Corning jr. midgets chop down Woodland

The Corning junior midgets defeated Pioneer of Woodland, 20-6, last Saturday in the NorCalFed playoff opener at Central Valley High School.

After a deadlock in the first quarter, the Lions cracked the scoreboard midway through the second with a 10-yard touchdown run by Thomas Lowe. The Lions defense managed to stop the Patriots on their own 10 when the clock expired to carry a 6-0 advantage into the second half.

Pioneer knotted the score on the first possession of the third quarter but Corning's Jerry Lewis kept the Patriots from taking the lead by blocking their point-after attempt.

The Lions responded by scoring in their next series, capping by Nathan Fultz's 9-yard scoring run, and the defense quelled the Patriots on a fourth-down play to regain possession.

David Edson sprinted around the right end for a pair of big gains to set up Fultz's dash down the left sideline, 41 yards into the Patriots' end zone to put the game away.

Justin McLaughlin recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to stifle Pioneer's chances of coming back, and Jacob Lashley, Tyelar Nelson, Lewis and Lowe also turned in fabulous efforts on defense. Nelson led the team with 15 tackles.

Fultz paced the backfield with 135 yards in 12 carries and Lowe battered his way through the middle for 91 yards in 14 carries.
Corning (6-0 NC, 10-1) routed Orland on Saturday, 33-16, to advance to the Division II championship for the second straight year. That story will appear in Sports Friday.