I got the business from everybody.

The team manager. The players. The parents. The drum line. The drama teacher. And even from people posting online reactions on the preview story while I was still typing the recap to Sutter’s resounding 42-15 win over Wheatland.

They all either came out and said it or intimated the phrase –  the ultimate cliche response for myself and the rest of the Appeal sports staff picking the Pirates over the Huskies.

“How does that crow taste, anyway?”

It’s surprisingly palatable.

Yeah, we got it wrong. I thought it was going to be 28-14. I thought this was the year the Pirates would end the decade-long schneid, celebrate at midfield and do their patented after game cheer with unbridled enthusiasm knowing they just dropped their biggest rival.

Nope.  And the credit goes to the Huskies, who played one heck of a game to utterly upend the Pirates and gain a Saturn V rocket boost of momentum into the playoffs.

But back to my colleagues and I — the bird eaters. The reason we do the picks is precisely for what I experienced on Friday night. We want people to open up Friday’s Appeal and go straight to the sports section to see whether we have your team on top or not. We’re not perfect, sometimes FAR from it.  And if I happen to be covering a game where I had it going the other way, I’m prepared to take the ribbing. I’ll own it.

There were many people I ran into that got this response after calling me out. “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Ryan Klocke. I did have your team losing by 14 points.”

We’re not trying to hurt  feelings or be disrespectful. It’s just a fun way to create some discussion and debate. Sometimes our little inter-section competition will even inadvertently morph  into bulletin board material –  become kindling for a team’s fire. In the post game speech, Sutter coach Ryan Reynolds talked about how “the media” didn’t  think Sutter could do it. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he was talking about us.

But the best part is getting guff from teenagers. There’s nothing cooler. It means those text-happy, techno-savs went old school and read the newspaper.

Also, getting approached as much as I did at JohnSohrakoff Jr. Field reinforced why it can be a joy to cover Sutter in any sport. Judging from our online comments and reader respones, Huskies fans ardently read our content. And regardless if you like our work or not,  it’s nice to know you’re on advarsitysports.com or lounging back with the B section.

But for the record: I much prefer the taste of chicken.

Congrats Huskies. That was an impressive one.

–Ryan Klocke

It’s been a slow day around here at The Appeal, so I decided to get a little dusty.

I ventured into our archive room and pulled out some decade-old volumes to read up on the Sutter vs. Wheatland football rivalry.  (Which by the way is such a big deal this year that the Pirates are bringing in extra bleachers in anticipation of an overflow crowd).

While our buddy/colleague Larry Badger was uploading the Pirates/Huskies game of the week preview video, I found a great quote from legendary Sutter coach Scott Tuner circa 1998, when - like this year – both teams were battling for the BVL title.

“If Sutter and Wheatland hook up, that’s all you need…You don’t need anything else on the line.”

Once again, see you on Friday.

–Ryan Klocke

Over here at the Appeal, picking the “Game of the week” for the upcoming Friday was quite the challenge.

We argued. We grumbled. We poured through the statistics. And after hours of spirited discussion, we decided that, maybe, if nothing else is going on, that we should probably make it Sutter vs. Wheatland.

I mean, it’s kind of a good idea, right?

In all realities, it took nanoseconds. This Friday has been perma-highlighted on our calendar since August. This game is big. Really Big. HUGE. And like many in the Mid-Valley, we’re pumped for it, too. My colleagues, Brian DeMain and Andy Arrenquin, have already been discussing how to make this week’s preview video sparkle. And as the writer who is lucky enough to cover this event, I can’t wait.

Already, our message boards are awash with banter between the two sides. I was assigned the Wheatland/Gridley game on Friday and when I left the field, Wheatland’s locker room was pumping out the area’s most, cough, creative cheer — “Suuuuutter. Suuuutter” — in anticipation of what’s next.

To say they’re pumped up is an understatement. I’m most likely sure (500 percent) that the same goes out in Husky-ville.

I’m not going to give any predictions yet (you’ll have to wait for Friday) but regardless what happens, the atmosphere before kickoff is going to be bonkers.

