Week eight games
Friday
Middletown 42, Kelseyville 0
Willits 68, Lower Lake 18
Clear Lake 52, Upper Lake 0
Statistical leaders
Rushing — Kevin Burt of Clear Lake gained 209 yards and scored six touchdowns on only 14 carries in the Cardinals” 52-0 shutout of Clear Lake. His final carry of the night was a 98-yard touchdown. Lower Lake”s E.J. Jermany picked up 108 yards on 12 carries with a TD in a 68-18 loss to Willits. Max Dixon of Middletown had 101 yards on 12 carries and a TD in a 42-0 victory over Kelseyville.
Passing — Middletown”s Kyle Harmyk made good on 7 of 12 passes for 144 yards and two TDs against Kelseyville. Lower Lake”s Joe Taylor completed only three passes but two were touchdowns.
Receiving — Middletown”s John Wesley Davis had four catches for 88 yards and a TD. Lower Lake”s Carmari Unwuasoeze had two catches ? both touchdowns.
Highlights
Special teams — Middletown placekicker Danny Beckwith went 6-for-6 on his extra points against Kelseyville, and Clear Lake”s Brad Wasielewski went 4-for-6.
Defense — Kelseyville”s Mike Allen had two more sacks to push his Lake County-leading total to 8 1/2. Derek Larsen had two sacks for Clear Lake.
0-for-0 — Clear Lake didn”t attempt a single pass against Upper Lake, one of many measures employed by the Cardinals to try and hold down the scoring against the Cougars.
Running it up, Part II — Willits didn”t hold back for the second week in a row, following up on a 74-0 thumping of Upper Lake with a 68-18 drilling of Lower Lake. Longtime county coach Stan Weiper of Lower Lake wasn”t amused ? and that”s putting it mildly.
Numbers and more numbers — Middletown”s Jake Davis scored his 14th and 15th rushing touchdowns of the season against Kelseyville. He has 17 TDs overall. Middletown quarterback Kyle Harmyk passed for his 14th and 15th touchdowns against the Knights.
1,000 and upward — Clear Lake”s Kevin Burt needed 59 yards against Upper Lake to reach 1,000, which he had before the first quarter ended. He has 1,150 yards for the season and two games remaining to add to that total.
Playoff change — The North Coast Section Board of Managers on Thursday voted to allow up to a maximum of 16 playoff teams to participate in several sports effective immediately, thereby taking out most if not all of the decision making in terms of selecting at-large teams. If you have a winning overall record or a winning record against teams in your own division, you”ll qualify in most instances as an at-large team during the 2009-10 sports season. The change won”t affect football this season as an increase to 16 teams would add another week to the playoffs. Welcome to the NHL, where merely a pulse is needed to reach postseason play.
JV happenings — Upper Lake beat Clear Lake 8-0 to improve to 7-1 on the season. Middletown defeated Kelseyville 36-0 to improve to 6-2.
Brother act — George Novak returned an interception 48 yards in Lower Lake”s loss to Willits on Friday night. Not to be outdone, brother Mike Novak took an interception back 64 yards.
Week nine sneak peek — Willits travels to Fort Bragg on Friday looking to improve to 3-0 in the North standings. The Timberwolves need to regroup after back-to-back losses to Middletown and Cloverdale. The Wolverines have won three straight since starting 0-5. If Willits pulls off an upset, that could mean a North showdown between undefeated teams Willits and Middletown at Willits in week 10.
Congrats — Middletown”s 16-1 regular-season record in girls” soccer is the school”s best ever. The Mustangs have a playoff bye on Wednesday and will be home on Saturday to play the winner of a first-round game Wednesday between St. Helena and St. Bernard. Game time on Saturday is 7 p.m.
Best in the Big West — U.C. Davis” Sarah Sumpter, a red-shirt freshman in cross country, won the Big West Conference women”s championship on Saturday with a time of 20 minutes, 34 seconds on the 6-kilometer U.C. Riverside course. She is the first U.C. Davis athlete to achieve that honor since Davis moved up to Division I.
Three straight runs, three straight TDs — Clear Lake”s Kevin Burt scored the first of his six touchdowns against Upper Lake on a 9-yard run that capped a five-play, 46-yard drive by the Cardinals to open the game. After Burt recovered a fumble and the Cardinals took over at the Upper Lake 33, Burt scored on a 33-yard run. Moments later, Aaron Adams” interception gave Clear Lake the ball at the Cougar 9 and Burt scored on a 9-yard run.
If you”re gonna run it up ? — ? You might as well make the most of it and Willits” Dylan McGinty sure did that against Lower Lake. He rushed for four touchdowns, caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception 65 yards for another score. He also had seven two-point conversion runs.
Just for the heck of it — Coach Tom Cable of the Oakland Raiders, renaissance man (with a bad disposition).
T-ball — When Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a fastball.
Soccer thanks — To coaches Louise Owens (Middletown girls), Mike Sheets (Upper Lake girls), Cris Cortez (Clear Lake boys) and Eduardo Ledesma (Kelseyville boys) for calling in all their games this season, win, lose or draw. It”s much appreciated by your players and by myself.
Final week — Of the volleyball and cross country regular season. I can already hear the basketballs bouncing.
Look out! — For that Upper Lake boys” cross country team, both the varsity and junior varsity squads.
Statistical leaders
Class A Dude”s Rankings
North Coast Section Division IV Football Great 8 Rankings
1. Ferndale (8-0) — Should blow out St. Bernard”s at home.
2. St. Mary”s (6-2) — Crushed John Swett 42-7.
3. Salesian (7-1) — Clinched Bay League title with 40-7 win over Valley Christian.
4. Middletown (7-1) — Scored 40 or more points three weeks in a row.
5. Cloverdale (7-1) — Impressive 31-14 win over Fort Bragg.
6. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (5-3) — Lost to Encinal 55-19.
7. Fort Bragg (6-2) — Faces a resurgent Willits team that has scored 142 points in the last two games.
8. Berean Christian (6-2) — Will likely take second place in the Bay League.
