Biggs junior running back Davis Long rushes the ball in the Wolverines 33-0 victory over Redding Christian on September 1. Photo by Steven Bryla

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - For the first time in the MaxPreps era, the Live Oak Lions and Gridley Bulldogs will meet one another in the playoffs as it takes place tonight at Gridley High School at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the CIF Northern Section Division III playoffs.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the two schools as Gridley beat Live Oak 27-6 on September 15.

The Bulldogs defensively shut down the running attack that the Lions had in the game as they only allowed 19 rushing yards as a whole from junior running back Mario Ramirez.

Live Oak junior running back Mario Ramirez (23) celebrates a touchdown in the Lions 35-13 win over Biggs on September 29. Photo by Steven Bryla

Since the two played, the Gridley defense evolved into arguably one of the top defenses in the Northern Section and that was backed up by the NorCal Football Guys testing system.

The Bulldogs gave up an average of 11.4 since they played Live Oak.

Gridley finished second in the Butte View League as they went 4-1 in league play.

The Bulldogs offense averaged nearly 300 yards of offense per game this season with 213 on the ground between junior quarterback Gus Stogsdill and senior running backs Ryan Woolery and Brian Brown.

All three had a decent game against the Lions on September 15 and proved throughout the season to be consistent rushing the ball. Stogsdill has a few receivers to look downfield for whether they are designed pass plays or if has to scramble.

Live Oak finished fourth in the Sacramento Valley League; it was their best finish in league since the 2019 season.

The Lions beat East Nicolaus and gave Colusa, who is the number one ranked NS in Division IV the biggest fits in the Live Oak 27-20 loss on October 20.

Ramirez has rushed for 1000 yards during the regular season and junior running back Tanner Tillotson has accumulated over 1000 yards from the line of scrimmage almost at an even 50/50 split between rushing and receiving.

Senior linebackers Felipe Llereno and Eben Jones led the Lions in tackles throughout the season and got to the opposing quarterback a lot as they had 29 sacks during the season.

Both coaches Robert Tilton (Live Oak) and Mike Meyer (Gridley) are excited to face off again. They both expressed to the Herald that they are excited for both communities to come and support their boys once again.

“We hope to get our pass game going to eventually open up the run game,” Tilton said.

Lions junior quarterback Aaron Rogers went 6-for-13 as there were some balls that fell at the finger tips of Live Oak receivers.

Tilton told the Herald that Rogers has improved phenomenally since the game against Gridley and is excited to see what he can do.

Since the Harvest Bowl in September, the Herald has seen growth in both programs as they competed in tough leagues and is excited for both fan bases to show up to the “Boneyard” tonight for playoff football.

Modoc at Biggs, this evening at 7 p.m.
BIGGS, CA (MPG) - The Biggs Wolverines football team is the third overall seed in the CIF Northern Section Division V playoffs and host the Modoc Braves from Alturas tonight at 7 p.m.

This will be the third meeting between the schools and the first since 2019.

Modoc comes into the game with a 4-6 record but when you look at their fifth place finish in the Cascade Valley League, they are a better team than that.

Three of their four league losses were within one possession, which included Portola and Weed. Both Portola and Weed are the number one and two seeds in the Division V bracket ahead of Biggs.

Wolverines head coach Brian Harrison expressed to the Herald that this will not be an easy game and he is going to make sure his team is focused on all cylinders to go to battle tonight.

“They’re scrappy, much improved from the beginning of the season and they will not give up,” Harrison said.

Harrison added the biggest hurdle and need to focus on a lot is holding onto the football.

“It’s been one of our biggest downfalls all year long,” said Harrison.

There is no doubt the Biggs community is going to show up tonight in support and Harrison is grateful for everyone’s support throughout the year for his players.

The Wolverines are averaging over 250 yards on the ground per game from senior running backs Zach Smith and Brody Hudson, along with junior running back Davis Long.

The Herald would like to say goodluck to the boys and we will be cheering you on.