Glenn County pigskin previews for Sept. 3

Lindhurst (0-1) @ Orland (1-0)

The Trojans get to remain in their friendly confines after an opening-night 38-14 win over Hamilton, while Lindhurst brings a 0-1 record to town following a 21-7 loss at the hands of River Valley.

The Trojans exploded for 26 points in the fourth quarter to blow open a game that had been tight to that point, and Orland scored a defensive TD as well.

The points can come from anywhere.

Orland's Casey Gingrich put up a huge night with 24 carries for 217 yards, and QB Brandon Smith's 11-yard performance included connections with three different receivers.

Defensively, Ray Hecox accounted for 14 tackles, and corner Kamare Jackson will quickly gain respect when he can return an interception 95 yards for a score.

For the Blazers, Christian George completed 11-of-20 for 108 yards, but was picked twice, and Lindhurst was held to just 83 yards rushing.

Hamilton (0-1) @ Pierce (1-0)

The Braves played three good quarters in Orland last Friday, but will need to play four quarters to get the job done, while Pierce played four+, and needed to weather six turnovers for an OT win at Esparto.

The Bears want to try playing ball control, but will have to do a much better job of hanging onto it for the strategy to be effective.

Hamilton's line play will need to open up the holes for its running game to get going, and the defense will have to trip up the Pierce running game, after allowing 288 yards on the ground to Orland.

Willows (1-0) @ Gridley (0-0)

The Honkers go into play Friday brimming with confidence after pasting 44 points on Colusa in its opener. It is vital for Willows to keep from being over-confident, as Gridley could give them a little more competition.

While neither statistical information nor a current roster for the Bulldogs was available, last year's numbers reflect a ground game that amassed just 798 yards total, and a passing attack of just 129 yards per game.

The Honkers had two scores called back against the Redskins, and were unable to capitalize thrice in the enemy red zone, but coach Jim Ward assured that the team was going to work hard in practice to better execute come gametime.

Elk Creek (0-0) @ Greenville (0-1)

What can you say about a program that has not called a snap in five years and is heavy with freshman?

Elk Creek returns to the gridiron against Greenville, and if there's a team you might want to ease your way back into action against - the Indians might be it.

Greenville gave up 78 points in its opener with Big Valley, but then again, scored 36, so anything might happen.

Princeton (0-0) @ Dunsmuir (0-0)

This will be the first game of the season for both teams, as Princeton tries improving on last year's 2-8 campaign, but will find the going tough against the Tigers, who went 10-2 a season ago.

Dunsmuir does not have a great deal of size, with just three players cracking the 200-pound mark, but are heavy with athleticism. As a team, the Tigers threw for 2,260 yards last year and ran up another 3,239, using a variety of backs and receivers, so they are also extremely deep.

Most of the Eagles' offensive weapons from last year returned, so with a year's experience under their belt and more familiarity with the offense, this could still be a good one.