So, two things:

No. 1: If you’re not busy, make the short trek out to Wheatland to see what all the hoopla is all about. Heck, even if you do have plans, blow them off. Come on, we’re in the Mid-Valley. This area has a nightlife that makes the DMV exciting — so no excuses.

No. 2: While I know this game is a huge deal for a large contingent of faithful,please be mindful that this is a contest between kids.

In the midst of the pontificating online, one commenter– Steel15 — provided an appreciated moment of clarity:

I hope everyone remembers that this is just a HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL game. I hope both sides keep their ego’s in check and we see a fair fought battle.

Agreed. See you all on Friday.

–Ryan Klocke

You can view the PDF here, or better yet, just read my genius analysis of local teams standings below (Hey, I hear your snickering…)

Division II: Once again, it looks like the Wheatland vs. Sutter game is going to have a whole lot riding on it. Not just the Butte View League title, but likely the #1 seed in the playoffs. As things currently stand, the 7-1 Pirates are #1, the 6-2 Huskies are #3, and sandwiched between the two rivals at #2 is Lassen of the Northern Athletic League. The Grizzlies are ahead of Huskies despite their 5-3 record compliments of an absolutely brutal preseason that gives them a near 2 1/2 playoff point advantage over Sutter in the strength of schedule department. They have one definite tough game left (Corning) and one who-knows game (Central Valley)

If Wheatland beats Sutter (and both teams manage to avoid a shocking upset this week), the Pirates lock the 1. If Sutter wins, they’ll get a bye, but whether it’s the 1 depends on what Lassen does.

Is it possible Wheatland and Sutter can get the two byes? Possibly, but the likely scenario in order for that to happen is Sutter will have to win the big game and Lassen will have to lose to both Corning and Central Valley. CV’s preseason is so cupcake that it’s virtually impossible to gauge their ability to top the Grizz.

Wait, what about the other local D-II team, Gridley? The 2-6 Bulldogs are at #9 now, but only three points behind the two teams tied for the last two spots, West Valley and Anderson. In order for the ‘Dogs to have even a remote shot of getting in, they’re going to need to win their last two games. Considering those games are against Wheatland and Winters, it’s a long shot at best.
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Here we are, back with the Lucky 7, and for the first time, Yuba City is not involved. Out in beautiful Colusa on Friday for the Spartans-Skins showdown. Let’s get to it.

1) Yin, meet Yang: I don’t think you could find two coaches in the area with as contrasting sideline personalities as Colusa’s Bob Miller and East Nic’s Mark Varnum. Miller is a real ice man during game, not a loud yeller of any kind. Varnum, meanwhile, must have had some flubber DNA injected into him at some point in his life as he goes up and down the sidelines and makes his voice heard. Seriously. For the half I filmed on the Colusa sideline, I still heard Varnum louder than I heard Miller.

2) Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?: As reporter Ryan Klocke wrote in his game story, Colusa probably endured the worst opening two minutes of football I’ve witnessed in a long time. First, the Spartans run the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Then, the Redskins coughed the ball up on their opening drive. Then, on East Nic’s first play from scrimmage, Christian Bassett takes a shot to the head that momentarily blacked him out and delayed the game as an ambulance was brought out on the field. All that put Colusa in a hole early they couldn’t dig out of, especially with running back Carlos Gutierrez out.
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Over the last week, a group of Appeal staffers and I worked on a truly rewarding project.

Along with photojournalist Colleen Cummins (who makes reporters blush with her penchant for getting inside info) and multimedia guru Robert LaHue, I worked on a piece  profiling the amazing story of Tyler Zepp.

The cliff notes (which may be helpful since my story makes “Atlas Shrugged” look brief) are that six days before a major heart operation, Zepp’s doctor cleared him for two plays with his Wheatland High football teammates. He would pass for a touchdown and rush for another.

Trust me, it’s powerful. After interviewing Pirates coach Javier Lopez and Zepp himself at the school, I had a long break before talking to his parents. So I drove to Roseville, went to a Starbucks and popped in the raw game footage from Tyler’s remarkable performance into my laptop.

I had to fight back the tears so they didn’t fall into my mocha frappuchino.

