UPPER LAKE — No one enjoyed himself more at Upper Lake”s homecoming on Saturday afternoon than did Kris Farinha.
In fact, if not for one small detail, the senior running back would have made a perfect homecoming king. Farinha, a three-year varsity veteran, plays for the St. Vincent Mustangs of Petaluma, 52-0 winners over the Cougars in the North Central League I South opener for both of these varsity football teams on a pleasant autumn day on the Northshore.
Upper Lake”s fifth straight one-sided loss, three of those coming on the Cougars” home turf, played out like most of those before it … the game was over almost before it began.
Farinha rushed for 128 of his 167 yards in the first quarter as St. Vincent rolled to a 28-0 lead. His 61-yard scoring run with 2:20 left in the opening period was a one-play drive as the Mustangs went up 21-0. He also scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter as St. Vincent went up 35-0.
Entering play, Farinha needed 139 yards to become the school”s career rushing leader. He passed Ray Tamblyn (2,775 yards), also a three-year varsity player but a running back for only two of his three seasons in the late 1990s.
“It”s hard to compare them because Ray started out as a wide receiver and he was so good teams used to double- and triple-team him, so we moved him to running back his junior year,” St. Vincent coach Gary Galloway said. “But Kris is one of the best backs I”ve ever had. He”s very good.”
Farinha now has 2,804 yards and should be a lock to pass 3,000 with at least four games remaining.
While the Mustangs certainly aren”t the team they were a year ago when they came within a whisker of qualifying for the state championship game, Galloway said his 2009 unit can still score points.
“And we can score fast, so I think we”re still a dangerous team,” Galloway said.
In an NCL I South race that is again shaping up to be a four-team tussle between St. Vincent, Clear Lake, Cloverdale and St. Helena, Galloway said, “We”re not overlooking anybody. Our only focus now is getting ready for Clear Lake.”
St. Vincent”s new artificial turf field is one more source of pride for the Mustangs, who will host a Lake County team for the first time Saturday when the Cardinals visit. The field is in nearly the same location as the old grass field, but has shifted a bit to the east.
“The kids are very excited about having the new field,” Galloway said. “We had that downpour last Tuesday, there were a couple of soccer games on it and we also practice on it, and there”s no wear and tear. There is a lot of enthusiasm.”
St. Vincent scored on each of its first two possessions, both times on pass plays, to open up a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Josh Wheless connected with Nick Eastham for an 11-yard score and then hooked up with Michael Meiswinkel on a 10-yard strike.
After the first of Farinha”s two touchdown runs made it 21-0, the Mustangs took advantage of a fumbled punt snap by the Cougars to go up 28-0. Jeff Matthews scooped up the ball and returned it eight yards for a touchdown.
Upper Lake gambled on a fourth-and-12 from its own 20 minutes later and turned the ball over on downs when Mike Cox”s pass fell incomplete. The Mustangs found themselves in a fourth-and-16 hole a few plays later, but they converted as Farinha carved through the Cougar defense for a 19-yard gain. He scored on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line four plays later to make it 35-0.
Another Upper Lake punt adventure with just seconds remaining in the first half — the Cougars recovered their own fumbled punt snap at their own 14 — led to a 25-yard Jeff Kesler field goal with 2.5 seconds left.
While Upper Lake”s defense struggled mightily to stop either Farinha or the Mustangs” passing game, the offense fared little better. After picking up a first down on their first offensive possession, the Cougars didn”t have another first down until their final possession of the third quarter. That”s when quarterback James O”Connor scrambled six yards on third-and-five to move the ball to the St. Vincent 39, the Cougars” deepest penetration into Mustangs territory to that point. O”Connor completed an eight-yard pass to Mark Umalin before he was intercepted.
St. Vincent”s reserves took over midway through a scoreless third quarter and ended up punching the ball into the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, both times on runs by Farinha”s backup, junior running back Connor Ciocci.
St. Vincent outgained Upper Lake 346-71.
“I thought we defended it OK,” Upper Lake coach Airic Guerrero said of St. Vincent”s spread offense. “We just couldn”t tackle it. We had the kids in the right places, but they”re not making tackles.”
That was pretty evident on a handful of occasions, most notably Farinha”s 61-yard scoring run in the first quarter when Upper Lake player after player made feeble attempts to bring him down.
Guerrero said the Cougars were also unable to interrupt a season-long plague of turnovers (four) and penalties (95 yards worth). One of those infractions wiped out a long run by Upper Lake.
“We keep doing the same stupid things,” Guerrero said.
O”Connor was the only offense Upper Lake had as he rushed for a team-best 32 yards and passed for another 24.
Upper Lake lost another lineman early in the game for disciplinary reasons.
With four games left in their season, Guerrero said his plan for the remainder of the year is pretty simple.
“I”m just going to take the kids who want to play,” he said.
