LAKE COUNTY >> It has been a week of destruction in Lake County because of the Valley Fire, but football games will go on tonight and Saturday as teams — with the notable exception of Middletown — return to the gridiron with heavy hearts.
Many Middletown High School athletes and coaches lost their homes to the firestorm that engulfed southern Lake County last weekend and continues to rage — now at 73,700 acres and 35-percent containment. Many others are still waiting word on the fate of their homes. No school in the county has escaped this week unscathed. Players and coaches at Lower Lake, Kelseyville, Clear Lake and Upper Lake have been affected to some degree. Many, especially those from Lower Lake and Kelseyville, were displaced from their homes because of mandatory evacuations. While many have returned home to the Rivieras, those residing on Cobb Mountain are unable to go back because of the danger the Valley Fire still poses to that area.
In games tonight, all out of the county, Kelseyville (0-2) visits South Fork (1-1) while Lower Lake (2-0) travels to Elsie Allen (0-2) in non-league action. In a North Central League I opener, Clear Lake (0-2) calls on Fort Bragg (3-0). The location of the Clear Lake-Fort Bragg game was changed from Lakeport to Fort Bragg because of the Valley Fire. In Saturday action, Upper Lake (1-1) hosts Potter Valley (0-2) in a NCL III game.
Middletown’s game tonight at home with El Molino has been canceled and there is no word yet on whether the Mustangs’ league opener Sept.25 at Lower Lake will be played. Middletown players are scattered across several counties right now and the Middletown Unified School District hasn’t announced when school will resume because of the damage caused by the fire, one that threatened many but spared all of the district’s schools. All of the communities that make up the MUSD — Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake and Cobb — remain under mandatory evacuation.
Kelseyville at South Fork
“It’s made it a little bit tough,” Kelseyville coach Erick Larsen said of the week leading up to the South Fork game. “A number of our kids have been displaced … a few from Cobb and the Rivieras. No player lost a home but a few had a scare. My heart goes out to all those who lost homes. It’s such a tragedy.”
Dwayne Yiggins, a transfer player, makes his Kelseyville debut against South Fork. The fullback/safety should give the Knights another legitimate running threat, complimenting Manny Sanchez in the backfield.
“He’s given us more depth and should help out Manny back there by spreading the workload,” Larsen said.
Tight end/defensive end Tyler Riewerts is nearly 100 percent after sustaining a knee injury against De Anza in the Knights’ first game in late August, but likely won’t see action.
“We don’t want to risk him,” Larsen said with an eye toward the Knights’ league opener Sept. 25 at home against Willits.
Lower Lake at Elsie Allen
“We’ve had a few kids and coaches affected as well as many friends and family,” Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy said of the Valley Fire. “I’ve had a number of kids helping out at the Moose Lodge (evacuation center in Clearlake Oaks). I’m proud of them for doing that.”
Added Gaddy of his players, “It’s important to get them back to some sense or normalcy. Practice can do that. It’s good to be able to focus on football, get back with friends and try to block out all the negative things happening right now.”
The Trojans, off to their best start since 2010, can complete a perfect preseason with a victory over the winless Lobos.
“They are a very athletic group with a quarterback who is athletic and shifty. If he gets out in space he can do some damage,” Gaddy said.
“We need to make the right decisions on defense and be disciplined,” he added.
Starting quarterback Hokulani Wickard, who banged up his knee in a 21-14 home win against Healdsburg last week, will make the start.
Gaddy said the events in the south county have made it especially hard to focus on football. Many of those who lost homes in the Valley Fire are his coaching friends.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through that,” Gaddy said. “I feel so bad for Middletown.”
Clear Lake at Fort Bragg
The Clear Lake Cardinals will get to see Fort Bragg quarterback Kaylor Sullivan up close and personal tonight at Timberwolf Stadium. The senior quarterback is three games into the season and has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. He’s completed 75 of 124 passes for 1,051 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. By comparison, the Timberwolves have rushed for just 254 yards.
“With the passing game they have, it’s going to be tough,” Clear Lake coach Darin Brodnansky said. “We’ve worked a lot on our coverage packages.”
The change of venue only makes it tougher for the Cardinals, according to Brodnansky.
“They are always tougher over there. Roy does a great job with that team.”
Lucas Triplett is Sullivan’s favorite target. He has 24 catches for 396 yards and six TDs.
Like other Lake County teams, Clear Lake’s week in practice has been far from normal.
“Smoke has put a damper on a couple of days of practice,” Brodnansky said. “It’s been a short week with kids displaced. We’re just trying to do the best we can. We have a lot of kids who have been helping out (with the fire relief effort).”
Potter Valley at Upper Lake
The Upper Lake Cougars, flattened a week ago by the Calistoga Wildcats 54-16, are looking for a bounceback game Saturday at home against the Potter Valley Bearcats.
Though they came out of the Calistoga game relatively injury free, Upper Lake head coach Frank Gudmundson said the Cougars’ egos took a real beating following a season-opening 36-20 victory over Rincon Valley Christian.
“The greatest thing is that game happened early in the season, so we can correct some of the things that went wrong,” Gudmundson said. “I think we’ve responded well in practice this week. You probably will see a little more progress in our running game this week.”
Isaac Nevarez, primarily a wide receiver in weeks one and two, will move into the Upper Lake backfield this week and should see a handful of carries, according to Gudmundson.
The Cougars also need to see improvement from their wide receivers.
“The wideouts weren’t running their routes last week … they were lazy. We’ve corrected that,” Gudmundson said. “We have a quarterback who will get them the ball as long as they don’t give up on their routes.”
Derek Pritchard, a junior transfer, has six touchdown passes in his first two Upper Lake appearances.
“He does a great job of extending the play. He moves inside the pocket very well.”
Potter Valley is primarily a running team, much like Calistoga, and is led by senior running back Tyler Giuntini.
Upper Lake will honor Middletown and all the fire victims in the south county by wearing “Middletown Strong” decals on their helmets. The varsity-only game kicks off at 1 p.m.