Along with our other duties, we didn’t have a lot of time to work on this project. But we did everything we could. The three of us hit the ground running with this story the day before Tyler went in for his procedure. We had to scramble to get as much info, pictures and video possible before he went under the knife.

On the visual side, it is stellar. The photos are powerful and  Robert’s video is equally great. (Side note — when he immediately volunteered to do this project, our best sound equipment was out with other staffers. Robert made due with what he had and edited liked a machine to provide our Web site visitors with solid  footage.)

Not everything was perfect. In my haste I made boneheaded typo — using a “T” instead of a “J”.  When I read it, I felt like I had just watched my dog lose a battle with a Peterbilt.

Regardless, I am happy that we were able to share “Tyler’s triumph” with the Mid-Valley. It is an amazing story and the reason why people like, Colleen, Robert and I got into this business.

Throughout the entire process, the entire Zepp family, the staff at Wheatland High and the medical personnel — especially Sutter Health P.R. dynamo Gary Zavoral ( in 15 minutes sets up an  interview with a stud surgeon at 4:40 p.m. on a Friday!?) — were are friendly as could be.

In this profession, it’s a blessing to deal with people of such high character.

After the story ran Tyler’s father, Jerry Zepp, left me a voicemail on my iPhone. If only there was an app to take away the weakness in my knees after he spoke so kindly.

Thank you to everyone involved.

–Ryan Klocke

It’s the midway point of the high school football season and time to clean out my notebook with some of my observations from the first six weeks of the season. I have yet to see every team play, so I just started with the first game I covered and went on from there.

Just like old times in Live Oak

Watching Live Oak take the field for warm-ups in the opening game of the season against Colusa was kind of like deja vu all over again.

The Lions’ pregame routine was almost identical to the way longtime coach Jim Arostegui ran things and you don’t have to search long to find out why. First-year head coach Dan Johnson has played a big part of the program’s success over the years by coaching the junior varsity team and knows what it takes to build a winner.

Besides the Lions’ pregame routine, Johnson brought back the past in a more subtle way be wearing shorts on game night, something Arostegui famously did regardless of the game’s time, place or temperature
It’s also obvious to me that they share the same philosophy and the Lions’ smashmouth running game and a fundamentally-sound, hard-hitting defense has been Live Oak’s tried and true recipe for success over the years.

But don’t get me wrong, this is clearly Johnson’s team and both he and his coaching staff have done a heck of a job despite dropping their last three Sacramento Valley League games in very close fashon.

Where’s the Redskins?

Live Oak beat Colusa 28-14 in the opening game of the season, but after the game I was left wondering where in the heck are all the Redskins.

Colusa suited up no more than 18 players in that first game compared to around 35 for Live Oak and the Redskins’ lack of numbers was definitely a difference maker. The lack of fresh bodies became more and more apparent as the game went on and eventually the Lions wore down Colusa to outscored them 14-0 in the second half to earn the win.

A few more breathers for Colusa’s two-way starters could have made all the difference and one of the officials even chimed in, telling coach Bob Miller after the game that the Redskins could have won if they had three more players to rotate in. They just ran out of players.

But as the season has progressed, Colusa’s numbers have increased up to around 22  and not surprisingly the Redskins won four straight games after the opener before running into traditional powers Hamilton and East Nicolaus.

Fear the Pirates

Some out there may wonder why in the heck Wheatland is ranked so high on our weekly power rankings. Well it turns out that I just may be the culprit.

I’ve covered the Pirates three times this season and each time I’ve came away impressed.

For starters, just look at the backfield. Vince Vetrone is the most exciting player I’ve seen so far and is that rare back that can either outrun you, fake you out or just bull you over en route to the end zone.

Add in speed burners Lecarlis Moore and Derrick Seward, and stud Clint Johnson at fullback and Wheatland easily possess the most talented group of backs in the area. Oh yeah, Jonnie Millington is also one of the best passing quarterbacks in the Mid-Valley and Tyler Kreditor has quickly become one of the top pass catchers around.

