Week seven games
Friday
Middletown 34, St. Helena 0
Clear Lake 18, Cloverdale 0
Willits 26, Kelseyville 0
Lower Lake 6, Fort Bragg 6 (tie)
Saturday
St. Vincent 28, Upper Lake 0
Statistical leaders
Rushing — Clear Lake”s Mike Zimmerman was the leading rusher among Lake County running backs this past weekend with 88 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown in the Cardinals” 18-0 win over Cloverdale. Middletown”s Eric Tomko had 81 yards and three TDs on 11 carries in a 34-0 victory over St. Helena.
Passing — Clear Lake”s Jameson Holder had only two completions in six attempts against Cloverdale, but they accounted for a combined 115 yards and both led to touchdowns. Lower Lake”s A.J. Harris was 3 of 10 for 65 yards in the Trojans” 6-6 tie with Fort Bragg.
Receiving — Clear Lake”s Erik Jameson had one catch for 72 yards and teammate Ryan Hansford had one for 43 yards.
Highlights
Special teams — Middletown”s Tony Zagajowski returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against St. Helena. Clear Lake”s Brian Milhaupt, all 290 pounds of him, blocked a Cloverdale punt. Middletown”s Travis Taylor booted four more extra points against St. Helena.
The “D” is for defense — Clear Lake limited Cloverdale to two yards of offense and one first down in an 18-0 win. And Middletown”s Ryan Bower returned a fumble 65 yards for a score against St. Helena.
Deuces are wild — Clear Lake”s Collin Coddington recovered two fumbles against Cloverdale. Kelseyville”s J.J. Pine and Troy Davis, Clear Lake”s Grant Paulin and Upper Lake”s Jayce Meri each had two sacks.
Streaks — Upper Lake has dropped six in a row and Kelseyville has lost three straight. Going in the other direction, Middletown has won three in a row. The Oakland Raiders have lost 3,245,679 consecutive games against AFC West opponents. OK, OK, it”s only 17.
Nice choke job, baby — Cleveland Indians.
Award for the worst field conditions ? Willits” Maize Field and Cloverdale”s Daly Field are running neck and neck.
Quote of the week — “I can”t remember the last time we returned a kickoff for a touchdown and a fumble for a touchdown in the same game,” said Middletown coach Bill Foltmer of his team”s 34-0 victory over St. Helena.
Battle of undefeated JV teams — It was all St. Helena, 29-0 over Middletown.
Last of the Mohicans — With the Middletown JVs falling from the ranks of the undefeated, that leaves the Clear Lake varsity (6-0-1) as the county”s only unbeaten team.
Week eight preview — There are three games worthy of attention to be sure. Middletown (1-0) hosts Fort Bragg (1-0-1) in a key North Central League I North contest on Friday and in another North contest, Lower Lake (0-0-1) is home to face Kelseyville (0-2-0). The Lower Lake-Kelseyville battle marks the first time former Kelseyville coach Stan Weiper, now with the Trojans, faces his old team. Weiper”s new team needs a victory to stay in the thick of the North hunt. And in a game that will most likely decide the NCL I South championship, Clear Lake (1-0) travels to Petaluma on Saturday to play the 2-0 St. Vincent Mustangs.
Shut out ? and not even close — Upper Lake”s offense not only came up empty against St. Vincent, but the Cougars didn”t even come close to scoring. Their deepest penetration was to the Mustang 25-yard line early in the second quarter. Not helping the Cougars” cause were three turnovers and 100 yards in penalties.
Side bet — If Lower Lake beats Kelseyville on Friday, Kelseyville must change its name to Weiperville.
And if Kelseyville wins? — Lower Lake, not Kelseyville, changes its name to the American Indian name of Xabenapo.
Current events — Clear Lake offensive coordinator Rik Hayes is now out of the running for the same position with the San Francisco 49ers, according to a 49ers source. “He put up 18 points in his last game and that”s just too many for us,” the source said.
Choke update — Cleveland Indians blow 3-1 lead in ALCS.
Case of the false starts — Upper Lake was called for six false starts against St. Vincent.
Lake County shut out — When Mendocino College holds its third annual Hall of Fame induction dinner early next year, Lake County will not have a single athlete honored. Among those athletes considered this year but not elected were former Clear Lake standout Tommy Curry and Middletown standout Justin Lappin. Well, there”s one less dinner I”ll have to work.
Something you don”t see often — Fort Bragg (4-1-2) has two ties among its seven games this season. They”re 4-1-2. Both ties were 6-6 games (against Clear Lake and Lower Lake).
