Rushing — Clear Lake”s Mike Zimmerman rushed for 97 yards on 13 carries with a TD, the closest any Lake County running back came to hitting 100 yards on week one of the season. Lower Lake”s Mike Deakins had 83 yards on 11 carries against John Swett, while Upper Lake”s Antonio DiConza had 72 yards on 11 carries against Potter Valley.
Passing — In his varsity debut Middletown”s Matt Outen completed 8 of 20 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns against Salesian. Also making his first start at quarterback was Upper Lake”s James Eubanks, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 110 yards and a TD against Potter Valley.
Receiving — Middletown”s Dylan Galusha caught five passes for 168 yards and two TDs against John Swett. The TD receptions covered 70 and 73 yards, respectively. Upper Lake”s Kyle Coleman had three catches for 82 yards and a TD.
Highlights
Special teams — Upper Lake placekicker Luis Santana went 3-for-4 on extra-point tries against Potter Valley. He missed a 25-yard field goal.
Defense — Clear Lake”s Erik Jameson had an interception and a fumble recovery in the Cardinals” 14-7 win over Pierce. Jameson”s teammate, Chaz Ballew, led the Cardinals with 13 unassisted tackles. Upper Lake”s Justin Conzit sacked Potter Valley”s quarterback twice. The Cougars held the Bearcats to 25 yards of total offense.
Longest TD play from scrimmage — In week one among Lake County”s schools, that honor went to Lower Lake receiver Michael Dell, who scored on a 81-yard pass play from quarterback A.J. Harris.
Man, was it ever hot — How hot was it Saturday for Upper Lake”s season opener at Potter Valley? According to the official working the Upper Lake sidelines, pretty darn hot. He told a member of the chain crew, “It”s the first time I”ve worked at Potter Valley, and no one told me it was two blocks from the sun.”
It”s nice to win, but … — Clear Lake was penalized 135 yards and turned the ball over three times in its victory over Pierce. Upper Lake committed 105 yards in penalties and had five turnovers in its win over Potter Valley.
And they”re not even the team to beat in the SCL — The Healdsburg Greyhounds roughed up Kelseyville 50-0 in the season opener for both teams on Friday night in Kelseyville. It was 43-0 at halftime before Healdsburg pulled off the dogs. Couldn”t resist.
A photo that needs no explanation — Clear Lake head coach Milo Meyer pulled three starters out of the Pierce game and benched them for nearly half a quarter Friday night. He also explained to them, rather loudly, why he was unhappy with their performances and attitudes. Record-Bee photographer Bob Minenna caught the moment on the front page of Saturday”s edition.
Coaching debuts — Lower Lake”s Stan Weiper and Kelseyville”s Thad Owens didn”t come away with wins Friday night, but both try again this coming Friday when Lower Lake travels to St. Helena and Kelseyville hosts Clear Lake.
Tough on footballs — They probably don”t kick very much in the North Central League III, at least not at Potter Valley, where Upper Lake kicker Luis Santana planted two extra-point kicks and a missed field goal deep into the blackberry bushes behind the north goal post. Said one Potter Valley fan after a Santana extra-point kick, “I think that one”s in the water (east fork of the Russian River).”
Down to the wire — Each of the last two meetings between Clear Lake and Pierce have gone down to the wire. Clear Lake scored the game-winning touchdown Friday night with 18 seconds left. A year ago in Arbuckle, the Cardinals scored with eight seconds remaining to beat Pierce.
Bookend Jamesons — Clear Lake”s quarterback Jameson Holder completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Erik Jameson to snap a 7-7 tie late in the fourth quarter against Pierce.
New year, same speech — If you”re not reading about your son”s or daughter”s sports team in the Record-Bee, it”s because your son”s or daughter”s coach isn”t reporting game results to the Record-Bee. The Record-Bee sports desk is 263-5636, ext. 35.
If they”re going to make a move … — Lower Lake”s next three games are against St. Helena (away), Upper Lake (away) and Cloverdale (home).
Better than 2006 — In the Record-Bee”s fall sports edition released last week, we ran stories on 24 of the 25 fall sports teams in the county. In other words, we were almost Gary Pickle.
