Let the playoffs begin: YC, Sutter host 1st-round games; Lindhurst, WUHS earn home bowl games

Yuba City (8-2) vs. East Union, Manteca, (5-5)As forecasted, the Yuba City High football team earned a No. 2 seed in this year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs and could host up to two games tonight (Friday) at Honker Stadium on the campus of YCHS.Up first for YC (8-2) is East Union, out of Manteca and the Valley Oak League – a squad that the Honkers have never played before in the MaxPreps era. East Union (5-5) finished No. 7 in MaxPreps D-IV rankings and fifth in league. The Lancers squeaked in as an at-large bubble team, earning a No. 7 seed in the top-8 postseason – a phenomenon in its second year following an overwhelming vote by the section football committee.YC and East Union have one common opponent in 2026: Placer Hillmen. The Honkers won at Placer for the first time in the MaxPreps era, while East Union was beaten 47-28.East Union has run its quarterback by committee in 2026, with three having played at least eight games – two of whom have thrown over 600 yards and a combined 17 touchdowns. East Union ranks above the MaxPreps’ national average in total yards, rushing, passing and receiving and averages over 400 yards of all-purpose yards per contest.Yuba City nearly went perfect this season, losing twice by one point each game. The team’s offense runs primarily through senior running back Cody Haase, who has four 100-plus yard games the last five weeks. Haase’s season-high came at Placer when he went wild for 244 yards and three scores.YC counters Haase and the run game with senior quarterback Judah Allen tossing for almost 1,500 yards to a boatload of targets, led by Dante Lepe (411 yards) and JuJu Brown (290 yards).Defensively, the Honkers are led by Zeke Mendieta’s 100-plus tackle season, while defensive end Dom Ramirez has a team-high seven sacks for a squad that posted three of 10 shutouts this year.The winner gets either Placer or Patterson in a 3-6 matchup tonight in Auburn.Sutter (10-0) vs. Rosemont (6-4)The Huskies, fresh off their 10-0 regular season and Golden Empire League title, earned a No. 2 seed and second consecutive first-round matchup with Rosemont tonight to open the SJS D-V eight-team playoffs.Sutter put up 65 on Rosemont a year ago, en route to a 65-14 win in the opening round of 2025.Sutter’s defense posted four shutouts this year, capped by last week’s 27-0 win over 7-4 Lathrop to close out the team’s first unbeaten regular season campaign since 2022. Andrew Barker had a monster game with 17 tackles and a fumble recovery to lead the Huskies.Offensively, senior Losi Asiata wrapped up the Sac-Joaquin regular season rushing title with 159 yards and two scores. Asiata enters the playoffs with 1,924 yards and 31 touchdowns – the most rush yards from scrimmage for a Sutter running back since at least 2004, according to MaxPreps history.Trever Facey, in 2017, rushed for 1,797 yards and nearly 3,000 all-purpose in a stacked backfield that featured Bryce Kunkle and quarterback Tyler Reynolds, son of head coach Ryan Reynolds.The winner advances to play either Escalon or Foothill next week at Wayne Gadberry Field (SUHS).SJS Bowl SeriesLindhurst finished with one of its highest rankings in the MaxPreps era, placing 14th in the final regular season D-VI ranking model put together by MaxPreps. The reward was a second straight Sac-Joaquin Section bowl game when it will host a postseason game for the first time since the finale of its back-to-back D-VI title run in 2007 under former Mike Mason.Lindhurst welcomes in El Camino today at 6 p.m. in one of 29 bowls including 58 teams in the second year of the SJS Bowl series, enacted last year in part to celebrate regional and community pride by pitting schools within 40 miles of each other in a end-of-season bowl game.– Wheatland earned a home bowl game tonight at home against Highlands, out of the Sierra-Delta League.**All first-round and bowl games at 6 p.m. at the highest seed available.