SANTA ROSA >> The Lower Lake Trojans not only won in style on Friday night, but they also dressed for it.
Wearing purple and gold socks to honor the Middletown Mustangs, who were unable to play El Molino on Friday because of the devastation wrought by the Valley Fire on the towns of Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake and Cobb last weekend, the Trojans hammered the Elsie Allen Lobos 52-0 in a non-league game that gives Lower Lake a perfect 3-0 preseason and matches its best start since 1997.
“It was important for us to do something for Middletown,” said Lower Lake head coach Justin Gaddy, who is friends with many of those left homeless by the fire, one that has destroyed nearly 600 homes, killed at least three people, and continues to burn with nearly 74,000 acres already consumed. “A couple of our parents went out and bought all the gold and purple socks they could find.”
Sophomore quarterback Hokulani Wickard passed for 151 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as the Trojans rolled to a 20-0 lead after one quarter and a 46-0 halftime advantage.
Lower Lake’s offense proved every bit as lethal on the ground. Nick Sani rushed for a pair of touchdowns, one of them on an 84-run right before halftime, while Wickard, Eric Egger and Robert Calderon ran for one TD each. The Trojans totaled more than 400 yards of rushing offense and Egger (155 yards), Sani (127 yards) and Calderon (107) all topped the century mark.
“It was nice to go out there and play, especially with everything that happened this week,” Gaddy said of the many distractions caused by the Valley Fire. “We went out there and played football. It’s the first time I saw the players trust in each other and we played as a team.”
Marlon Jones led the Trojans’ receiving corps with three catches for 94 yards and two TDs, and Kono Geary caught another.
Lower Lake is scheduled to open its league schedule at home next Friday against the Middletown Mustangs, who may begin practicing next week.
In other action Friday:
Kelseyville 28, South Fork 13
At Miranda, the Kelseyville Knights provided first-year coach Erick Larsen with his first high school win as new addition Dwayne Yiggins rushed for 106 yards and a TD.
“Dwayne is a hard runner,” Larsen said. “He adds something special to our depth and to our team.”
Devin Dugger also had a productive night for Kelseyville as he caught a 41-yard TD pass from Noah Lyndall for the first points of the game. He scored again later in first quarter on a 29-yard run to make it 14-0 as Giovanni Ruiz tacked on the extra point.
Yiggins and Kyle Moore, the Knights’ lone sophomore, scored on short runs in the fourth quarter to push Kelseyville’s lead to 28-7. South Fork scored late in the second quarter to make it 14-7 and again late in the fourth quarter.
“For the team it was really nice after a week of a lot of distractions (because of the Valley Fire) and having it rough,” Larsen said. “I feel like we played a complete game.”
Kelseyville returns home next Friday night to play the Willits Wolverines in the league opener for both teams.
Fort Bragg 53, Clear Lake 6
At Fort Bragg, led by quarterback Kaylor Sullivan, who passed for five touchdowns, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves improved to 4-0 on the season by routing the Clear Lake Cardinals in the North Central League I opener for both teams.
Clear Lake (0-1 league, 0-3 overall) did manage to score its first offensive touchdown of the season, that coming on a 25-yard pass from Tyler Dore to Stevie Diaz in the first quarter, cutting Fort Bragg’s lead to 13-6. However, the Cardinals couldn’t sustain any type of momentum because of eight turnovers, three of them coming inside Fort Bragg’s 10-yard line.
“My kids came to play, but we just shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Clear Lake coach Darin Brodnansky said.
Fort Bragg led 39-6 at halftime.
Clear Lake had less than 100 yards of total offense. Dore passed for 77 yards but was picked off five times. Austin Davis had two catches for 47 yards.