Then there’s the Pirates’ defense. Johnson is a flat-out terror at middle linebacker and is constantly making plays from sideline-to-sideline. Fellow backer Zach Downing is one of the nastiest players around and has a knack for getting to the QB and Mario Catellanos is as sound as the come at outside linebacker.

Rodney Faplulo is another strong defensive player who clogs the middle and safety Sean Rawlin is solid in the secondary. And with an experienced staff including former Marysville High head man Neil Stinson calling the D, the Pirates are also well coached.

Meyer makes his mark

After winning the first section title in the 137-year history of the school last season, Marysville stumbled out of the gates with three-straight losses to begin this year.

However one thing that hasn’t changed is the Indians’ rugged, physical style of play that has been their calling card since coach Cullen Meyer took over three years ago.

Yes, Marysville may not possess the overall team-speed it had last year, but the Indians are well disciplined, they hit hard and they tackle well. They also play the game the right way. Even in two tough losses to Wheatland and Yuba City, the Indians still came hard until the final whistle and showed that they are indeed the defending champions who take pride in not being outhustled or outworked.

As a former MHS alum, I never thought I’d see the day when Marysville would be known for toughness and physicality on the football field – and all the credit goes to Meyer, especially after the Indians rebounded with three straight victories.

Ithurburn: a leader of men

One of the coolest part about this job is getting to meet the area’s coaches and it’s always a treat to talk to Yuba City’s John Ithurburn.

He has said repeatedly that many of his friends want to see more trash-talk and nastyness to the Honkers’ rivalries with Marysville, River Valley and Sutter, but the coach will have none of it. He sees football as more of a celebration of the community and the kids, and he has little time to stoke the fire.

When talking to Ithurburn, the conversation usually starts with football and ends with his philosophy on life and other matters much more important than sports.

His no-nonsense approach and brutal honesty is appreciated. Ithurburn tells it like it is and pulls no punches. And by the way, the guy is a heck of a football coach.

Suit him up

All 14 Mid-Valley coaches bring something different to the table and are a joy to work with, but no coach displays more youthful exuberance than East Nicolaus head man Mark Varnum.

Heck, the guy isn’t that far removed from his playing days and at times it looks like he may just get out there and deliver a forearm-shiver to somebody. Varnum is as intense as they come on game nights, but he still has that knack for keeping things loose on the sidelines during tight situations.

Most importantly, it looks like the guy’s having fun. For an example, look no further than the game against Williams on Sept 25. Nursing a two-touchdown cushion and with under a minute remaining in the first half, Varnum called a timeout and then went for the jugular by dialing up a perfectly-designed play for six.

With the ball at the Yellowjackets 40, the Spartans lined up and sent one of their backs in motion towards the right sideline, where they already had two receivers positioned. When the ball was snappped, the Williams safety immediately attacked the line of scrimmage to stop what looked to be a quick-hitter into the flat.

It was just what the coach was looking for.

The instant the safety took the bait, Varnum knew it was a sure touchdown by yelling  “There it is” just before quarterback Adam Michel lofted a beautiful pass to his completely uncovered brother Kenny Michel in the end zone.

As only he could do, Varnum sprinted the length of the sideline to the end zone pumping his fist in triumph. It was a heck of a play call by the coach, who also showed surprising speed for a for a former offensive lineman.

Joked Varnum after the game: “I think I pulled a hammy on that one!”

Williams not so bad

It was nice to see Williams and coach Dan McDonald finally get in the win column with their 38-14 win over Esparto last week.

Yeah, the Yellowjackets may only be 1-5, but they do have some talented players with quarterback Carlos Velasquez and running back Jesus Camarena lining up in the backfield and lineman Patrick O’Sullivan and Eduardo Velasquez mauling people up front.

However their is one glaring spot where the Yellowjackets could use some help. While Williams is relatively deep both at the skill positions and in the trenches, I’ve never watched a team that was in such a need for that bruising fullback/linebacker type.

Velasquez and Camarena are both gifted runners in the open field, but neither have the size and power to pound it up the middle consistently. Defensively, the Yellowjackets can hold the point of attack up front and have good tacklers in the secondary, but what I noticed against East Nicolaus a few weeks ago was that there was rarely someone in the middle to step up and meet either the lead blocker or the runner in the hole.

