Tehama County pigskin previews for Sept. 3

Corning (0-0) @ Las Plumas (0-0)

The Corning varsity football team can't ruin Las Plumas' homecoming this year, but the Cardinals can still win the all-feathered battle for Division I playoff points.

Corning's match-up against the Thunderbirds, which took place mid-season in Oroville last year, was moved to Week One for 2010 and will be played at Cardinal Stadium.

Friday night's contest will be the first varsity test for junior quarterback Ryan Holland, whom Coach John Studer named the starter in early preseason workouts.

Tyler Price, a senior who served as last year's backup QB, has transitioned to tight end on offense and will also start at defensive end.

The Cardinals also return two of the top running backs in the Northern Athletic League, and plan to let loose Cameron Nye and Tyler McIntyre on the perennially weak T-birds, who went 0-10 last year.

LP lost its top rusher to graduation, Leo Garibaldi, along with leading tackler Brandon Cherry, but starting quarterback Joe Will is back to lead the Thunderbirds.

Varsity kickoff will be 7:30 p.m. following the JV game.

Los Molinos (0-1) @ Portola (0-1)

Los Molinos first-year coach Irvin Maxwell had high hopes for his offense but went "back to the drawing board" for this week's Portola match-up after the Bulldogs suffered a 28-0 loss in Williams last Friday.

The Yellowjackets, coming off a 1-9 season, held LM to just 22 yards of offense and scored a touchdown in every quarter.

The lack of offense isn't the only concern for the Bulldogs as they head into their second game. The Bulldogs also need to tighten up their pass defense. Portola is traditionally a strong passing team, and three of the four scores that LM surrendered to Williams came via aerial attack.

Los Molinos seeks a balanced offense with returning quarterback Sean Conrad at the helm. Conrad could pass to receivers Graham Wagenfuhr, Bryer Whetstone or Ramon Avalos, hand the ball off to fullback Luis Camacho, or tuck the pigskin under his arm for an option rush.

Portola is coming off a 20-9 road defeat against South Lake Tahoe. Both teams look forward to the opportunity to get into the win column Friday night. Varsity kicks off at 7 p.m. in Portola, following the JV game.

Champion Christian (0-0) @ Mercy (0-0)

Mercy High School is hosting its highly-anticipated 8-man football debut on Saturday versus Champion Christian of Chico.

The Mustangs are coming off a disappointing 2-8 season, where they fell short of the Division VI playoffs. Mercy, on the other hand, enters with a clean slate after having no football program in 2009. The Warriors fielded 11-man squads until last year, when a lack of numbers forced them to cancel their season.

Coach Paul Vietti plans to utilize his speedy defense to swarm the football and restrict Mercy's opposition as much as possible.

Warriors quarterback Mitch Lopez will anchor the offense with his dual ability to run or throw the football. Lumbering fullback Logan Baer looks to flatten opposing defensive lines and Lopez can also hand off to Harlow Johnson, Michael Uhalde and Royce Crane.

Steven Rodriguez and Isaac Williams will be Lopez's primary targets in the air against the Mustangs.

Champion lost last year's co-captain and leading rusher, Austin Bowman, to graduation but returns starting quarterback Luke Stephens. The Mustangs lost two of their top receivers in co-captian Logan Hawes and Bowman, but junior Zach Gawthrop should return as Stephens' primary target.

Kickoff for the game is noon at Sacred Heart School in Red Bluff.