Looking back, looking ahead

Over the span of the last three months, prep football programs across the Mid-Valley experienced climate changes, the agony of injury and defeat, the glory of trotting off the field with a victory and working as a team for one common goal.

One program stood alone in November — the Maxwell Panthers. Robert Wilson's squad was the only in the Mid-Valley to hoist a banner at season's end, capturing a Northern Section championship for the first time since 2006.

Thirteen other teams fell short of that ultimate goal, but as the calendar turns to 2011, the slate becomes clean, and the countdown to August begins.

SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION

DIVISION III

Yuba City Honkers

• Final 2010 record: 8-4, 3-2 in Tri-County Conference

• Playoff record: 1-1 (Lost to No. 2 Patterson in second round)

• The skinny: After finishing his fourth year at the helm, John Ithurburn's program continues to make strides. The Honkers won a playoff game for the first time since 1987, after first-round losses in 2007 and 2009. The downside? Yuba City loses tons of talent in 2011, including fullback Taylor Rowe (1,641 yards and 21 TDs), slash back Bernell Barmore, wideout Max Flores, linebacker Hank Kirby (128 total tackles) and quarterbacks David Schroeder and Raul Lozano. If the upcoming JV squad (7-3 record) can soften the blow of losing those players, Yuba City should be in good shape.

River Valley Falcons

• Final 2010 record: 3-7, 0-5 in TCC

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: The Falcons ended their season on a six-game losing streak after starting 3-1, but if their performance against Yuba City was any indication of what lies ahead in 2011, Brandon Asher's program is looking OK. Implementing the spread offense, junior quarterback Greg Cannon picked apart the Honkers' secondary in the Mayor's Cup, showing signs of brilliance. Give him a few months in the offseason to work with his receivers and the Falcons' aerial attack will be a legitimate threat. Of course, the defense will need to shore things up, as the Falcons allowed 42 points per game in TCC play.

DIVISION IV

Marysville Indians

• Final 2010 record: 8-4, 5-0 in Golden Empire League

• Playoff record: 1-1 (Lost to No. 2 Union Mine in second round)

• The skinny: Two words will put a smile on anyone associated with the Marysville football program — Cole Hannum. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,259 yards and nine scores. Losing Michael Barabin will hurt, but Hannum in the backfield should more than suffice. Cullen Meyer will need to find a suitable replacement for Steven Arostegui at quarterback, but if the gameplan is just hand the ball to Hannum, Marysville should have no trouble returning to the postseason in 2011.

Lindhurst Blazers

• Final 2010 record: 2-8, 1-4 in GEL

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: It may have not been the triumphant comeback everybody had in mind when Mike Mason took back the reigns of the Blazer football program, but he knew it was going to be a rebuilding year. Mason led Lindhurst to back-to-back section titles in 2006 and 2007, but this season the Blazers only managed one win in GEL play — a forfeit by West Campus. Section title aspirations may be a bit farfetched for this program right now. The goal next season is becoming competitive again.

NORTHERN SECTION

DIVISION II

Wheatland Pirates

• Final 2010 record: 10-2, 4-0 in Butte View League

• Playoff record: 1-1 (Lost in section title game to No. 2 Lassen)

• The skinny: Despite a 35-14 loss to Lassen in Wednesday's title game, Wheatland put together an impressive season. A BVL title, beating rival Sutter twice, and a No. 1 seed were some of the highlights. The Pirates lose several playmakers next season, including star tailback Derick Seward and quarterback Jon Millington, but have officially established themselves as the team to beat in the BVL.

Sutter Huskies

• Final 2010 record: 7-5, 3-1 in BVL

• Playoff record: 1-1 (Lost in section semifinals to No. 1 Wheatland)

• The skinny: Obviously losing to Wheatland twice hurt. However, the outlook for next year should have everybody in Sutter already thinking ahead to August. The Huskies' biggest playmaker, Elijah Smith, is back and he should cause plenty of havoc for opposing defenses with quarterback Trent Little running things. As a sophomore this season, Little showed poise beyond his 15 years. A new decade of dominance may begin in 2011.

Gridley Bulldogs

• Final 2010 record: 4-6, 1-3 in BVL

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: Sutter and Wheatland are the headliners in this league, but Gridley has a dynamic duo that could give them a run for their money. Quarterback Brad Props and receiver Kevin Mattos hooked up 33 times in 2010, including four times for touchdowns. Both juniors return in 2011 to lead John Cooprider's West Coast offense.

DIVISION III

Live Oak Lions

• Final 2010 record: 10-2, 5-1 in Sacramento Valley League

• Playoff record: 1-1 (Lost in section title game to No. 2 Durham)

• The skinny: In only his second year, coach Dan Johnson took Live Oak back to the section championship, but the Lions are still searching for their first title since 2002. Live Oak will have to recover in 2011 without Kaleb Allen and Tony Montes. A pretty tall task, considering section-champ Durham, Willows and Trinity are all on the league schedule.

Williams Yellowjackets

• Final 2010 record: 7-4, 3-3 in Mid-Valley League

• Playoff record: 0-1 (Lost in first round to No. 4 Willows)

• The skinny: The turnaround story of the prep season was what Dan McDonald did with the Yellowjackets. After a 1-9 debacle in '09, McDonald made Williams competitive again in 2010 with a wide-open spread attack. The 'Jackets are not in the upper echelon of the MVL with East Nicolaus and Quincy, but this season was a good start.

Pierce Bears

• Final 2010 record: 4-6, 2-4 in SVL

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: The Bears' playoff appearance in 2009 was a godsend compared with the 0-10 snafu of '08. Pierce's 2010 performance wasn't nearly as depressing as that, but missing the playoffs still stings. Scott Burnum has a good weapon to get Pierce back to the postseason in 2011 — Isaiah Garcia. The junior totaled 1,155 rushing and nine touchdowns this season.

Colusa Redskins

• Final record: 0-10, 0-6 in MVL

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: The only direction to go is up. That is all that can be said for the Redskins in 2011. Colusa was shut out three times this season and gave up at least 35 points per game. This can be directly attributed to a lack of depth and injuries. Randy Watt has his work cut out for him to get Colusa back to form.

DIVISION IV

Maxwell Panthers

• Final record: 12-1, 6-0 in Mountain Valley League

• Playoff record: 3-0 (Beat No. 2 Quincy in section title game)

• The skinny: The only team to be crowned champions in the Mid-Valley resides in Colusa County. The Maxwell Panthers absolutely destroyed their competition this season after opening 2010 with a loss to Williams. A 14-6 victory over Quincy in the title game was the closest game they played in all season. Robert Wilson's spread offense will lose a couple key components, namely quarterback Tyler Wells, along with receivers Steven Perry and Lane Pearson. Wilson will still have Brett Cabral in the backfield, so a repeat is not out of the question.

East Nicolaus Spartans

• Final record: 6-5, 3-3 in MVL

• Playoff record: 0-1 (Lost to No. 2 Quincy in first round)

• The skinny: A slew of injuries plagued Mark Varnum's team towards the end of the season, basically ending any hopes of a deep playoff run. Varnum loses his two leading rushers in 2011 (Josh Wilson and Kenny Kolster), but quarterback Justin Ozcan will be back under center.

Biggs Wolverines

• Final record: 3-7, 3-3 in Mountain Valley League

• Playoff record: N/A

• The skinny: The defending section champs (Maxwell) are on the schedule twice, but Biggs has several key offensive starters returning. Quarterback Michael Torres and the team's two rushing leaders, Christian Callaway and Randy Stanley, are all back to man the backfield for Mike Pena. The Wolverines haven't made the postseason since 2004.