LOCAL ROUNDUP: Yuba College football falls to Feather River

A slow start and a late kickoff return was all it took to derail the Yuba College football team on Saturday night.

Down 20-3 at halftime, the 49ers battled all the way back to take the lead only to see it vanish in the end during a 33-25 loss to Feather River College in Quincy.

John Leal kicked a 30-yard field goal for Yuba in the first half as the 49ers came out sluggish and found themselves trailing by 17 at the half.

Things changed in the third quarter when Zach Hutcheson found Joe Mangino for a 15-yard touchdown. Matt Wittler then hit Dwayne Roberts on the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 20-11.

Jeremy Williams added a TD run to make the score 20-18 and the 49ers went ahead 25-20 when Joe Swett picked off a pass and ran it all the way back for a score.

The comeback wasn't to be, however, as the Golden Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and added another score late to come away with the victory.

"We played well, but we weren't ready to play at the beginning and that cost us the game," said assistant coach Tomas Rodriguez, who added that Yuba was forced to do battle without six starters.

Yuba City High product Max Flores had 21⁄2 sacks and recovered a pair of fumbles, and Antonio Stuckey picked off a pass to spearhead the defensive effort for the 49ers (2-3), who will begin Bay Valley Conference play against Contra Costa at home next week.

HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL

Lindhurst 22, West Campus 14

In Sacramento — The Blazers finally found the win column as they topped the Warriors at Burbank High in both teams' Golden Empire League opener.

Zach Kitchen and Tim Endicott picked up rushing touchdowns for the Blazers. Deion Blakely added a touchdown reception for Lindhurst (1-5, 1-0).

Angel Sanchez tacked on a field goal for the Blazers, who continue GEL play on Friday night at Dixon.

JV FOOTBALL

River Valley 48, Pioneer 22

In Yuba City — Tino Caracciola carried the ball eight times for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Falcons opened Tri-County Conference play with a victory over the Patriots at Falcon Stadium on Friday night.

Bruce Anderson III added 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Logan Zaragoza and George Garcia stood out defensively for River Valley (6-0, 1-0).