Week nine games
Friday
Middletown 53, Lower Lake 0
Clear Lake 27, St. Helena 3
Saturday
St. Vincent 35, Kelseyville 12
Cloverdale 69, Upper Lake 0
Statistics
Rushing — Kevin Burt of Clear Lake rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals” win over St. Helena. Ryan Lunas, also of Clear Lake, had 107 yards and a TD. Middletown”s Max Dixon carried the football only twice and gained 98 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown run, in a win over Lower Lake. Morgan Nelson of Kelseyville had 83 yards and a TD on 18 carries in a loss to St. Vincent. Teammates Nick Rodrigues and Steven Grossner added 81 and 71 yards, respectively.
Passing — Middletown”s Kyle Harmyk went 7-for-11 for 125 yards and a touchdown against Lower Lake. Kelseyville”s Mike Allen went 6-for-11 for 56 yards and a TD, his first of the season.
Receiving — Middletown”s John Wesley Davis had three catches for 69 yards.
Highlights
Special teams — Middletown”s Danny Beckwith once again had plenty of extra-point practice, going 5-for-8 against Lower Lake. Kelseyville”s Steven Grossner had kickoff returns of 34 and 31 yards to give the Knights good starting field position on each of their first two possessions against St. Vincent.
Defense — Clear Lake defensive back Ryan Richardson intercepted two passes against St. Helena. The Cardinals” secondary had four interceptions overall. Kelseyville”s Mike Allen logged another sack against St. Vincent, raising his county-leading total to 9 1/2.
Streaks — Middletown has won eight in a row and Upper Lake has lost eight in a row. Willits” three-game winning streak was tossed to the curb in a 56-6 loss to Fort Bragg (and no, the Timberwolves didn”t run up the score).
NCL I North finish — Middletown (3-0) needs a win or a tie against Willits on Friday night in Willits to wrap up the undisputed North title, which would almost certainly secure the Mustangs a top-four seeding in the Division IV playoffs. In the event Willits (2-1) upsets Middletown and Kelseyville upsets Fort Bragg (2-1), Willits would be the automatic playoff team out of the NCL I North. The third scenario involves a three-way tie — Willits beats Middletown and Fort Bragg defeats Kelseyville.
NCL I South finish — The winner of Friday”s game in Cloverdale between the host Eagles (3-0) and the visiting St. Vincent Mustangs (3-0) wins it all.
I wonder why? — If you”re wondering why the North Coast Section decided to open the playoffs to a maximum of 16 teams in most divisions of most sports, one coach offered me this answer. “Nine dollars a ticket, that”s why. More teams means more money and that”s all they”re interested in.”
Speaking of expensive NCS playoff tickets — Don”t blame the host school, they”re just doing what the NCS dictates. They don”t see any of that money.
Congrats — Montgomery”s Jason Franci is now the Redwood Empire”s all-time career leader in football victories with 218.
Kudos — To the Clear Lake and Middletown girls” soccer teams for reaching the semifinal round of the Division III playoffs. Clear Lake takes on No. 1 seed Sonoma Academy on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Santa Rosa High School, and Middletown plays No. 2 seed St. Vincent on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. Clear Lake was the No. 12 seed in the 12-team field and has beaten the No. 5 seed (Fort Bragg) and the No. 4 seed (Ferndale) to reach the semis.
One-dimensional — St. Helena”s offense, once a multi-pronged attack, has been reduced to one serious threat, fullback Ezequiel Valdivia, an impressive runner. Valdivia gained 97 yards on 26 carries against Clear Lake. He”s a battering ram much like Clear Lake”s fullback, Ryan Lunas.
Believe it or not — Under the NCS” new playoff policy, Upper Lake could finish the season 1-9 and still qualify for the Division V playoffs because it went 1-1 against Division V teams during the season ? beating Potter Valley and losing to St. Vincent. Cue the laugh track.
JV update — Upper Lake”s JVs beat Cloverdale 16-0 on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in the South standings and 8-1 overall. They close out their season with a big league game on Friday night in St. Helena against the Saints, who are 3-0 in the South and 9-0 overall. Yep, it”s the JV game of the season.
Best run of the year — St. Vincent”s Kris Farinha danced his way sideways through a maze of Kelseyville players, before bursting up the sideline for a 68-yard touchdown in the second quarter Saturday in Petaluma. It”s asily one of the top-five runs I”ve witnessed in 30 years of covering high school football.
Thanks — To St. Vincent”s Gary von Raesfeld for his help during the course of the season. Von Raesfeld is the stats guru for the Mustangs and he prepares a detailed summary each week — three pages worth of notes for the Kelseyville game this past weekend. It”s appreciated.
Almost there — Clear Lake”s Kevin Burt needs five yards on Friday night in Lower Lake to become the school”s single-season rushing leader. He”s also closing in on the career yardage mark held by former standout Ronnie Cruz.
Hey, don”t blame me, I just count ”em up ? Upper Lake has allowed 479 points in nine games.
Dead heat — Clear Lake”s Kevin Burt and Middletown”s Jake Davis each have 16 rushing TDs this season.
42nd in the nation at 6 kilometers — Sarah Sumpter, U.C. Davis cross country.
Same old Alex Smith ? — ? and same old 49ers.
First call for basketball — The 16th annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic takes place the week of Dec. 14-19 at Lower Lake High School”s new gym.
Bill Foltmer update — 202 victories and counting. They might even keep this guy around at the rate he”s going.
He”s not an easy grader — Clear Lake coach Schad Schweitzer gave his team a “B” after its 27-3 win over St. Helena.
From Cloverdale to AT&T Park in ? — If Mike Hansen is driving, about 90 minutes. Also known in Star Trek as Warp Factor One.
Taking it back ? twice — Middletown”s Dustin Clark and Ryan Johnson returned interceptions for touchdowns against Lower Lake.
Frown — The Record-Bee didn”t receive any Lower Lake statistics this week.
Winter sports under way — Basketball and wrestling practice started Monday.
Veterans rock — Veterans Day is Wednesday, so thanks to all the men and women who have worn the uniform in peacetime and wartime, but especially all the combat veterans.
