With seven home games, and new teams on the schedule, there’s a lot to be excited about for this upcoming Bear River football season.
Although, one question that could be asked is ‘why did things change’? Tanner Mathias, the head varsity football coach, cleared things up.
“The way our football schedule works is we run on two-, four- or six-year contracts,” Mathias said. “Our Kennedy contract came up and they decided they were not interested in renewing with us. Grace Davis and Johansen are repeats from last year. Part of what happened is the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) edited their weeks of which we start playing, so we start playing one week later in the calendar year than we did last year.
“The Lindhurst game came about because the Lindhurst coach reached out to us and said he was interested in playing, and we’re willing to play a former opponent in a former league. The rest of the schedule is just what the PVL (Pioneer Valley League) gives us.”

This new schedule adds teams such as Lindhurst, Mira Loma, Lincoln and Oakmont. However the Bruins will no longer play Sutter, Twelve Bridges or Tamalpais.
Mathias said that despite some unfortunate parts of the schedule, there is a lot to be excited about. “We got the short end of the stick with going to Colfax two years in a row, but we do have a lot of home games this year so it makes up for that loss of home atmosphere,” he said
After last year with hosting only four teams, it is an exciting time for Bear River considering seven of 11 games are at home.
Sophomore Thomas Billlingsley is excited.“I see the schedule as a positive because we have seven home games so we can get a home field advantage,” he said.
He’s hopeful it will help the team perform better.
“I feel we’ll do better this year, we’ll be more successful because we’re not playing schools like Twelve Bridges or Sutter. I think most of the season’s games will be tough but I think we’ll overcome them,” Billingsley said.
This new schedule brings a lot of opportunities to Bear River, and the football program, so be ready to watch some Bruin Football.