Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Max Hough (8)

By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods got a boost ahead of this weekend’s game against West Hills after quarterback Max Hough was cleared to play.

The Fortuna graduate, who enjoyed a breakout season at the collegiate level as a freshman in 2022, was sidelined during last week’s game at San Jose after suffering a back injury.

Hough, however, will make an immediate return after being cleared by trainers this week.

“After a couple of days it was all good,” head coach Jason White said of the injury. “He practiced all week. He didn’t miss a day of practice.”

The good news doesn’t end there for the Corsairs, who are looking to secure a third win in three games after opening the season with back-to-back wins.

Sophomore receiver Jaydan Burns will also return to action after missing the first couple of games through injury.

The Ukiah graduate was one of Hough’s favorite targets a year ago and finished with 487 yards receiving and six touchdowns in his first season with the team.

He is arguably the team’s top offensive threat this fall and his return to action will give the CR offense some additional options.

“It looks good,” White said of Burns’ impending return. “And that will be exciting. He’ll give us a boost.”

West Hills is 1-1 on the season after a 27-23 win against Los Medanos a week ago.

The West Hills offense feature an experienced lineup with several sophomores back from a team that tied for a conference championship in 2022.

The Corsairs, however, should be up for the challenge after an impressive showing in a 40-20 win at San Jose last week.

That performance was “much improved” from a sloppy 21-7 win over Merced in the season opener two weeks ago, with the offense and special teams stepping up to match a defense that has dominated early in the season.

“We’re going to try and be balanced like we always are,” White said of his offense. “Our young offensive line is getting better. The big thing (from last week’s game) was we cut our penalties by more than half, our sacks (allowed) went from five to one, and our turnovers from four to one.

“Those are all drastic improvements for us offensively.”

Saturday’s game kicks off at 1 p.m.