Yreka High versus Mount Shasta High Varsity Football: Miners dominate Bears 36-0

The Yreka Miners made quick work of the Mount Shasta Bears in the season opener for both squads at Miner Stadium on Friday night.

Yreka put up 36 points against the Bears in the first quarter, which was all they needed, as starters were taken out for the night by the start of the second quarter. By the time the second half started, a running clock was already in place, as Yreka came away with the 36-0 win over their fellow Siskiyou County school.

“The kids came out ready to play,” Yreka head coach Orlyn Culp said. “The players executed and did the things they needed to do.”

Last year, the Miners opened the season with a 34-0 road win against the Bears.

After coming off a more than 1,000 yard season last year, senior running back Drew Kannely-Robles did not miss a beat and scored twice for the Miners. This included a 35-yard scamper with 8:03 left in the first quarter to give the Miners their first points of the game.

Yreka went for a 2-point conversion and converted on a run by Josh Hansen. Yreka scored again a short time later on a 15-yard run by junior Jeff Woodruff with around 5:45 left in the quarter.  

Another big play occurred when quarterback Juan Cota found wide receiver David Ruiz, who was able to grab the ball while covered  by a Bear defender and race down the field for the 50-yard touchdown, as the home crowd loudly cheered their team on with 2:25 left in the quarter and the Miners having a commanding 29-0 lead. Kannely-Robles later scored on a 24 yard run with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

The  Miners defense was quite strong all night and gave the Bears nothing to work with, as Mount Shasta could only get close to around the 30-yard line of Yreka.

The Yreka defense made big plays the entire game, especially in the first quarter. This included sophomore Tyler O'Gorman picking off the ball and running it in more than 20 yards for a touchdown.  Senior Jovani Cabrera-Guevara recovered a fumble with 1:18 left in the quarter.  Twin brothers Greyson and Garrett Plucker worked in unison pressuring Bears quarterback Kirby Kindley. This included Greyson earning a sack, and both brothers working in tandem on a sack in the first quarter of play.

While Yreka did not score after the first quarter, the team still did a solid job moving the ball down the field. Two Kannely-Robles touchdown runs were called back due to penalties.

Culp commended the Miners backup players for performing well and not allowing the Bears to score. He added it was decided to take  many of the starters out of the game starting in the second quarter to try to lessen the possibility of  players being injured in a game already well in hand.

This Friday,  Yreka hosts Mazama of Klamath Falls, Ore., at home. Last season, Yreka lost a close 19-2 battle against Mazama on the road. This will be the season opener for  the Vikings, who went 10-1 last season and  suffered their lone loss in the Oregon Class 4A playoff semifinals last season.  Mount Shasta will travel to University Prep of Redding this Friday and  will face a squad that soundly defeated fellow Shasta Cascade and Siskiyou County squad Etna 48-8 on Friday night.