Fall River becomes final Shasta County football team left standing after winning the Northern Regional

Fall River senior quarterback Ryan Osborne wasted little time on Saturday night in demonstrating the attention to detail his team put into practice all season.

Not only did Osborne want to make history but many of the players on Fall River's 21-man roster are also members of the basketball team and had a tournament game to play later on that night.

None of the untimely circumstances could distort the balance and focus that Fall River showed against Le Grand, a team that had 14 more players on its roster.

Osborne scored on a 69-yard run on his team's opening drive and sophomore 6-foot-4 offensive lineman Remington Blue opened numerous holes that allowed Fall River to erupt for four touchdowns in the first half and beat Le Grand 42-21 in the CIF Northern Regional Division 7-AA title game.

"We knew that Le Grand was going to be a tough team," Osborne said. "We knew what we had to do, our coaches got us ready and we got it done. It's as simple as that."

The win allowed Fall River (12-0) to win its first regional championship in program history after falling into St. Bernard's of Eureka in its only other appearance back in 2015.

Fall River is the final team from Shasta County left standing in the 2021 CIF football playoffs. The Bulldogs will play SoCal representative Morro Bay for the CIF Division 7-AA state title next Saturday at home.

It wasn't all good news for Fall River heading into next week's state championship game. Blue suffered a knee injury and had to be carried off by his coaches late in the third quarter.

After Blue went down, Fall River showed it could still run the ball effectively. Senior Evan Bidwell scored his team's final touchdown with 1:22 in the third quarter.

Fall River sophomore Cannon Oilar picked off Le Grand junior quarterback Julian Bucio in the fourth quarter and his team controlled possession of the ball for the final 10:31.

"I think Osborn's first run knocked Le Grand's defense off a little bit," Fall River coach Todd Sloat said. "We tried to mix our play calling a bit to get them off balance and then our guys just got into a groove. They started blocking well and we also held onto the ball."

The mountain boys from Fall River found inspiration in Blue and freshman sacks leader Isaiah Wortman. Wortman suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, but battled through the pain to help Fall River limit Le Grand to one touchdown in the second half.

"I'm feelin good," Wortman said. "I got hurt but I didn't want to let my boys down or the people that got me here. I just want to play and keep going, not let anybody down."

Here are three takeaways and top plays that allowed Fall River to secure its first regional championship.

• Fall River sophomore offensive lineman Remington Blue has the size, speed and personality to play college football one day. Remington, as an underclassman, is already a captain. He showed that he could pick up multiple defenders and help Fall River push down field.

• Fall River senior Ryan Osborne commands respect and his players give it to him. The Bulldogs success starts and ends with Osborne commanding the huddle.

• Fall River coach Todd Sloat has quick reflexes. While media interviewed Sloat, his team attempted to splash him with Gatorade. Sloat reacted quickly and showed high level quickness for a man in his 50's.

Top five plays from Fall River

1. Osborne strikes hard in the first

Osborne showed off his strength, speed and mobility when he turned up field and scored his team's first touchdown.

The 69-yard carry for Osborne gave Fall River an early boost that held for all four quarters.

2. Dobson follows his blockers

Another stout effort led by Blue and his offensive lineman to help Fall River push ahead by 14 points.

The gaps opened and Dobson had space to accelerate as he wanted.

3. Fall River stops Le Grand from scoring touchdown before halftime

Le Grand junior quarterback Julian Bucio made solid throws and a touchdown would've altered Fall River's momentum.

Fall River sophomore Carter Croschel stopped senior Isacc Davison at the 6-yard line and tightened the margin of error for Le Grand.

4. Bidwell scores after injury to Blue

Fall River still needed another touchdown to keep the pressure on Le Grand and Blue had just gone down with an injury just a few plays prior.

Fall River didn't let the knee injury suffered by Blue to alter the solid line of work the team put in through the first half.

Bidwell scored a touchdown and Fall River showed it could overcome a big injury to its team's biggest player.

Oilar's pick stops last gasp by Le Grand

Fall River did a solid job of controlling possession but needed to take advantage of one final mistake by Le Grand.

Fall River sophomore Cannon Oilar did exactly that. Oilar slid back in coverage and came up with the turnover his team needed to seal the victory.

Ethan Hanson started working for the Redding Record Searchlight after four years with the Los Angeles Daily News as a freelancer. His coverage includes working the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in South Bend, Indiana, and writing about the St. Louis Rams' move to Los Angeles with the Ventura County Star. He began his career as a play-by-play broadcaster for LA Pierce College from 2011-2017. Follow him on Twitter at @EthanAHanson_RS.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Fall River becomes final Shasta County football team left standing after winning the Northern Regional