HEALDSBURG >> Greg Devilbiss” defensive gem helped the Middletown Mustangs beat the Healdsburg Greyhounds 12-0 in a non-league varsity football game that was all about defense on Friday night at Recreation Park in Healdsburg.
Trailing 6-0 in the fourth quarter, Healdsburg was driving for a potential go-ahead score. On a fourth-and-goal play from the 6, Greyhounds running back Chris Pedroni turned the corner and appeared to be headed into the end zone when Devilbiss, a defensive back, brought him down at the 1-yard line.
“It was a beautiful tackle, the hit of the game,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said.
The Mustangs took over on downs and drove the ball all the way to the Healdsburg 1-yard line before a pass by Connor Armstrong (9-for-15, 138 yards) was picked off.
Middletown”s running game, bottled up the Healdsburg defense all night, finally broke loose late in the fourth quarter. Wyatt Hall gained nearly all of his team-leading 72 yards on one drive, including a 10-run touchdown run, as the Mustangs went up 12-0 in the final seconds.
“They packed the box against us,” Foltmer said of the Greyhounds. “We had almost no running game.”
Middletown took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on Anthonie Guzman”s 43-yard interception return. Guzman had his second big game as he also caught all nine of Armstrong”s completions for 138 yards.
Middletown improved to 1-1 on the season.
It was the second straight home loss for Healdsburg against a North Central League I opponent – St. Helena beat the ”Hounds 13-10 a week ago – and its third straight defeat to open the season.
In its last three meetings with Healdsburg, including one in the playoffs in 2012, the Mustangs have not allowed a single point to the Greyhounds.
In other football action Friday:
Kelseyville 21, South Fork 0
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights made it a perfect preseason by whipping the South Fork Cubs.
Kelseyville is off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season under head coach Mike McGuire and will take next week off before returning to action Sept. 26 at home against St. Helena, the league opener for both teams and the Knights” homecoming.
Kelseyville”s Robert McLean had another big night running the football with 202 yards and two TDs, bringing his season totals to 611 yards and six TDs. It was his second straight game with more than 200 yards rushing. He scored on a 41-yard run in the first quarter for the Knights” first points and capped their scoring with a 38-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Knights also scored on a 5-yard pass from Noah Lyndall to Devin Dugger in the third quarter. Elias Alvarez kicked all three extra points.
Kelseyville lost another touchdown to a penalty in the second quarter when a 74-yard Dugger run was wiped out. The Knights were flagged 14 times for 122 yards while South Fork (1-2) was penalized nine times for 100 yards.
“Penalties really took both teams out of it as far as continuity on offense,” McGuire said . “We can do better than that and we”ll be working on it.”
McGuire said he was pleased with the Knights” effort outside of the penalties.
“We went out and played aggressive football against a physical South Fork team,” he said. “We were getting some great blocks.”
The Knights rushed for 346 yards while Lyndall was 5-for-9 passing for 98 yards and no interceptions. McLean was the top receiver with three catches for 68 yards.
Clear Lake 77, Upper Lake 0
At Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals enter their bye week 3-0 after handling business against their neighbors to the north, the Upper Lake Cougars.
First-year Clear Lake coach Darin Brodnansky watched the Cardinals rush for 322 yards and eight touchdowns against the defenseless Cougars. Clear Lake used three quarterbacks, one in each of the first two quarters and another in the second half, but didn”t attempt a pass all game.
Cole Brodnansky rushed for 92 yards and three touchdowns while Deshawn White returned a kickof 98 yards for a touchdown for Clear Lake”s first points. He also had a 53-yard punt return for a score to open a 35-point second quarter as the Cardinals built a 63-0 halftime lead.
Clear Lake bottled up Upper Lake”s offense at the same time, keeping the Cougars (0-3) off the scoreboard for a third straight week.
Both teams agreed to a running clock midway through the second quarter with the score at 56-0.
“I”m very happy with the effort,” Brodnansky said. “The kids came to play and I was pleased with their attitudes and how they played the game.”
Eight different Cardinals scored touchdowns. Cole Brodnansky converted all 11 of his extra-point tries, a Lake County record for a single game.
Leon Fred recovered a pair of fumbles for Clear Lake.
