LOWER LAKE >> The Lower Lake Trojans moved the ball against El Molino a week ago in a season-opening 28-6 loss to the Lions, but their offense never found the end zone.
Lower Lake head coach Justin Gaddy hopes to correct that situation as well as some other first-week deficiencies exposed by the Lions tonight when the Trojans host the Durham Trojans at Gordon Sadler Field.
In other football action tonight involving Lake County teams, most of it taking place in Lake County, the Kelseyville Knights (2-0) and Clear Lake Cardinals (2-0) are home — Kelseyville against South Fork (1-1) and Clear Lake against Upper Lake (0-2) — while the Middletown Mustangs (0-1) hit the road to play the Healdsburg Greyhounds (0-2).
Durham at Lower Lake
“It”s great when you move the ball up and down the field but you have to score points,” Gaddy said.
Lower Lake”s lone score against El Molino was a 42-yard punt return by Isazah King, the Trojans” senior quarterback who had a solid showing in his 2014 debut. King rushed for 154 yards and passed for another 48 to go along with the punt return for a touchdown.
Lower Lake trailed 14-6 early in the fourth quarter as a result of King”s long return but couldn”t get closer to El Molino, which passed for four touchdowns in the victory.
Most glaring in the loss was Lower Lake”s inconsistency, according to Gaddy, who said the team was unable to sustain a handful of promising drives against the Lions.
“We need more individuals to be involved,” Gaddy said. “We have to play better team football.”
The Trojans also hurt themselves with more than 100 yards in penalties, most of that in the first half.
Durham is off to an 0-2 start, including a 15-13 home loss last weekend to the Clear Lake Cardinals.
Gaddy said he was impressed with the play of both teams.
“Durham has a good team and they were tough against Clear Lake,” he said. “Clear Lake played great. I could see how much they”ve improved over the offseason. Winning a close game like that gives your players confidence, makes you a better team.”
Durham took a great big bite out of Lower Lake during their 2013 meeting in Durham, winning 44-20.
“They probably played their best game against us last season,” Gaddy said.
The first-game jitters that plagued the Trojans in the early going against El Molino should be gone by now, according to Gaddy, who said it”s important for Lower Lake to start fast against the Durham squad.
“We need to execute better than we did against El Molino,” Gaddy said. “If we play good football the wins and losses take care of themselves.”
As for King”s big night against El Molino, Gaddy said he expects more of the same as the season progresses.
“He”s only scratched the surface with what he can do” Gaddy said.
Middletown at Healdsburg
Middletown is coming off a 33-7 loss to Salesian, the defending section champion in Division V, while Healdsburg dropped a 13-10 battle with St. Helena a week ago. The Greyhounds are home for the second week in a row while Middletown is playing its first road game.
“Healdsburg is just a solid team,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said. “They”re always a good team to play on your preseason schedule.”
Though the loss to Salesian is now behind Middletown, Foltmer said he is “still upset with the mental mistakes” the Mustangs made against the Pride.
“We should have been in the right places and we weren”t,” Foltmer said of Middletown personnel on defense during a handful of key plays in the game. “We work hard all week to make sure we”re prepared, that we”re in the right place on different plays, and we weren”t.
“There”s nothing you can do about bigger, stronger faster,” Foltmer said of Salesian. “But there”s no excuse for not being prepared mentally. We need you to be where you need to be. That”s what we spend all week in practice going over.”
Foltmer said that”s one reason he likes to play a competitive non-league schedule, so that weaknesses are exposed and adjustments made prior to the start of league play.
“It”s not like we didn”t compete against them (Salesian),” Foltmer said. “We moved the ball. But those little mistakes are exploited by good teams and they did a good job of that.”
Middletown should run into a fairly balanced Healdsburg offense, according to Foltmer.
“They run a little more than they pass, their quarterback (Ramsey Wittke) is a good athlete, and their tailback (Chris Pedroni) is a pretty solid runner,” Foltmer said.
The Greyhounds also have what Foltmer described as a “top-notch” tight end/defensive end in Tanner Cristando.
Middletown received solid performances from senior wideout Anthonie Guzman (10 catches for 137 yards) and senior running back Wyatt Hall (five carries for 78 yards, TD) against Salesian. It was the first start in the Middletown backfield for Hall, who was named to the All-League first team as an offensive lineman in 2013.
South Fork at Kelseyville
The Kelseyville Knights can complete a perfect preseason tonight against a South Fork team coming off a 8-7 win last weekend against Calistoga. It”s also a measuring-stick type of game for the Knights because South Fork opened its 2014 schedule with a 32-0 loss to Clear Lake at Lakeport. Clear Lake and Kelseyville play late next month (Oct. 24) in the annual Bass Bowl game.
Kelseyville has piled up the points and yards in wins of 42-14 over De Anza and 41-0 over Upper Lake. Senior running back Robert McLean enters play tonight with 409 yards and four touchdowns rushing. The Knights also have scored through the air in each of their first two games, which means the days of ignoring Kelseyville”s passing game are probably over.
The Knights take next week off before opening their North Central League I schedule on Sept. 26 at St. Helena.
Upper Lake at Clear Lake
The Clear Lake Cardinals return home following a thrilling 15-13 road win against Durham, including a late goal-line stand that preserved the lead. Upper Lake played a strong first half at Kelseyville a week ago, trailing only 14-0 at the intermission.
In a battle of first-year coaches — Clear Lake”s Darin Brodnansky against Upper Lake”s Frank Gudmundson — the Cardinals are looking to enter their bye week with a 3-0 record as they prepare for a Sept. 26 league opener at home against Cloverdale. The Cougars are looking for their first win in almost two calendar years and will be trying to duplicate the moxie they demonstrated in the first half against Kelseyville, which Gudmundson said was the best half of football the Cougars have played in a long time.
Clear Lake has utilized its depth at quarterback to maximum benefit in its first two games. Tyler Dore threw three touchdown passes in a season-opening 32-0 win over Durham while Damian Lopez passed for two touchdowns a week ago against Durham.
The Cardinals mounted a nice drive to beat Durham in the fourth quarter and let their defense take it from there. Clear Lake had six sacks and forced three turnovers.
Out and about
The Fort Bragg Timberwolves (1-1) play their first home game of the season tonight against El Molino and what a home opener it should be for junior quarterback Kaylor Sullivan after his first two varsity starts, a 46-36 loss at McKinleyville and last weekend”s record-shattering performance in a 55-0 road win over Encina Prep.
Sullivan passed for eight touchdowns — all in the first half and to seven different receivers — against Encina Prep to set a state record. He did not play in the second half.
“This kid is one of the hardest working kids I”ve ever coached,” Fort Bragg coach Roy Perkins said. “He is going to maximize his abilities before he”s done.”
Sullivan, who is already drawing much attention from college scouts, went 18-for-25 for 315 yards against Encina Prep, that after going 31-for-41 for 460 yards and two TDs against McKinleyville.
“He can make every throw,” Perkins said.
Sullivan joined the varsity squad in Fort Bragg”s final regular-season game a year ago — a 28-22 win against Clear Lake in Lakeport — and also played in a 48-13 playoff loss to St. Mary”s the following week.
“I wanted him on the varsity last year but his parents weren”t sure if he was ready,” Perkins said.
Based on his first two games this season, it”s a pretty good bet he”s ready now.
Sullivan makes his Lake County debut two weeks from tonight when the Timberwolves open their NCL I schedule at Lower Lake.
