WILLITS — Even with a depleted roster, the Lower Lake Trojans managed to stick around most of the game Friday night before falling 34-18 to the Willits Wolverines on a chewed up Maize Field in Willits.
It was the third straight loss for Lower Lake”s varsity football team, which fell to 0-3 in the North Central League I North standings and 4-4overall . Willits squared its North record at 1-1 while improving to 6-2.
“The field was just horrible,” Lower Lake coach Stan Weiper said of the muddy conditions. “It neutralized our speed pretty well.”
Willits led 18-0 at halftime. Lower Lake closed to 18-6 in the third quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Devante Scott to Jeff Davis and the score remained unchanged until late in the period when the Wolverines pushed their advantage to 26-6.
The Trojans made it interesting with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the first on a Scott 56-yard pass to Alphonzo Daniels, the next on a Jack O”Hara 3-yard run, but the Wolverines” lead was never in jeopardy.
“I thought we played pretty well with the kids we had in there,” Weiper said. “We hung in there pretty tough. It could have been worse.”
The Trojans lost four starters to injuries a week earlier in a 60-18 loss to Kelseyville. Among those hurt was running back E.J. Jermany, one of the team”s top rushers.
Each of Willits” first four touchdowns came on runs.
Scott finished with 30 yards rushing and was 3-for-9 for 88 yards passing. Daniels had two catches for 64 yards.
Each team lost two fumbles on the chewed up field, which hosted a soccer doubleheader on Thursday.
“It was real tough sledding out there,” Weiper said. “And it made it that much tougher for our defense against that toss offense they run.”
Lower Lake recovered all of the onside kicks that followed Willits touchdowns.
“We got every one,” Weiper said. “That wasn”t a factor. And they (Wolverines) were gracious in the fourth quarter.”
Lower Lake”s junior varsity team won 6-0 after recovering a Willits fumble deep in Wolverines territory in the final seconds.
