth quarter, River Valley only trailed 7-0.

"You could see it coming, they played hard and they have better skill guys this year," said Inderkum coach Terry Stark. "They came out and hit."

The loss snaps the Falcons' three-game winning streak and is the team's first Tri-County Conference defeat of the season.

There is still plenty on the line for the Falcons.

RV still has a chance to grab a share of the TCC title if they can win their final two games against Woodland and Yuba City.

The Honkers got Woodland's best shot on Friday though held on for a 35-20 win at Honker Stadium. Yuba City will travel to Sacramento this Friday to take on winless Natomas.

Staying alive

Live Oak's fight to save its season continues as the Lions picked up a huge 44-14 road win at Mt. Shasta on Friday to keep hopes of a Sacramento Valley League title intact.

The biggest game of the season is this Friday in Arbuckle where the Lions will try to knock off undefeated Pierce. Even if the Lions can defeat the Bears, and Durham at home in the regular season finale, they will still need some help.

Willows is undefeated in the SVL and would have to lose in order for Live Oak to grab a share of the SVL crown. The Honkers beat the Lions 7-3 on Oct. 5.

A stat working in the Lions' favor — there hasn't been an outright SVL champion since 2008.

QUICK HITS

• Pierce battled through the long drive up to Weaverville and moved to 8-0 with a 27-6 win over Trinity, setting up the aforementioned showdown with Live Oak.

• In a battle for first place in the Mountain Valley League, Maxwell just fell short, losing 27-21 to undefeated Portola (8-0). Now, the Panthers will sit back and see if Chester can knock off the Tigers on Nov. 2.

• Biggs will attempt to get its first Mountain Valley League win of the season next week at Maxwell. The Wolverines led for nearly four quarters on Friday, but University Prep mounted a late rally to escape Del Kalbach Stadium with a 33-32 win.

• Colusa put itself in prime position to compete for the Mid-Valley League title after beating Quincy 49-36.

The RedHawks host first-place Hamilton (3-0 in the MVL) this week with a shot at fighting for a share of the MVL crown.

• East Nicolaus is also in the MVL mix with a 41-8 win over Williams on Friday. The Spartans face Esparto (0-8) in their final home game this week before ending the regular season at Hamilton.

• Wheatland received plenty of air time on Friday night as KCRA 3's Game of the Week, but the Pirates were even happier to claim a solid 48-20 BVL win over Winters.

Second place in the BVL behind Sutter is on the line this week when Orland visits John Sohrakoff Jr. Field.

• Gridley fell to Las Plumas 49-12 in the other local BVL matchup as the Bulldogs dropped to 0-8.

HELMET STICKERS

Sutter defensive backs Andy Brower and Colton Minton — The Huskies' two standouts led an inspired effort by the Sutter secondary, which stifled the Enterprise passing attack.

Minton picked off two passes and Brower returned an interception for a touchdown.

Marysville quarterback Francisco Garcia — The converted running back stepped in nicely for the injured Aaron Birch as he amassed 162 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Indians.

Wheatland running back Austin Cooper — The Pirates' speedster totaled 202 yards on the ground to go with two rushing scores.