OROVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Gridley Boys’ soccer team stayed undefeated in Butte View League play after they beat the Las Plumas Thunderbirds in an intense physical 1-0 victory last Thursday.

The win comfortably guarantees Gridley a second place finish in the BVL standings as three teams already have three losses in the loss column currently and four games remain for the Bulldogs in league play.

Last week could have been called the week of Las Plumas, as the Thunderbirds were the only opponents of the soccer program of the week where Gridley won 3-0 at home on January 23.

Bulldogs head coach Jesse Barajas told the Herald one of the biggest adjustments the Thunderbirds made dealt with the difference in playing surfaces.

Las Plumas plays their home soccer matches at Harrison Stadium in Oroville as the Bulldogs play on grass surfaces in Gridley.

“With the playing surface being quicker, they brought in their defense and made it tighter and put faster players on the back line,” Barajas said.

He added that when two of the better offensive Thunderbird players needed a break, they would push them back to the defensive end which made it difficult for Gridley to try and make a push offensively.

The match was even with every single possible scenario between possessions, foul calls and intensity.

Barajas expressed to the Herald the Bulldogs showed a lot of grit and resilience.

“They're ready for anything you throw at them,” Barajas exclaimed.

Gridley (9-3-1, 3-0-1 BVL) senior center back Hector Palafox mentioned to the Herald that the hard work they have put in throughout the year will need to continue and progress.

“We need to keep pushing, keep motivating one another and have fun doing it,” Palafox said.

Gridley has only a varsity team and one of its big advantages is having a big roster. Barajas exclaimed to the Herald he aims to have seven to eight per grade level.

The biggest advantage it has has for the Bulldogs this season is keeping their lineups on the field fresh with the possibility of subbing out multiple players at once.

Gridley has 33 players on its roster with four practice squad spots on it as well.

The consistent subbing benefited the Bulldogs against Las Plumas because they were consistently pushing the ball and able to push it wide along the sidelines to eventually open up the middle of the field for spacing to push the ball toward the goal.

Gridley had some good shots on goal in the first half and early part of the second half, but in the 74th minute, Bulldogs senior striker and captain Ricardo Ramos scored 25 yards out and pu

t Gridley up 1-0 late in the game.

“The keeper was a little bit out of his place, so I put the ball in the bottom right of the goal,” Ramos told the Herald.

He added that it felt good to keep them atop the BVL standings because their match with Orland this Thursday is going to be a physical game.

The Bulldogs tied Orland on January 17, whichever team wins the match this Thursday should be the BVL champions.

The hunger of the Gridley team is clear and they felt their season was cut short last year when cross-town rival Live Oak beat them in the 2022 Division II Northern Section CIF semifinals of the section playoffs.

“We’re trying not to have what happened last year happen this year, we’re hungry to get that section,” Ramos said.

Following the victory over Las Plumas, plenty of Bulldogs along with family and friends were there after a half hour of the conclusion of the match.

Barajas laughed and joked with the Herald that the game of soccer is embedded and part of their DNA because they didn’t want to leave the stadium.

Barajas has been involved with the soccer program at Gridley since it began in the late 1990’s with the exception of a few years of going to college. Since the 2001 season Barajas has been the head coach of the Bulldogs.

Some of his former players are his assistant coaches and he has coached two generations of players.

“It’s special to have the opportunities that I have had,” Barajas told the Herald.

Gridley hosted Corning on Tuesday and will travel to Orland on Thursday.