CIF NorCal Bowls: Winters and Sutter win, Woodcreek and Roseville fall
It was a double-bonus sort of victory for the Winters Warriors on Saturday night in soupy, thick fog in Madera County.
Playing in conditions in which it was difficult to see from one sideline to the other and with fans peering through the gray mist wondering who had the ball, Winters ground out an 26-12 victory over Minarets High School to win the CIF Division 6-A Northern California Regional Bowl Championship in O’Neals, located about an hour from Yosemite.
That earned the storied Warriors of Yolo County the program’s first such trophy and a date in a CIF State final on Dec. 13 at a Southern California venue to be determined on Sunday afternoon. The extra bonus was rooted in family: Winters coach Daniel Ward was able to celebrate a milestone program victory and his wife Rikki’s birthday.
The coach said earlier in the week that, “If we drive all the way to O’Neals, California, on her birthday, we have to win, right?”
Mission accomplished, and Mrs. Ward can thank one of the greatest players in Winters football history for the treat. Warriors third-year starting quarterback Lane Brown, who holds scores of program offensive records, had 15-yard touchdown passes to Anthony Matamoros and Luke Felsen for a 12-0 lead with both point-after conversions missing.
EJ Cruz pushed Winters ahead 18-0 late in the half against Minarets, which finished 13-2. Winters is 13-1 and will play the Morse Tigers of San Diego on Dec. 13 at Buena Park High School Stadium in Orange County.
Brown wasn’t finished. His 30-yard touchdown strike to Felsen early in the fourth quarter gave Winters a 26-12 lead that stood. The presentation of the championship plaque was held at midfield, not that fans or those watching on the live stream NFHS Network could see much of it with the dense fog.
“Fog was crazy but made for such a cool environment,” coach Ward told The Bee by phone. “Could not see their sideline. Could not see their bleachers at all, but it was so incredibly loud. It was weird hearing so much but not being able to see anything.”
The coach added, “Minarets and the people there were such incredible hosts, from beginning to end, and such a cool place to play. So much tradition and pride on the field - what small-town football is all about.”
Ward said that the win was monumental for a Winters program that has produced small-school state-ranked powers since the 1970s under coach Jack Delbar. “What this means to our program and our community, words cannot express,” he said.
Division 4-AA
Sutter 21, Ferndale 7 - Max Bringgold rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Braden Scritchfield rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense pitched a second-half shutout to lead the Huskies past the Wildcats of Humboldt County.
Ferndale (13-1) led 7-6 at the half before Sutter (13-1) seized control at Cal Poly Humboldt to power the program to its first NorCal championship after winning 12 Northern Section championships and their first in the Sac-Joaquin Section. In ending the best football season in the 110-year history of Ferndale High, Sutter advanced to the state final on Dec. 12 to face Barstow (11-3) of San Bernardino County at Buena Park High School Stadium.
A third-year varsity starter, Bringgold starred in Sutter’s 42-27 win over Casa Roble in the Section Division V championship at Hughes Stadium on Nov. 28, passing for a touchdown, rushing for 135 yards and three scores, catching a touchdown and making a game-sealing interception.
Division 2-A
Sonora 41, Woodcreek 14: The Division VI Sac-Joaquin Section-champion Wildcats of Tuolumne County raced past the Division III section champion Timberwolves of Placer County to win a second successive NorCal crown with the aim of repeating as a CIF state champion in scoring one for small-enrollment schools that have backed up the CIF’s “competitive-equity” format for seeding NorCal games on strength of team and schedule over enrollment.
Cash Byington, Eli Ingalls, Brody Speer and Tommy Sutton led the charge for Sonora on its Dunlavy Field in improving to 14-0 on the season. Sonora led 42-7.
Woodcreek (12-2) capped the best football season in the 31-year history of the Roseville school, a credit to first-year coach Kyle Stowers and senior quarterback star Josiah Melendez.
Division 3-A
McClymonds 42, Roseville 34: Cal Poly-bound quarterback Berell Staples ran for four touchdowns and passed for one, and McClymonds won the speed factor to win the program’s fifth NorCal crown in 10 years in downing the Tigers in Oakland.
Commonly known as Mack, McClymonds moved to 11-2 and will play for its fourth CIF state crown since 2016 next weekend at a Southern California venue that will be announced on Sunday afternoon.
Roseville (11-3) was coming of its first Sac-Joaquin Section championship since 1987, a credit to coach Adam Reinking and senior leaders such as quarterback Mason Susnara and receiver JJ Yong. Susnara had three touchdown passes in his final game for the Tigers.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 9:33 PM.