LAKEPORT — One missed field goal, seven turnovers and four quarters later, and the Kelseyville Knights and Clear Lake Cardinals ended up exactly where they began Friday night”s North Central League I interlock varsity football game, dead even.
The anticlimactic 7-7 tie at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport wasn”t without scoring chances, far from it, but in the end neither team could find the end zone after visiting it once each in the second quarter.
“We were outplayed,” Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said. “In the past we”ve watched Kelseyville poop out in the third or fourth quarter, but they didn”t do that tonight.”
“You can outplay them all you want, but when the game ends, what”s up on the scoreboard is the only thing that matters,” Kelseyville coach Thad Owens said.
Clear Lake took advantage of a short punt — 21 yards — late in the first quarter to mount a 56-yard scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard run by Kevin Burt with 10:53 left in the second quarter. The extra-point kick made it 7-0.
The Cardinals (1-0-1) got the ball back on Kelseyville”s next play from scrimmage as Ryan Richardson stepped in front of a Mike Davis pass for an interception at the Clear Lake 41. But the Cardinals coughed up the ball three plays into their next series, middle linebacker J.J. Pine pouncing on it for the Knights, who took over at Clear Lake”s 23-yard line.
Kelseyville (0-1-1) scored seven plays later on Troy Davis” 3-yard burst up the middle and the ensuing PAT kick knotted the score at 7.
Clear Lake threatened in the third quarter with a 16-play drive that moved the ball inside the Kelseyville 10, but on a fourth-and-four play from the 8, wide receiver Chris Leloup couldn”t handle a pass near the goal line and the ball squirted out of his hands and into the grasp of Kelseyville”s Anthony Esberg, who returned the interception back to the 10.
“We had opportunities and didn”t take advantage,” Meyer said.
Kelseyville also had a missed opportunity early in the game. The Knights were driving the ball and had a first-and-10 from the Clear Lake 20, but the Cardinal defense held firm and Kelseyville couldn”t convert on a 36-yard field goal that was wide left.
Kelseyville outgained Clear Lake 248-172 and did a pretty good job bottling up Clear Lake”s ground game.
“I think they”re a well-coached team,” Meyer said.
“I felt like we did well at the line of scrimmage,” Owens said. “We played 100-percent better than we did last week (a 43-7 loss to Berean Christian).”
Clear Lake remains undefeated in its last 16 regular-season games — 14-0-2. And the Cardinals” unbeaten streak against the Knights now stands at nine games — 7-0-2.
“The bright side is we tied,” Meyer said.
Owens said his team held a meeting early in the week to work out some of the problems that plagued the Knights against Berean Christian and that the results were positive on Friday night against their longtime archrivals.
“The boys played well, but it sure would have been nice to get that win,” Owens said.
