Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Expectations will be high once again this fall for College of the Redwoods football, as the Corsairs continue their preparation for their upcoming season opener on Sept. 7.

The last time local fans got the opportunity to see the Corsairs in action they did not disappoint, ending a three-decade bowl victory drought with a thoroughly dominating 63-0 win over Hartnell in December’s Grizzly Bowl.

Many of the players from that team have since moved on to four-year programs, but the Corsairs will be expected to field another competitive team under the guidance of head coach Jason White and his staff, who have quickly re-established the team as a force to be reckoned with in the two seasons since the local community college brought the program back.

White and his staff had the opportunity to see their players in action last weekend as they traveled to scrimmage Southern Oregon University in Ashland.

And the players did not disappoint against the four-year program.

“It took a little while to adjust to the speed of a four-year school but when we settled down we did well,” White said. “It was kind of everything you would expect from a scrimmage. We had guys jump offside. They did the same thing. We didn’t tackle as well as you’d like, especially at the beginning, but these are things we can work on.

“At times we moved the ball well and we didn’t’t get pushed around up front.”

One of the big question marks for the Corsairs heading into the new season is who will replace talented quarterback Max Hough, who enjoyed two outstanding seasons playing for CR and has since taken his talents to Colorado Mesa.

Hough, a Fortuna High graduate, took over as the starter at CR midway through his freshmen season and would go on to set school records for most career touchdown passes (40), career passing yards (4,008) and career pass completions (291).

Six freshmen have been battling for the starting QB spot since the beginning of camp, with four of them making a legitimate case to win the job.

After Saturday’s scrimmage, however, Bryton Livingston, who is from Eagle Point, Ore., has emerged as the No. 1 choice and will get the start in the season opener at Merced a week from Saturday.

“Bryton had a really good scrimmage and overall he’s been pretty good for us,” said White, who also oversees the team offense.

The three other QBs who battled hard for the starting job include Miles Pringle (Surprise, Az.), Quinton Buckland (Elmira, Ore.) and Kade Bomberger (Goldendale, Wash.).

Pringle will red-shirt in 2024, while Buckland and Bomberger will back-up Livingston and could see some action at some stage if needed.

White says it was important to make a decision on the starting QB a couple of weeks ahead of the season opener in order to give Livingston a chance to prepare properly.

After their season opener at Merced, the Corsairs will face off against Hartnell in a rematch of the 2023 Grizzly Bowl in their home opener on Sept. 14.

That game and all of the team’s home games will be played at the Redwood Bowl.

The CR players received their bowl winning rings at a ceremony earlier this year.