LAKE COUNTY >> Isazah King carved out a place for himself in Lake County”s record books on Friday night during Lower Lake”s 40-20 North Central League I win over the Willits Wolverines at Willits High School.
Lower Lake”s senior quarterback had the game of a lifetime, rushing 31 times for 302 yards and four touchdowns and passing for 175 yards and two scores. It”s only the fifth time a Lake County player has attained 300 yards rushing in a game, and the first time it”s been done by a quarterback.
If there was a bit of irony to the game, it”s that King”s coach — Justin Gaddy — wasn”t around at the end after getting tossed by officials early in the fourth quarter for arguing what Gaddy said were non-calls for alleged late hits out of bounds by Willits players against Lower Lake players.
“It was ridiculous,” Gaddy said. “I”m going to stick up for my players no matter what.”
The ejection was just an afterthought given King”s incredible performance. A running quarterback to be sure, he also had a good night airing out the football, completing eight of 12 passes, including a pair of touchdown strikes to Brendan Maninger. King now has 1,329 yards for the season and has at least two more games to add to that total.
Following are more of the highlights and lowlights from Week 8 of the high school football regular season:
Statistics
Rushing — Pretty much Isazah King and everyone else in Week 8. King had 302 yards and four TDs, which is beyond great. Middletown”s Wyatt Hall had 84 yards on 11 carries in Middletown”s loss to Cloverdale while Kelseyville”s Robert McLean gained 78 yards on 22 carries in the Knights” 11-8 Bass Bowl victory over Clear Lake.
Passing — King led the parade again in Week 8, going 8-for-12 for 175 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Kelseyville”s Noah Lyndall went 4-for-11 for 102 yards while Middletown”s Connor Armstrong was 7-for-18 for 61 yards.
Receiving — Lower Lake”s Brendan Maninger had five catches for 120 yards and two TDs. Kelseyville”s Tyler Riewerts caught two passes for 61 yards, one setting up the Knights” lone touchdown against Clear Lake. Middletown”s Anthonie Guzman added to his county-leading totals with five catches for 41 yards.
Highlights
Special teams — Elias Alvarez booted a game-winning 36-yard field goal with no time on the clock to give Kelseyville a second straight Bass Bowl win over Clear Lake. The Knights now lead the series 3-2.
Defense — Lower Lake”s Anthony Williams led the Trojans with 11 total tackles, including two sacks, against Willits. Teammate Isazah King intercepted a pass, his fourth pick of the season. Kelseyville”s Noah Lyndall, Tyler Riewerts and Codi McGuire all had huge games against Clear Lake, Lyndall leading the way with 11 total tackles. McGuire added eight more and a fumble recovery.
Pure class, win or lose — Following his team”s bitter 25-7 defeat to Cloverdale on Friday night in Middletown, a loss that most likely knocked his team out of the hunt for the North Central League I championship, Middletown coach Bill Foltmer walked over to where the Eagles were meeting following their win and congratulated them on a great game. “I haven”t had my ass whooped like that in a long time,” Foltmer said. “Cloverdale did a great job.”
Undefeated no longer — The St. Helena Saints fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Friday night in a 35-20 loss to Fort Bragg at Fort Bragg. The result of that game combined with Cloverdale”s win over Middletown leaves the NCL I race in a three-way tie with two weeks remaining. Cloverdale, Fort Bragg and St. Helena all share the top spot at 4-1.
Congrats — To Ed and Sarah Fuchs on the birth of their 7-pound, 7-ounce daughter. Ed, the junior varsity football and wrestling coach at Lower Lake, is going to take the next couple of weeks off from coaching to help out at home.
Never give a team another chance — A defensive pass interference penalty called against Clear Lake with no time remaining gave Kelseyville one untimed down to win Friday night”s Bowl Bowl game and placekicker Elias Alvarez made the Cardinals pay by booting a 36-yard field goal into the wind to snap an 8-all tie.
Streaks — Upper Lake has lost 21 straight following its 40-0 loss Friday night at Tomales. Clear Lake has dropped five in a row.
It”s all in the county — All three Week 9 games involving Lake County teams take place in the county this coming weekend. Two Halloween games have Middletown at Clear Lake as well as Kelseyville at Lower Lake. On Saturday, Upper Lake hosts St. Vincent.
JV happenings — Middletown beat Cloverdale 33-7 to improve to 4-1 in league and 7-1 overall.
Home sweet home — Cloverdale (4-1) hosts Fort Bragg (4-1) this coming Friday and St. Helena (4-1) on Nov. 7 in its final two regular-season games, both big ones for the Eagles as far as the NCL I race is concerned.
Big week for (soccer) Knights — The Kelseyville boys” soccer team begins the final week of the regular season in sole possession of first place in the NCL I standings. Kelseyville is home today to play Lower Lake and on the road Thursday at Willits.
Seven-time champions — That would be the Middletown girls” soccer team, which wrapped up its seventh straight NCL I title with a 2-2 tie on Thursday at Cloverdale.
How low can they go? — You”re 0-7 Oakland Raiders.
Not really a concern — Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy said the Trojans aren”t likely to lose any players to grades when the grading period ends later this week. “We”re in good shape,” Gaddy said.
Speaking of Gaddy — The Trojans are 4-4 with two weeks remaining in the regular season, besting the three wins they had all of last year in Gaddy”s first season.
Title up for grabs — The winner of Saturday”s junior varsity game between St. Vincent and Upper Lake is the NCL II champion. The two teams played to a 40-40 tie on Oct. 11 in Petaluma.
Dude”s Rankings (by Ralph Gibson):
Division IV — 1. Piedmont (8-0), beat Mt. Eden, 42-24; 2. St. Mary”s (8-1), crushed St. Patrick-St. Vincent, 67-6; 3. Justin-Siena (5-3), lost to Novato, 27-0; 4. San Marin (6-2), beat Tamalpais, 44-26; 5. Del Norte (6-2), beat Eureka, 30-7; 6. Fortuna (6-2), travels to Del Norte on Friday; 7. Fort Bragg (6-2), beat St. Helena, 35-20; 8. El Molino (4-4), lost to SCL leader Analy, 34-6.
Division V — 1. Salesian (6-2), dominated Hercules, 35-7; 2. St. Bernard (7-1), beat Ferndale, 24-0; 3. St. Helena (7-1), hosts Willits on Friday; 4. Cloverdale (6-2), beat Middletown, 25-7; 5. Valley Christian (4-4), idle; 6. Middletown (5-3), plays Clear Lake in Lakeport on Friday; 7. Stellar Prep (6-2), idle; 8. Swett (7-1), beat Berean Christian, 29-7.
