RedHawks season ends at Modoc

The long cold road to Alturas was unfriendly to the Colusa High football team in the first round of the Northern Section Division III playoffs, and the sixth-seeded RedHawks lost to No. 3 seed Modoc 48-22 on Friday.

Modoc (8-2) was as good as advertised and the frozen ground slowed the fleet-footed boys from the valley.

The RedHawks (5-6) turned the ball over on their first two drives and had a hard time stopping the Braves offense, which had 239 passing yards and another 248 rushing yards.

Despite the two early turnovers, Colusa tied the game 8-8 in the first half before Modoc quarterback Cam Anderson and receiver Riley Larranga picked apart the RedHawks secondary.

Frozen turf made it difficult for Colusa running backs to get to the outside, so coach Paul Theriault turned to junior running back Ryan Abele who charged for 171 yards and a touchdown up the middle.

"They're a good team and well coached, but one of the problems we had in the outside run game was our guys could not cut at all because the ground was pretty frozen," Theriault said.

Colusa had about 350 yards offense but turnovers, including a bad snap that the Braves recovered for a touchdown, kept Modoc well ahead most of the game.

Andrew Rodriguez and Connor Herrick added rushing touchdowns for Colusa, which made an impressive turnaround under Theriault, their first-year head coach, after winning just one game in the previous two seasons.

"You never want it to end but I think our guys turned some big corners this year with the adversity they had to meet, and I don't think you can ask for anymore than that. The seniors definitely got us back on the right track," Theriault said.

Modoc advances to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Hamilton on Friday in Hamilton City.