Week six games
Friday
Middletown 40, St. Helena 0
Cloverdale 17, Clear Lake 6
Fort Bragg 49, Lower Lake 0
Willits 20, Kelseyville 16
Saturday
St. Vincent 52, Upper Lake 0
Statistical leaders
Rushing — No Lake County running back rushed for 100 or more yards for the first time this season. Clear Lake Lake”s Kevin Burt led the way with 91 yards on 15 carries against Cloverdale while Lower Lake”s E.J. Jermany had 87 yards on 15 carries against Fort Bragg. Kelseyville”s Steven Grossner added 69 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown against Willits.
Passing — Middletown”s Kyle Harmyk sliced and diced St. Helena”s secondary to the tune of a 7-for-11 night for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Clear Lake”s Ryan Richardson was 4-for-8 for 42 yards and a touchdown against Cloverdale.
Receiving — Middletown”s John Wesley Davis had three catches for 103 yards and a touchdown against St. Helena. Teammate Jake Davis had two receptions for 69 yards, one of them a 46-yard screen pass to set up a Mustang TD.
Highlights
Special teams — St. Vincent placekicker Jeff Kesler went 7-for-7 on extra-point kicks and also booted a 25-yard field goal against Upper Lake. Middletown”s Jake Davis blocked a punt.
Defense — Middletown”s Tyler Hicks and Upper Lake”s Hunter Robinson each had a pair of sacks and Clear Lake”s Tyler Beets was credited with 1 ? sacks. Kelseyville”s Steven Grossner returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown.
Losing streak ends — Willits snapped a 15-game losing streak dating back to last season with its 20-16 win over Kelseyville in the North Central League I North opener for both teams.
Home sweet home — In three home games this year, Middletown is 3-0 and has outscored Upper Lake, St. Vincent and St. Helena by a combined 158-23. The Mustangs certainly wouldn”t mind if that trend continues at least one more home game as they host undefeated Fort Bragg on Friday night. It”s the NCL I North opener for Middletown.
Worth a wow or two ? or even three — Upper Lake High School freshman running back Ward Beecher rushed for 393 yards and five TDs in the Cougars” 34-20 win over St. Helena on Saturday in Upper Lake. The Upper Lake JVs improved to a county-best 5-1.
Gearing up for 200 — Middletown High School varsity football coach Bill Foltmer goes after his 200th career win on Friday night when Middletown (5-1) hosts Fort Bragg (6-0). Of his 199 victories to date, 180 have come at Middletown. No other county coach has won as many games as Foltmer. His counterpart on Friday, Fort Bragg”s Jack Moyer, has 213 career wins.
Self-eliminating — An Upper Lake lineman was dismissed from the team on Saturday for a verbal barrage aimed at one of the school”s coaches. Said one Upper Lake assistant after the game, “He”ll probably tell his friends he was kicked off the team. He kicked himself off.” This comes just one week after another Upper Lake player, Lance McCloud, was dismissed from the team after being ejected from his second game this season. A second ejection in any sport means you”re through.
Quantity and quality — St. Vincent senior running back Kris Farinha, a three-year varsity veteran, entered play Saturday against Upper Lake needing 139 yards to become the school”s all-time leading rusher. He almost gained that in the first quarter alone (128 yards). Farinha finished with 167 to break the old record of 2,775 yards by Ray Tamblyn (1996-98). Farinha is now at 2,804 yards and with at least four games remaining this season, should easily crack 3,000. To be fair to Tamblyn, he played only the 1997 and 1998 seasons at running back. He was a receiver his first year at St. Vincent.
Must-win game for Clear Lake — The Cards travel to St. Vincent on Saturday and will become the first Lake County team to play on the Mustangs” new artificial turf field. More importantly, the Cards, 0-1 in the South, need a win to stay in the league race. On Friday night, Cloverdale (1-0) travels to St. Helena (0-0) in the other week seven South contest.
Could be exciting in its own way — Willits at Upper Lake, also on Saturday. The Wolverines would actually have a winning streak of two if they get past the Cougars. It also might be Upper Lake”s last realistic chance for a win this season.
God does have a sense of humor — Raiders 13, Philadelphia Eagles 9.
From the Mike Hansen files — “If Tom Cable goes to jail, Al Davis won”t have to pay another head coach.”
Big Tuesday — The Middletown varsity girls” soccer team, 4-0 in the NCL I North and 12-1 overall, travels to Fort Bragg today to take on the Timberwolves. If the Mustangs win, that league title will almost be in their grasp.
This column has been … — Approved by the committee at Lower Lake.
Always fun — Longtime Kelseyville head coach Stan Weiper, now at Lower Lake, hosts his old team Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field. The series score to date is 1-1.
Cross country (NCAA Division I) — U.C. Davis” Sarah Sumpter ranks 63rd in the nation after competing Saturday in the pre-Nationals in Indiana. There were two races in all with almost 500 runners from all over the nation competing. She was 34th in the blue race.
Chernobyl, NFL version — Tennessee Titans.
It”s just a number — Was 200 wins a goal? “No. Until someone says something it never crosses my mind,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said. “Two hundred will come. I want Fort Bragg and to take that first step to being league champions. It”s not like 200 is in the back of my mind. If I coach a couple of years more 210 will come.”
Class A Dude”s Rankings
(Through Sunday)
North Coast Section Division IV Football
Great 8 Rankings
1. Ferndale (7-0) — Faces undefeated league foe Hoopa this weekend.
2. Fort Bragg (6-0) — Huge game at Middletown Friday night.
3. St. Mary”s (5-1) — Plays tough Division II Encinal Friday night.
4. Salesian (5-1) — Beat Harker 37-7.
5. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (4-2) — Should blow out Albany Friday night on the road.
6. Middletown (5-1) — Dominated St. Helena, but will have a tougher time against Fort Bragg.
7. Cloverdale (5-1) — Beat Clear Lake 17-6 and is favored to win the NCL I South.
8. Berean Christian (5-2) — Big game next weekend against a good Valley Christian team.
Notes: Everyone ranked last week won, so there was no movement. However, Valley Christian is right behind Berean Christian and they play next week. There are a few games this weekend that may decide league championships:
1. St. Mary”s at Encinal for the Bay Shore League.
2. Hoopa at Ferndale for the HDNL Little Five.
3. Fort Bragg at Middletown for the NCL I North.
