KELSEYVILLE >> There was just one high school football game involving a Lake County school on zero week as the Kelseyville Knights and new head coach Erick Larsen fell 13-7 to De Anza of El Sobrante in the season opener for both teams on Friday night at Kelseyville. All of the county’s schools are playing this coming weekend, three of them at home and two on the road.
While only one Lake County team was actively engaged this past weekend, three of the opponents county schools will face this weekend also played on zero week – Durham (who Clear Lake hosts on Friday night) beat Williams 22-14 at Williams; Healdsburg (who Kelseyville visits on Friday night) dropped a 55-42 barnburner at Drake; and El Molino (who Lower Lake hosts on Friday night) fell 30-6 to Willits on a neutral field at Windsor High School.
Coming up on Saturday are two more openers as Middletown travels to Richmond to take on Salesian while Upper Lake makes its eight-man football debut against Rincon Valley Christian in Santa Rosa.
Following are some of the highlights and lowlights from zero week:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Devin Dugger gained 76 yards on only nine carries while backfield mate Manny Sanchez added 75 yards on 18 carries. Quarterback Noah Lyndall scored on a 3-yard keeper, stretching to reach the goal line, for the Knights’ only points.
Passing — Under pressure all night long, Lyndall went 1-for-8 for 22 yards.
Receiving — Sophomore Kyle Moore of Kelseyville caught the first pass of his varsity career, good for 22 yards.
Special teams
Kicking — Jovanny Lopez made good on his only extra-point try for Kelseyville.
Highlights
Sack attack — Kelseyville quarterback Noah Lyndall was dropped six times by the De Anza defense. The Knights had just one sack, that by Aaron Teal.
Costly penalties — The Knights were flagged five times for 45 yards and three of those infractions really hurt. An intentional grounding penalty helped set up one De Anza score while two fourth-down penalties on the same De Anza drive — one for roughing the kick and the other for offsides — allowed the Dons to chew precious time off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Tale of two halves — Kelseyville gained 148 net yards in the first half against De Anza but only five in the second half with no first downs.
Sticky fingers — Neither Kelseyville or De Anza committed a turnover although the Knights had a scare in the second half when they nearly lost the handle on a kickoff return.
Scrimmage time — Middletown, Lower Lake, Clear Lake and Gridley participated in a scrimmage on Friday night at Middletown High School, a trial run of sorts before their season openers this weekend. Veteran Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer was impressed with the Mustangs’ play. “I think we did pretty good, it’s one of the better ones (scrimmages) we’ve had in a while.” Added Foltmer. “I expected for us to play well because we have a veteran line and they should be a little ahead of the younger teams. The line did play well.” Foltmer gave high marks to quarterback Connor Armstrong and halfback Drew Coleman as well as veterans Stephen Amos and Wyatt Jones. As for Lower Lake and Clear Lake, Foltmer said Lower Lake’s new quarterback, sophomore Hokulani Wickard, did a good job. “He’s a lot more athletic than I thought.” In regard to Clear Lake, Foltmer said, “They have some talent and some tough kids.” Middletown came out of the scrimmage with no injuries, according to Foltmer. In terms of numbers, Foltmer said Middletown and Lower Lake were around 17-19 players while Clear Lake was in the neighborhood of 16. “Numbers are down all around,” he added.
Knocked out early — Kelseyville lost a key component to its offense and especially its defense early against De Anza when tight end/defensive end Tyler Riewerts had to leave the game with a knee injury.
The ice man — Kelseyville athletic director Scott Conrad delivered a much-needed back of ice for an ailing back on Friday prior to the start of the game. It didn’t go to a player but to the Record-Bee’s sports editor … and was much appreciated.
Some scheduling notes — Because Kelseyville played on zero week, the Knights will have a bye the weekend of Sept. 11-12. Upper Lake will have a bye on Sept. 26 because Round Valley has folded its eight-man football program. It will save the Cougars a long trip to the garden spot that is Covelo.
Almost as physical as football — El Molino’s 4-3 girls’ soccer victory over Middletown on Thursday. The Lions scored three times on penalty kicks.
That’ll leave a mark … or two — Fort Bragg routed South Fork 54-8 on Friday behind a school-record 480 yards passing from senior quarterback Kaylor Sullivan, who completed 32 of 46 passes, including seven touchdowns (all in the first three quarters). He broke his previous single-game record of 462 while completing passes to 10 different receivers. On Saturday afternoon, St. Helena blitzed St. Vincent 55-6 in Petaluma.
No JV game — Kelseyville and De Anza did not play a junior varsity game on Friday, so the JV Knights make their season opener Friday night against Healdsburg at Recreation Park.
JV results — JV coaches are welcome to report the results of their games to the Record-Bee sports desk at 900-2018. Scores and highlights should be phoned in between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday for inclusion in Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s edition. As always, reported scores will be published. If you’re not seeing them, they weren’t reported … and it’s just as simple as that.
