FORT BRAGG — The Kelseyville Knights scored 39 unanswered points in the second half to open up a 53-14 lead and went on to beat the Fort Bragg Timberwolves 53-34 in a North Central League I North varsity football game on Friday night in Fort Bragg.
It was the league opener for Kelseyville (1-0, 4-3), which entered the game minus its leader rusher, Kyle Poloni, as well as reserve running back Scott Luis.
“The dam broke and we got all the extra points, too,” Kelseyville coach Stan Weiper said of a 32-point second quarter that featured four touchdowns and four two-point conversions. “We got the ball and drove the thing right down the field.”
Kelseyville”s running game, minus Poloni, didn”t skip a beat as Tanner Olsen carried the ball 15 times for 156 yards and three TDs, two of those in the game-changing third quarter.
But it was entirely a team effort by the Knights in the decisive third period.
After Olsen”s 12-yard TD run and Tony Sekona”s conversion run snapped a 14-14 halftime tie, the Knights struck again when Tony Lynott jarred the ball loose from Fort Bragg”s Chris Dahl on the ensuing kickoff and Jim Ducoty scooped up the fumble and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
Kelseyville”s special teams struck soon after as Jared Templeton returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown. Olsen”s 10-yard TD run later in the third quarter and the ensuing conversion pass from Sekona to Joe Gatlyn gave the Knights a 46-14 lead by the end of the period.
Tyson Newton”s 3-yard TD run in the fourth quarter maed it 53-14 as Kevin Benjamin kicked the extra point.
Sekona, the Kelseyville quarterback, also rushed for 100 yards (16×101). He completed 5 of 12 passes for 104 yards a TD, a 26-yard strike to Gatlyn that opened the scoring in the first quarter.
