KELSEYVILLE — If boxing terminology could be used to describe Clear Lake”s 50-12 win over the Kelseyville Knights on Friday night in Kelseyville, the first half was pretty much a split decision but the second half was pure TKO.
Down 12-6 midway through the second quarter, the Cardinals (2-0) scored the final 44 points to hand the Knights (0-2) their second straight 50-to-something loss — they fell 50-0 to Healdsburg in their season debut a week ago, also at home.
“We played a good half of football and put ourselves in a position to win, but we didn”t have enough left in our tanks. We ran out of gas,” first-year Kelseyville coach Thad Owens said of the Knights” play over the final 30 minutes. “We ran out of umphh in the second half.”
Down 6-0 after Clear Lake quarterback Jameson Holder and fullback Collin Coddington hooked up on a 9-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, Kelseyville rallied to tie the game just three plays later as backup quarterback Justin Lilly, filling in for injured starter Mike Duman, tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Matt Jones with seven seconds left in the opening quarter.
Kelseyville then took its first lead of 2007 on its next series, one that was set up by a James Ducoty interception of a Holder pass early in the second quarter. The Knights took over at their own 44 and moved 56 yards in 10 plays, the final one a 7-yard Ducoty run that made it 12-6.
That proved to be the high point for Kelseyville.
“It was a nightmare,” Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said in summing up his team”s performance to that point of the game. “We couldn”t run the ball and they (Knights) had everybody in the box.”
Meyer”s advice to his players?
“I politely asked them to start playing football ? but actually I screamed at them just like I did last week,” Meyer said.
And it worked for the second week in a row.
Clear Lake scored on each of its final two possessions of the first half, the first touchdown coming on Mike Zimmerman”s 6-yard run that tied the game at 12.
The Cardinals went ahead to stay on a 30-yard pass from Holder to Erik Jameson with 1:10 remaining in the half. Zimmerman added the conversion run to make it 20-12 and Clear Lake was off to the races.
“I was a lot happier with our play in the second half,” Meyer said of the avalanche of Clear Lake points that were to follow in the third and fourth quarters. “They were still putting a lot of men in the box but we were able to run. They made some turnovers and we took advantage, something we didn”t do against Pierce last week.”
The Cardinals received the second-half kickoff and Travis Stockton, who initially fumbled the return, scooped it up and motored 57 yards to the Kelseyville 30. Clear Lake scored on the very next play as Holder scrambled 30 yards for a touchdown. Zimmerman ran in the conversion for a 28-12 lead.
Clear Lake followed up a one-play scoring drive with a two-play drive on its next possession, and Colby Butcher accounted for both plays following a Jameson interception that gave the Cardinals great field position at the Kelseyville 27. Butcher rambled nine yards on first down and scored on the next play, an 18-yard burst over the left side of the line.
The Cardinals added 16 points in the fourth quarter for good measure. Noel McCormack scored on runs of 1 and 21 yards and Clear Lake converted both two-point conversions on runs by Stockton and Holder.
Clear Lake outgained Kelseyville 346-159 and won the turnover battle five to one.
Butcher led a balanced Cardinal running attack with 55 yards on nine carries and Holder had six carries for 48 yards. He also completed 7 of 11 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Josh Huston carried the ball 14 times for 40 yards for Kelseyville and Lilly completed 4 of 7 passes for 74 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
