LOWER LAKE — Quarterback Ryan Richardson rushed for three touchdowns and running back Kevin Burt set Clear Lake”s single-season rushing record Friday night as the Cardinals used a 20-point second quarter to pull away from the Lower Lake Trojans in a 44-16 North Central League I interlock varsity football win at Lower Lake.
Clear Lake (6-4) gained all 507 of its yards on the ground, attempting just one pass. The Cardinals will advance to next week”s North Coast Section Division IV playoffs as an at-large team but won”t know until Sunday who, when and where they”re playing.
“We were able to do pretty much what we wanted after the first quarter,” Clear Lake coach Schad Schweitzer said.
Ryan Lunas led the Cardinals with 180 yards on 15 carries and a TD. Burt, who needed five yards to break the single-season school record set by Elijah Calder with 1,298 in 1998, got that and more on his first carry, which went for 15 yards. He ended up with 141 and now has 1,435 on the season. He also scored twice, his 17th and 18th rushing touchdowns of the season.
“We took the ball out of play so that he could keep it,” Schweitzer said of Burt”s record-setting carry.
Lower Lake led 8-7 after one quarter on the strength of a E.J. Jermany 3-yard run and a two-point conversion pass.
But the Cardinals took control in the second quarter, outscoring Lower Lake 20-0 for a 27-8 halftime lead. All three of Clear Lake”s touchdowns in the quarter were the result of Richardson runs of 4, 12 and 2 yards.
“We let the car warm up before we went full throttle,” Schweitzer said.
Burt scored on a 44-yard run in the first quarter and on a 33-yard run in the second quarter.
Jermany finished with 115 yards rushing for Lower Lake, which closes out its second straight season at 1-9.
“We have 15-16 players returning next season and it”s going to get better,” said Lower Lake coach Stan Weiper, who led the Trojans to the North championship in his first season at the school (2007).
