LAKE COUNTY — It”s a week 10 smorgasbord of sorts for the county”s varsity football teams as the regular season concludes with three games under the lights tonight and another on Saturday in Upper Lake.
? The Middletown Mustangs (3-0, 8-1) host the Willits Wolverines (1-2, 6-3) tonight in the North Central League I North finale for both teams. Middletown, a winner of eight straight, can wrap up the undisputed league title for a third straight year with a tie or victory while at the same time continuing its march into the postseason.
? The Kelseyville Knights (2-1, 7-2) travel to Fort Bragg tonight to take on the 8-1 Timberwolves, who are also 2-1 in the North standings. The winner finishes in sole possession of second place and will get a higher playoff seed in the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs.
? The Clear Lake Cardinals (3-6) host the Lower Lake Trojans (4-5) tonight in the final NCL I interlock game of the season. Only one South team — St. Helena — has beaten a North team (Lower Lake) — in interlock action in 2010. The Cardinals can become the second in what figures to be the final interlock game ever since league realignment will return the NCL I to an eight-team league in 2011 (Upper Lake and St. Vincent are bolting for the new NCL II). Lower Lake needs a win to snap a four-game slide and finish .500 for the season, which is a distinct improvement from the school”s back-to-back 1-9 finishes in 2008 and ”09.
? The Upper Lake Cougars (0-3, 1-8) have a chance to play a spoiler of sorts Saturday when they host the St. Helena Saints (3-0, 4-5), who enter play having already clinched a share of the South title and the league”s automatic playoff berth. A tie or victory against the Cougars would give the Saints the undisputed league championship. If Upper Lake wins, St. Helena will share the South title with Clear Lake.
Willits at Middletown
The Mustangs are catching a Willits team that is coming off a 35-0 drubbing at the hands of archrival Fort Bragg a week ago in Willits. That loss eliminated the Wolverines from the North race.
Middletown running back David Pike enters play as the county”s leading rusher (1,242 yards) even though he has only 93 carries this season. Pike set the school”s single-season record for rushing touchdowns a week ago in a 51-0 victory over Lower Lake, scoring four times to push his total to 25. The senior needs three TDs tonight to tie or four to break the county record of 28 set by Kelseyville”s Jared Holley in 1998. Pike is also approaching the county”s single-season scoring record of 188 points, also held by Holley. Pike has 158 points, ranking him third all-time behind Holley and teammate Jake Davis (164).
Kelseyville at Fort Bragg
The most intriguing game of the weekend, tonight”s North battle provides the Knights with an opportunity to move up the ladder in terms of what has been the league”s pecking order the last few seasons. While the Timberwolves couldn”t stick with Middletown, falling 38-14 at Fort Bragg three weeks ago, they haven”t come close to losing another game this season.
Kelseyville fell 56-0 to Middle-town two weeks ago, so comparative scores would seem to give the Timberwolves the edge, especially on their own turf.
The Knights could have two 1,000-yard running backs before the night is over if junior Geno Poloni (818 yards, 12 TDs) has a big game on the ground. Senior Nick Rodrigues, a standout for the Knights this season and last, reached 1,000 yards a week ago in a 44-7 victory over St. Vincent.
Kelseyville shut down St. Vincent”s passing attack last week and will likely need to do the same tonight against a solid Fort Bragg air game.
Lower Lake at Clear Lake
Clear Lake had a three-game winning streak snapped a week ago in a crushing 52-14 loss to St. Helena but can close out the regular season on a high note. While the Cardinals” record in the South standings — 3-1 — makes them playoff eligible, coach Schad Schweitzer said he”ll wait until after the game before he decides to apply for an at-large berth.
“My gut is if we win I will consider it after I look at the other teams in the field,” Schweitzer said.
Asked if there was a 50/50 chance the Cardinals would apply, he said the odds weren”t that good although he might reconsider if tonight”s game against Lower Lake goes well.
“If the kids can convince me they still want to play football, hey, why not? We”ll play one more game,” Schweitzer said. “You”ve got to respect the game. We started all of this back in June and I”ve told them that what you start, you finish. Win or lose, respect the game. I want the seniors to go out, play well and finish strong.”
Schweitzer said the Cardinals and Trojans appear to be evenly matched and he is expecting a good game.
“It could go back and forth,” he said.
Players on both teams will be wearing white wristbands to bring awareness to domestic violence and violence of all kinds, the theme of the My Strength Clubs located on campuses around the lake. Schweitzer is actively involved in that program.
“We want them (players) to become positive male role models,” Schweitzer said. “That way they can help break down the (domestic violence) cycle.”
St. Helena at Upper Lake
The Cougars aren”t going to miss the NCL I, whether it”s the South division or interlock play, and if they can somehow pull off an upset against the Saints it would be one small consolation prize in what has been a truly dreadful run over the last several seasons. On the other hand, the NCL II isn”t going to be a picnic next season with the likes of St. Vincent and Tomales in the picture. Both of those teams are accustomed to winning and have done plenty of it.
On a more positive note for the Cougars, they will enter the NCL II next season bolstered by the addition of several talented players, including running back Ward Beecher, who has 1,686 rushing yards and 22 TDs for Upper Lake”s junior varsity club.
Speaking of Upper Lake”s JVs, they bring a 3-0 league and 9-0 overall record into Saturday”s season finale against the Saints, who are also 3-0 in league and 7-2 overall. The winner captures the outright league championship.
Saturday”s contest is the final home game for Upper Lake”s seniors, including Jason Harlan, who enters play as the county”s second-leading rusher with 1,094 yards.
