Week nine games
Friday
Middletown 56, Kelseyville 0
Lower Lake 23, Willits 6
Saturday
Clear Lake 20, Upper Lake 14
Statistical leaders
Rushing — Lower Lake”s Chris Perry rushed for 118 yards and two TDs in the Trojans” win over Willits. Middletown”s Eric Tomko had 101 yards on only 11 carries and scored three times against Kelseyville. Clear Lake”s Kevin Burt and Lower Lake”s Michael Bell each had 76 yards.
Passing — Clear Lake”s Ryan Richardson completed 10 of 19 passes for 152 yards with one touchdown.
Receiving — Clear Lake”s Seth Glazier caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter against Upper Lake, pulled in 10-yard pass that set up a game-winning TD in the fourth quarter, and also had a two-point conversion reception. Lake County receiving yardage leader Dylan Galusha of Middletown had three more catches for 59 yards and a TD.
Highlights
Special teams — Upper Lake”s two touchdowns against Clear Lake were all about special teams as Sloan Hennig motored 89 yards on a punt return for a score in the second quarter and Antonio Diconza returned the second-half kickoff 82 yards for a score. Middletown”s Jake Davis also had his second punt block of the season.
Defense — Clear Lake”s defense didn”t allow a single point and held Upper Lake to 82 yards. The Cardinals forced six turnovers, four of those in the fourth quarter, and Clear Lake”s Ryan Richardson was responsible for three of those — two interceptions and a forced fumble. He returned one of the interceptions 31 yards for a score and the forced fumble set up the Cardinals” game-winning touchdown. Middletown”s defense logged another shutout while limiting Kelseyville to 110 yards. Lower Lake”s David Clark had four of the team”s seven sacks against Willits.
Game of the year — Clear Lake”s come-from-behind win against Upper Lake was easily the most exciting contest to date of the 2008 regular season, surpassing even the Cardinals” 8-7 over St. Vincent a week earlier. It had glaring statistical anomalies big plays, big hits, wild momentum swings, wild weather swings and even the random drunk wandering onto the Clear Lake sidelines late in the game.
Can they play any better? — The Middletown Mustangs are taking names and kicking butts these days.
Girls” soccer kudos — Middletown defeated Clear Lake 1-0 in the North Coast Section Class A playoffs on Saturday night in Middletown.
He was up, he was down — Trying to field a pitch from quarterback Brandon Mendoza, Upper Lake running back Joe Barnes was violently upended by Clear Lake defensive back Ryan Richardson in the fourth quarter. The mega-hit can be seen on the Record-Bee”s Web site. It was even better in person.
Golf kudos — To Middletown”s Lisa Copeland for reaching the NorCals.
Great quote — “I didn”t want to go over 42, to be quite honest with you,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said (of his team”s 56-0 win over Kelseyville). “They (Knights) are a little banged up … things are rolling for us. I”ve been on the other end of these things and it”s not a good feeling. People are going to read the score and think that we ran it up. Only the people here know that we didn”t.”
You”re fired — Asked about his team”s problems covering kicks on Saturday, Clear Lake head coach Milo Meyer said, “The special teams coach did a rotten job and should be fired,” Meyer said tongue in cheek. Meyer coaches the special teams.
Don”t tell ”em it doesn”t mean anything — While Middletown and Clear Lake have wrapped up automatic playoffs berths in their respective divisions of the NCL I, both teams still have one game to go in the regular season. Middletown travels to Lower Lake and Clear Lake visits St. Helena on Friday. Both teams need victories to wrap up undisputed league championships and to improve their chances of drawing a higher seed in the upcoming playoffs.
Heartbreak hotel — Willits kicked a field goal as time ran out to beat the Lower Lake JVs 30-28.
Class A Dude”s Rankings North Coast Section Class A Football Great 8:
1. Ferndale (9-0) — Beat St. Bernard”s 47-12.
2. Middletown (8-1) — Clinched NCL I North by crushing Kelseyville 56-0.
3. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (7-2) — Plays Piedmont for second place in the Bay Shore League.
4. Fort Bragg (7-2) — Beat Cloverdale 28-7.
5. Justin-Siena (5-4) — Dominated Terra Linda 47-6.
6. Salesian (6-2) — Clinched Bay League title with 35-0 defeat of St. Elizabeth.
7. Clear Lake (6-2-1) — Squeaked by Upper Lake 20-14.
8. Dougherty Valley (7-2) — Beat 0-9 American 24-17.