Put someone like Wheatland’s Clint Johnson on Williams’ roster and I would bet they would be a .500 team at worst.

More thoughts to come on Sutter, River Valley and the rest so stay tuned.

–Andy Arrenquin

At 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Tyler Zepp arrived at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.

He received IVs (he hates needles), was prepped, then had a cardiovascular surgeon repair his malfunctioning circulatory system.

His Mom, Terri, said he’s doing well. But the six to eight week  recovery time will keep him away from something he loves dearly — Wheatland High Football.

A senior for the Pirates, he was the consummate teammate, even when he couldn’t play or practice due to doctor’s orders. And, by the responses his teammates gave to him when he said goodbye in practice on Wednesday, he will be missed. Dearly.

But before he left, he gave his fellow Pirates, the school and the community the show of a lifetime. It was incredible.

Everybody who saw what he did agrees.

We’re working on a story profiling Tyler’s tremendous Friday, complete with actual footage that is slated to run on Sunday.

On that day, he will be miles away from his adopted hometown, in a hospital bed. But he will not be alone. For the thoughts of many are with this brave young man.

–Ryan Klocke

Once again, it’s “Lucky 7,” where I give 7 thoughts on last week’s Game of the Week.

0 (it’s a bonus) But this wasn’t the Game of the Week: Why am I talking about the Yuba City-El Camino game, when everybody can plainly see that the appointed Game of the Week was in fact Sutter-Gridley? Well, here’s the short of it: In most cases, I’m assigned to film the Game of the Week to put together a highlight video. But we’ve also recently brought back Jake Abbott, a video stringer who is available to film Sutter games. Since Sutter was in this GOW, and Jake was available to film it, I had the chance to pick another game. So Sports Editor Bryan DeMain picked Yuba City for me. Ta-da.

1) Making the most of a second chance: Jamie Villicana became the late-game hero for the Honkers after he secured a safety that put the Honkers ahead for good with less than three minutes left. But he almost had it one play earlier when he got ahold of Eagles QB Quinn Peters’ shoestrings in the end zone. Peters was able to stumble forward and get the ball just out of the plain. Second time around, however, Villiacana was able to wrap up.

2) Maybe they should change the school name to Corvette High: My most-repeated sentence of the night on Friday was “El Camino’s fast.” And yes, the Eagles consistently made Yuba City, probably one of the faster teams in our neck of the woods, look slow by comparison. We’re talking really slow. Bengie Molina slow. In particular, two players from El Camino were doing the damage: QB Peters was a guaranteed source of defensive coach heartburn if he got past the defensive line on spread runs and running back Myron Baldoz-McArn scored a hat trick of TDs in the first half three different ways (in order: kickoff return, rushing, and a pick-six). But that was really all El Camino showed they had. Yuba City had the size to grind down the field offensively and win the clock battle and Peters could never get his arm to match the performance of his feet.
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We here at The Press Box  like stats. And now thanks to some nice work by A-D online editor Steve Nelson, our Web site has a great, quick way to access a plethora of football information. Click on the “scoreboard” tab on www.advarsitysports.com and check out the sweet widget that will give you more numbers than a math book.

Wanna know who has the most tackles out of our 16 local area teams - by the way, it’s a ridiculous amount - or find out who has the most rushing yards?  It’s all there.

Also, aside from being a pretty cool cat, A-D multimedia guru Robert LaHue is big into local high school football. Aside from his regular duties, he moonlights as a member of our (ahem) stellar sports staff  by shooting the “Game of the Week” videos for advarsitysports.com. After witnessing the Yuba City/Sutter showdown, he felt compelled to opine on the happenings at Wayne Gadberry Field.

So became an honorary member of The Press Box. And he brought it like a blitzing Jared Allen - hard. (Sorry, just watched him shred the Packers O-line like old financial documents). From Sutter’s kicking drum line to Jake Stassi’s overall beastly-ness, LaHue drops knowledge and opinion in a pair of postings.  Give them a read, it’s good stuff.

–Ryan Klocke