LAKE COUNTY >> You couldn’t have written a better script for the Upper Lake Cougars in 2015. OK, so maybe that’s not quite true. A better one would have them beating Anderson Valley on Saturday in the Redwood Bowl at Upper Lake High School.
Upper Lake (7-1) and Anderson Valley (7-1), co-champions of the North Central League III, an eight-man football league, square off Saturday at 2 p.m. at Upper Lake High School in the season finale for both teams. The Redwood Bowl doesn’t affect either team’s league standing – they’ll still be league champions win or lose — but is the NCL III’s way of rewarding its top two finishers for a job well done.
Ironically, it was the Cougars who handed the Panthers their lone league loss, 34-22, on Oct. 10 at Upper Lake. It might not sound like it, but that’s a relatively low-scoring and defense-dominated game by NCL III standards.
The Cougars have Point Arena to thank for their Redwood Bowl trip. Had the Pirates not defeated Calistoga 48-26 on Friday night in Calistoga, the NCL III race would have ended in a three-way tie and it would have been Calistoga and Anderson Valley meeting in the Redwood Bowl at Calistoga by virtue of a number-draw tiebreaker. Instead, the Cougars are not only in the game, but they’re hosting it.
Just a note for those who plan on attending the final chapter of Upper Lake’s worst-to-first turnaround this season. The game, originally set to kick off at 1 p.m., will kick off at 2 p.m. instead.
Following are other highlights and lowlights from Week 9 of the 2015 football season:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Dwayne Yiggins carried the ball 12 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the Knight’s 26-6 Bass Bowl VI victory over Clear Lake. Coleman Drew’s 95 yards and TD helped Middletown score a huge 13-0 road win against Cloverdale. Lower Lake quarterback Hokulani Wickard rushed for both of Lower Lake’s scores in a losing cause against Wilits, 14-12.
Passing — Lower Lake’s Hokulani Wickard completed 12 of 29 passes of 191 yard and an interception that was returned by Willits for a touchdown. Clear Lake’s Tyler Dore went 7-for-20 for 120 yards and a TD with three interceptions. Kelseyville’s Logan Barrick completed only two passes against Clear Lake, but both went for touchdowns — 49 and 22 yards.
Receiving — Lower Lake’s Kono Geary caught five passes for 73 yards and teammate Ethan Watson had three catches for 59 yards against Willits. Clear Lake’s Frankie Sturr caught the first touchdown pass of his high school career for the Cardinals’ only points against Kelseyville. It came on a 55-yard reception in the third quarter.
Special teams
Onside kick — Kelseyville recovered an onside kickoff to open the second half against Clear Lake in Bass Bowl VI and went on to score a touchdown for a 20-0 lead. Elias Alvarez, who recovered his own onside kick, also made his only two extra-point tries in the Knights’ victory over the Cardinals.
Highlights
Bass Bowl bragging rights — Kelseyville has the first three-game winning streak in the history of the Bass Bowl series, which began in 2010. The Knights now own a 4-2 overall series lead.
Sack attack — Clear Lake sacked Kelseyville quarterback Logan Barrick three times, including on consecutive plays late in the second quarter as Cody Dillsaver did the honors both times.
Pitching a shutout — Middletown defensive back Gabe Guzman played Cloverdale 6-foot-6 wide receiver Marcus Poe in man-to-man coverage all night and didn’t let him catch a single pass.
Bending allowed — Cloverdale drove inside the red zone three times against Middletown, twice moving the ball inside Middletown’s 5-yard line, but came away with a grand total of zero points. “We majorly bent but didn’t break,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said.
Streaks — With its 2-0 forfeit win over Laytonville on Saturday, the Upper Lake Cougars have now won six in a row. Clear Lake has dropped three straight.
Week 10 is all in the county — The final week of the 2015 regular season has Clear Lake at Middletown and Lower Lake at Kelseyville. Whether or not Clear Lake will have enough players to field a varsity team against the Mustangs remains to be seen. Stay tuned.
Times two — Gideon Turner not only caught a touchdown pass in Kelseyville’s Bass Bowl win over Clear Lake, but he intercepted two passes. Lower Lake’s Virgil Ellis recovered two fumbles against Willits.
Down to the wire — Lower Lake considered attempting a potential game-winning field goal but instead opted to go for it on a fourth-and-one play at the Willits 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter on Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field. Willits stuffed the run, took over on downs and ran out the clock in its 14-12 victory. Lower Lake kicker Kristen Celli made a short field goal earlier this season.
Knocked out of first — Middletown’s junior varsity club fell 21-19 at Cloverdale, a loss that knocked the Mustangs out of a first-place tie in the league standings. Kelseyville and Willits, both 5-1, remain tied for the league lead.
Run, run, run — Kelseyville amassed 340 rushing yards against Clear Lake.
Tens are wild — With 10:10 left in the game, the Clear Lake Cardinals had only 10 players remaining as Jake Jackson was forced from Bass Bowl VI with a badly dislocated thumb. Clear Lake began the night with only 12 players in uniform and lost one to an injury early on. Kelseyville agreed to play with 10 players the rest of the way and a running clock was used.
First league win — Kelseyville registered its first league win for first-year coach Erick Larsen.
Escaping the cellar — The winner of Friday night’s game between visiting Lower Lake (1-5) and Kelseyville (1-5) will take a step up from the North Central League I basement.
Non-football kudos — The Kelseyville and Middletown boys’ and girls’ soccer teams open play in the North Coast Section playoffs this week. The Kelseyville boys and Middletown girls are league champions.
14-0? — Kelseyville’s varsity volleyball team can run the NCL I table with wins in its final two league matches this week. The Knights are home tonight against Middletown and on the road Thursday against Clear Lake. A win in either match or a St. Helena loss tonight against Clear Lake gives Kelseyville the undisputed league championship. Clear Lake’s JV volleyball team needs wins against St. Helena and Kelseyville to finish 14-0.
T’wolves are howling — In a battle of undefeated teams, Fort Bragg beat St. Helena 27-14 on Friday night in St. Helena. The Timberwolves (6-0, 9-0) face another tough test this Friday at home against Cloverdale (4-2, 7-2). St. Helena (5-1, 8-1) closes at Willits and will be rooting for a Cloverdale upset.
Relentless — Kansas City Royals.
Refreshing — Oakland Raiders.
Remarkable — Golden State Warriors.
Repugnant — San Francisco 49ers.
Just for the heck of it — As MLB legend Mel Allen would say, “How about that?” in regard to the top of the ninth inning in Game 5 of Kansas City’s World Series-clinching win over the New York Mets on Sunday night. That two-run rally was all about the will to win and refusing to lose.
Over/under set at 99.5 — How many fans will be in the stands for Upper Lake’s season-ending Redwood Bowl game against Anderson Valley on Saturday? Upper Lake’s championship season continues to be the best-kept secret on the Northshore if home game attendance is any indication. The Cougars are hoping for a big crowd in their rematch with Anderson Valley. They deserve it.
