KELSEYVILLE >> Elias Alvarez kicked a 36-yard field goal with no time remaining to lift the Kelseyville Knights to a come-from-behind 11-8 win over the Clear Lake Cardinals in Bass Bowl V on Friday night at Kelseyville High School.
A defensive pass interference penalty called on Clear Lake (0-5 league, 3-5 overall) with no time left on the clock moved the ball inside Alvarez”s field goal range and gave Kelseyville one untimed down to work with before the game went into a tiebreaker scenario. Holder Noah Lyndall, the Knights” quarterback, did a good job putting down a marginal snap from center and Alvarez, kicking into the wind, watched his line drive settle just over the crossbar to snap an 8-8 tie.
“Elias has been kicking the ball great all year,” Kelseyville coach Mike McGuire said of Alvarez, who is also a key starter for the Knights” first-place boys” soccer team. “The kick made it by about a foot.”
Kelseyville (2-3, 5-3) has now won each of the last two Bass Bowl games and leads the series, which began in 2010, by a 3-2 margin.
The two teams battled deep into the game before someone finally scored. Clear Lake grabbed an 8-0 lead with 6:37 left in the third quarter on a Marty Sugimoto 5-yard run and Cole Brodnansky”s conversion run. The Cardinals” lead lasted five plays as Kelseyville came right back down the field to score on a Luis Acosta 1-yard run with 4:15 remaining in the quarter. Robert McLean added the conversion run to knot the score at 8.
Both teams had other scoring chances. Kelseyville had a long touchdown pass from Lyndall to tight end Tyler Riewerts called back on a holding penalty in the first quarter. The same two hooked up on another long pass to set up the Knights” touchdown two quarters later. Likewise, Clear Lake was driving for a score when Kelseyville”s Noah Finch picked off a pass.
“Our defense played outstanding,” McGuire said. “My two coaches Ish (Rob Ishihara) and Lou (Poloni) did a great job getting the kids ready.”
McLean finished with 78 yards on 22 carries, topping 1,000 yards for the season.
“It was a battle from start to finish,” McLean said. “The kids on both teams were warriors.”
Clear Lake coach Darin Brodnansky was not available for comment and Clear Lake statistics were not reported to the Record-Bee.
