LAKEPORT — If you still haven”t fallen hook, line and sinker for Bass Bowl II, a trip to Don Owens Stadium tonight in Lakeport might be in order.
The annual rivalry game between the varsity football teams of Clear Lake and Kelseyville high schools, one that has never been short on intensity or drama, takes place tonight with opening kickoff around 8 p.m. A large crowd is expected and they”ll likely see some things they”ve never seen before, and that”s not including what might happen during the actual football game.
Konocti Vista Casino is sponsoring this year”s local version of the Super Bowl, which includes all the glitz you might expect from the biggest NFL game of the year. While the Clear Lake Cardinals (3-5) and Kelseyville Knights (0-8) aren”t exactly lighting the world of Lake County football on fire this season, the head-to-head showdown is always a fun one, with bragging rights between the two schools squarely at stake.
Through the efforts of the Bass Bowl Committee, headed by Phil Smoley, tonight”s game will feature, among other things, a tailgate party hosted by Sicily”s Restaurant at the High Street Plaza in Lakeport from 3 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., a Civil War-type artillery piece firing every time a team scores a touchdown, a giant-screen TV showing instant replays and crowd reactions, and a flyover (at approximately 6:25 p.m.) of a giant C-130 transport courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. The C-130 is nearly 100 feet long with a wingspan of 132 feet. A military color guard also will be present during the playing of the National Anthem.
The goal of the Konocti Vista Casino Bass Bowl is to raise funds for the athletic departments at both schools. A series of related Bass Bowl fundraisers have already taken place leading up to tonight”s game.
Tonight”s winner will also take possession of a large, wood-carved trophy created by master carver Mark Colp. Currently the trophy is in the possession of Kelseyville after its win last year — also at Lakeport — in the inaugural Bass Bowl.
Not to be lost in all the hype surrounding tonight”s contest is the game itself. While neither school is in the running for the NCL I title and with the Cardinals clinging to the slimmest of postseason hopes, a victory would mean a lot for both teams.
— Clear Lake”s goal of reaching .500 this season means that the Cardinals, currently at 3-5, need wins tonight and next week against Middletown to achieve that mark. Of course, the Cardinals also would like to secure a winning record in league play and a victory over Kelseyville would accomplish that goal since Clear Lake is 3-2 entering tonight. If that”s not enough, the Cardinals certainly don”t want to watch the Knights celebrate on their field with the Bass Bowl Trophy in hand for a second year in a row.
— Kelseyville is trying to avoid its worst season since 1985 (0-9) and a win tonight would take care of that. The Knights are also mired in a 10-game losing streak dating back to last season. With games remaining against Clear Lake and Lower Lake, Kelseyville has an opportunity to finish 2011 on a high note. A victory would also help senior running back Geno Poloni stay in contention for the county”s rushing title. He went over 1,000 yards last week against Middletown and enters play tonight with 1,041, just 15 yards behind Upper Lake”s Bradley Brackett (1,056).
“It”s going to be a dogfight,” Kelseyville coach Rob Ishihara said. “It will probably be a close game like most of them are. Records don”t mean much.”
Case in point was last year”s game when the heavily favored Knights held off the Cardinals 34-20.
“They gave us everything they had,” Ishihara said.
Kelseyville enters play coming off one of its best efforts of the season in a 28-25 loss to Middletown.
“We felt really good about the way we played last Friday,” Ishihara said. “That was our best game. We”ve been getting better and better the last three weeks. Hopefully if we keep that momentum going forward we will get that first win.”
And would there be anything better than getting that first win against Clear Lake in the Bass Bowl at Lakeport?
“It can”t get any sweeter than that,” Ishihara said.
While the hoopla surrounding the Bass Bowl has been a distraction for many, Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said the players haven”t been affected.
“Not for the kids, but as an AD and football coach, it”s been a bad distraction,” Meyer said. “The kids know it”s Kelseyville, not the Bass Bowl. We know what the game means to us ? and Kelseyville is 0-8, so we know what it means to them. It was a rivalry before the Bass Bowl and it”s no different now.”
While the Cardinals are a mathematical lock to finish the season with a better record than Kelseyville no matter what happens tonight, Meyer said it”s still a make-or-break kind of game for both teams regardless of what their records end up being. “If you lose, it”s just a bad feeling,” he said.
In other games tonight, Lower Lake (0-7-1) hosts Willits (7-1) while Middletown (4-4) calls on Cloverdale (1-6-1). On Saturday, the Upper Lake Cougars (5-2-1) are home against St. Vincent in NCL II action, needing a win to stay in contention for the league title.
Willits at Lower Lake
While the Trojans are coming off their best outing of the season, a 34-34 tie a week ago against Cloverdale, they”re also running into one of the NCL I”s best teams in the Wolverines, whose only lost this season came at Ukiah.
Lower Lake junior quarterback Richard Tucker can reach an individual milestone tonight. He needs 51 yards passing to reach 1,000 for the season. His closest pursuer in the county”s ranks is nearly 600 yards behind him.
Middletown at Cloverdale
Ben Pike”s successful debut at quarterback a week ago in a 28-25 win over Kelseyville was certainly a good omen for the Mustangs, who enter play 3-2 in the NCL I standings. Pike, out with an injury the first seven weeks of his junior season, passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns against the Knights.
While Middletown”s running game was pretty well bottled up by Kelseyville, the Mustangs certainly have the opportunity to get back on track against what has been a porous Cloverdale defense in 2011 (the Eagles have allowed an average of 32.8 points a game).
“Cloverdale ? they move the ball and score against everybody, but they also give up points against everybody,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said. “Hopefully our defense will play more like it did against Willits, Lower Lake and Fort Bragg. We need a lot of things to turn around and get back on track on offense and defense.”
Middletown won”t have Tyler Drew this week as he sustained an ankle injury during practice. Drew is the team”s leading rusher (668 yards, 6 TDs), its placekicker and punter.
“He”s been one of the bright spots for us this season,” Foltmer said.
Nick Hoefer will fill in at placekicker, according to Foltmer.
Foltmer said he wasn”t surprised by Pike”s strong debut at quarterback last week.
“He had a lot of help from (wide receiver Kyle) Brown,” Foltmer said. “Brown went up and got a couple of those balls that were up for grabs a little bit.”
Brown finished 161 yards on seven receptions in his first game since moving from quarterback to wideout.
St. Vincent at Upper Lake
The Upper Lake Cougars are in a must-win situation Saturday against the St. Vincent Mustangs of Petaluma if they want to remain in the hunt for a share of the NCL II title. Unless Calistoga (0-8) can upset Tomales (5-2-1) tonight, the Braves ? who own a win and a tie against Upper Lake in league play ? will clinch a tie for the championship.
Upper Lake”s road to a co-championship is a pretty simple one. The Cougars need to beat St. Vincent and Calistoga in their final two games and hope that St. Vincent can upset Tomales next week.
Upper Lake escaped Petaluma with a 46-40 victory over St. Vincent back on Oct. 15, one of the more exciting games involving a Lake County team this season. That game was played on the Mustangs” artificial turf, which lends itself to high-scoring games.
The Cougars have fullback Joey Valdez (565 yards, 6 TDs) back in the lineup after a two-week absence. Valdez was hurt late in the first half of the Oct. 15 game in Petaluma and hasn”t played since.
