LAKE COUNTY — Two-time defending North Central League I South champion Clear Lake won”t have to wait long to find out if a threepeat is in the works or, more appropriately, in the Cards.
The Cardinals (3-2) hit the road tonight to play Cloverdale (4-1) in the South opener for both schools. While the league race is anything but a foregone conclusion with St. Helena (3-2) and St. Vincent (3-2) squarely in the mix, Clear Lake and Cloverdale would seem to rate an edge based on their interlock performances to date.
After all, both Clear Lake and Cloverdale held their own against North power Middletown — the Cardinals losing 28-14 last week and the Eagles 27-17 two weeks ago. The Cardinals also played a solid second half in a 49-20 loss last month to the North”s other top team, Fort Bragg, outscoring the Timberwolves 20-7 over the final two quarters. Cloverdale hosts Fort Bragg on Oct. 30 in the final interlock game for both teams.
While the Clear Lake-Cloverdale winner is not guaranteed a South title, the team that emerges victorious will have cleared a substantial hurdle. The South race went down to the wire last season, St. Helena beating Clear Lake in the final week to create a two-way tie for the championship between the Cardinals and St. Vincent. Cloverdale and St. Helena each finished a game back of the co-champs at 2-2.
In other games tonight involving county teams, Kelseyville (2-3) opens its NCL I North schedule in Willits (0-5), Lower Lake (1-4) makes its North debut at undefeated Fort Bragg (5-0), and Middletown (4-1) is home to face St. Helena in NCL I interlock action. On Saturday, the Upper Lake Cougars (1-4) host St. Vincent in the South opener for both teams.
Clear Lake at Cloverdale
“It”s another dogfight,” Clear Lake coach Schad Schweitzer said of tonight”s clash in Cloverdale. “We went from one huge battle last week to another this week. Playing Middletown last week helps us. It keeps us in the area we have to be in. We need to play our A game again.”
Clear Lake quarterback Ryan Richardson is recovering from the flu and tight end/defensive end Seth Glazier is nursing a pulled muscle.
Lower Lake at Fort Bragg
Coming off a 67-14 home loss to Cloverdale, the Lower Lake Trojans travel to the Mendocino County coast with the unenviable task of playing the only remaining undefeated team in the NCL I.
“Long odds,” Lower Lake coach Stan Weiper said when asked about his team”s chances.
The Trojans also hit the road without one of their top players, lineman Justin Harrison.
“He has a sprained ligament and he won”t play for a couple of weeks,” Weiper said.
Lower Lake might also lose a linebacker and running back on Monday when grades come out.
“We have a couple of kids on the bubble,” Weiper said. “That doesn”t help.”
Kelseyville at Willits
Kelseyville”s 0-3 start now a distant memory, the Knights head to Maize Field tonight with an opportunity to square their season record at 3-3. You have to like their odds given the Wolverines have lost 15 in a row dating back through last season.
“Willits is tough at home and it”s their homecoming, so they”ll be fired up,” Kelseyville coach Thad Owens said. “They run the toss offense and if they get on a roll, it can be tough to defense.”
While the Knights are gunning for a third straight win, Owens said his team still isn”t where it needs to be.
“It isn”t all together yet but it”s a good start,” Owens said of back-to-back wins over St. Helena and Upper Lake.
St. Helena at Middletown
The Middletown Mustangs play their homecoming and final interlock game against the Saints, who fell 44-7 on the road a week ago in Fort Bragg. Middletown hosts Fort Bragg the following week in a much-anticipated battle of North powerhouses.
Middletown coach Bill Foltmer enters play tonight two victories shy of 200 for his career.
“I like how their backs compliment each other,” Foltmer said of St. Helena fullback Ezequiel Valdivia and running back Miguel Calderon.
“They”ve got a pretty good one-two punch to throw at us,” Foltmer said. “They moved the ball against Fort Bragg last week and they”ve moved it against everyone they”ve played.”
The Saints have lost back-to-back games to Kelseyville and Fort Bragg after a 3-0 start.
“They”re going to have to play a good defensive game to beat us,” Foltmer said.
St. Vincent at Upper Lake
It”s homecoming for the Cougars. That”s the good news. The bad news is Upper Lake has dropped four in a row going into Saturday”s action against the St. Vincent Mustangs.
St. Vincent”s spread offense should put a battered Upper Lake defense to the test once again — the Cougars have allowed an average of 56.5 points their last four games.
Upper Lake ran its own spread offense in the second half against Kelseyville last week, and with some success. Between the running and passing of quarterback James O”Connor, the Cougars were able to move the ball, but five more turnovers and a pile of penalties made it another long night.
All is not lost for Upper Lake”s football program. The junior varsity club is 4-1.
