Week six games
Friday
Middletown 35, Willits 0
Fort Bragg 26, Kelseyville 7
St. Helena 47, Upper Lake 7
Clear Lake 8, Lower Lake 6
Statistical leaders
Rushing — Eric Tomko rushed for 134 yards on 30 carries and scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards to propel Middletown past Willits. Upper Lake”s Joe Barnes was the only bright spot for the Cougars in a 47-7 loss to St. Helena with 120 yards on 15 carries, including a 77-yard TD run. Clear Lake”s Jameson Holder had 105 yards on 15 carries and a TD in the Cardinals” win over Lower Lake. Kelseyville”s Josh Huston had 82 yards on 18 carries and a TD in a loss to Fort Bragg.
Passing — Middletown”s Matt Outen completed 8 of 9 passes for 177 yards and three TDs against Willits.
Receiving — Middletown”s Dylan Galusha had three catches for 86 and two TDs and teammate Tony Zagajowski had five receptions for 91 yards and a TD.
Highlights
Special teams — Middletown”s Travis Taylor booted a 27-yard field goal.
Defense — Chaz Ballew”s interception late in the fourth quarter against Lower Lake secured Clear Lake”s 8-6 win. He also had one of the Cardinals” three sacks. Lower Lake”s Chris Sisco recovered two fumbles and teammate Ryan Walker had two sacks.
Paulin his weight — Clear Lake”s Grant Paulin, filling in for injured defensive end Colby Butcher, turned in a solid effort as the Cardinals remained undefeated with their victory over Lower Lake. “He did a great job,” Clear Lake defensive coordinator Mike Hansen said.
Big plays both ways — The only two touchdowns scored in Clear Lake”s 8-6 win over Lower Lake were Jameson Holder”s 55-yard run for the victorious Cardinals and Mike Deakins” 53-yard run for the Trojans.
Undefeated JVs — Middletown shut out Willits 14-0 in a junior varsity game on Friday night in Willits, improving to 5-0-1 overall.
If it weren”t for bad luck ? — The Upper Lake Cougars would have no luck at all. They turned the ball over five more times in a 47-7 loss to St. Helena on Friday night in St. Helena, the NCL I South opener for both teams. Upper Lake”s defense didn”t force a single turnover.
Not exactly a passing fancy — While Middletown”s Matt Outen was passing for 177 yards against Willits, Lake County”s other four teams combined for just 68 yards through the air. In fact, the county”s others QBs combined for the same number of completions as Outen (8) and had three fewer TDs than Outen, which is to say zero.
Interlock parity — Through week six, the NCL I North and South teams are tied 10-10-1. In this weekend”s only interlock game, Middletown hosts St. Helena.
Must have missed that sportsmanship thing — While beating Lower Lake 54-0 in a junior varsity contest on Friday night, Clear Lake put its starters back into the game late in the fourth quarter. Yep, Lower Lake was real happy about that.
Week seven games of note — Clear Lake opens its NCL I South schedule at Cloverdale on Friday and Lower Lake travels to Fort Bragg in NCL I North action, also on Friday.
JV parents, one last try — If the guy who coaches your son”s team doesn”t report results to the Record-Bee, you won”t read about your son”s game in the Record-Bee.
Quote of the week — Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer, referring to his team”s 8-6 win over Lower Lake a week after the Cardinals tied Fort Bragg 6-6, said, “That”s two uglies in a row.”
Streaks — Upper Lake is on a five-game losing streak and the Cougars” remaining four opponents either have winning records (St. Vincent, Cloverdale and Clear Lake) or are .500 (Willits) through week six. Middletown has won two straight to get back to .500.
Old story, old gripe — The other team”s (home) officials are always the worst.
Man, what”s not to like? — St. Helena has a beautiful new athletic facility. Living in the wine country obviously pays certain dividends, figuratively and literally.
Read it too often, just lately in the Sacramento Bee — Saying “completely destroyed” is like saying “grand slam home run.” It”s redundant. There are no levels of destroyed just as there are no grand slam triples, doubles or singles.
From the Gary Pickle files — Still undefeated.
Bucking for demotion — If the Clear Lake offense continues scoring points at its current torrid pace of 6 and 8, offensive coordinator Rik Hayes may be demoted to offensive coordinator for the 49ers. “He”s qualified,” Clear Lake head coach Milo Meyer said.
Sad note — The Dallas Cowboys lost a game. OK, it”s not really sad.
