BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
As Natomas celebrated homecoming 2012, both the Nighthawks and Tigers shared the sports stage this week. The Inderkum football team looks tonight to rebound from the first league loss since 2006, and the Natomas girl’s tennis teams is on a school-record winning streak with just a week left in the regular season.
Athlete of the Week
Natomas senior tennis No. 1 singles player Ashleen Rai is this week’s Natomas Buzz Athlete of the Week. Rai continued to shine for the Nighthawks with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over River Valley on Tuesday afternoon.
Inderkum
Football: The Tigers loss to Yuba City last Friday ended a 26-game Tri-County win streak dating back to a road game at Pioneer on Oct. 27, 2006. In a back-and-forth battle between both explosive offenses, the Tigers fell short after a late touchdown, a two-point conversion and a controversial onside kick ended a possible comeback by Inderkum.
Tonight, the No. 14 Tigers (4-2, 0-1 TCC) are on the road at Woodland (1-5, 0-1). The Wolves are coming off a 26-7 win over Natomas.
Inderkum still has a solid chance at an at-large berth in the Sac-Joaquin section playoffs if the team wins the final four regular season games. With a healthy Josh Montes back at tailback, the offense—led by senior running back Eric Walters and with the emergence of junior quarterback C.J. Spencer—should be able to regroup quickly after the tough 49-42 loss to the Honkers.
Girl’s Tennis: The Tigers began the week on a high note with a TCC victory over Woodland (8-1) on Tuesday. Led by No. 1 singles Eirene Granville (6-1, 6-0), the Tigers also got a win in doubles action. The Tigers played River Valley on Thursday.
Inderkum finishes regular season action next week at home with Pioneer on Tuesday and Inderkum on Thursday.
Girl’s Volleyball: A season removed from a section playoff berth, the 2012 season has not been kind to the Tigers. With only one returning player back from 2011, Inderkum went into Tuesday night’s home conference match against cross town rival Natomas winless. But in a full team effort, first year head coach Mitchell Mercado and his team finally notched a win with a 3-0 victory over the Nighthawks.
Mercado said the win is especially great for the young teams mentality, saying “they have been doing everything I have asked in practice. But if the results aren’t there, it is tough for the girls to see they are actually working towards something. This first taste of victory will add to the rest of the season.”
The Tigers played Yuba City Thursday night. This coming Tuesday Inderkum will play at Woodland and are back home Thursday versus River Valley at 6 p.m.
Boy’s Soccer: The Tigers are still looking for the team’s first TCC victory after dropping two at home this week. Monday, the Tigers fell to Yuba City 4-1 and lost to Woodland 5-0 on Wednesday. This Monday, the Tigers host River Valley and are on the road against Pioneer before the home and season finale against Natomas on Oct. 22.
Girl’s Golf: Inderkum won both contests in the last week of league action. The Tigers, with 269 team points, beat Pioneer in a forfeit match on Monday. Amelia Hicks (45) led the Tigers who also beat Natomas on Wednesday 289-315. Hicks shot a team-best 49 against the Nighthawks.
The second league 18-hole tournament is Monday, hosted by River Valley.
Natomas
Football: Nothing better to end the winless blues than to do it in front of a packed-house on homecoming night. After dropping the TCC opener on the road at Woodland last Friday, the Nighthawks and head coach Jeff Remington will host River Valley (4-2, 1-0) tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Led by junior quarterback Daniel Guttierrez and sophomore wide receiver D’Angelo Fields, the Nighthawks will need to start off strong against the Falcons, who average 39.6 points per game.
Girl’s Tennis: The Nighthawks continue to play well. On Tuesday, Natomas beat River Valley 8-1. Led by No. 1 singles player Ashleen Rai (6-1, 7-5) and the No. 1 doubles of Nehaa Khadka and Alexandria Tinoco (5-7, 6-1, 10-7).
The Nighthawks also beat Pioneer Thursday to earn a school-record fourth straight victory. All three of the top singles lost to Pioneer, but No. 4 Marissa Rosales (6+-0, 6-3), No. 5 Ojaswi Adhikari (6-3, 6-2) and No. 6 Lidia Hernandez (6-3, 7-6) all won, securing a 7-3 victory in TCC action.
Khadka and Tinoco and No. 3 doubles tandem of Brianna Curiel and Isis Cuevas won in straight sets. Head coach Rick Ratliff said he was “so proud of the girls pulled out a tough match” on Thursday.
The Nighthawks are on home against Yuba City on Tuesday and on the road against Inderkum Thursday next week.
Boy’s Soccer: A week of road games for the Nighthawks did not go as planned. Natomas (4-11-1, 1-5-1) loss at Woodland Monday 2-0 before falling to River Valley 3-0 on Wednesday. The Nighthawks will be at Pioneer this coming Monday before a home finale on Wednesday against Yuba City at 7 p.m.
Girl’s Volleyball: Another tough week for the Nighthawks. After losing to Inderkum 3-0 on Tuesday, Natomas (1-14, 0-4) fell to Woodland on the road Thursday night 3-0.
The Nighthawks will be at home this coming week with a Tuesday night match against TCC favorite River Valley on Tuesday. Both varsity matches begin at 6 p.m.
Girl’s Golf: The Nighthawks were split the two matches in the final week of league action. The Nighthawks beat Yuba City with 303 team score. The Honkers forfeited the match on their end. Then on Wednesday, Natomas fell to Inderkum.
TCC league match is set for Monday, hosted by River Valley.
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.