LAKE COUNTY >> LAnd then there was one.
The Middletown Mustangs (5-4) are the last football team standing in Lake County as they secured an at-large berth on Sunday into the North Coast Section Division V playoffs. One of only two teams in the county with a winning record this season — Upper Lake being the other at 7-2 — Middletown hosts Willits on Friday night at 7 p.m. in first-round action. A victory puts the Mustangs into the quarterfinal round on Nov. 21 against No. 2 seed St. Bernard Academy (9-1) of Eureka.
Upper Lake, now a member of the North Central League III, doesn’t have a formal postseason to compete in because the section doesn’t have a playoff format for eight-man teams, at least not yet. The Cougars did lose 32-18 to Anderson Valley in the Redwood Bowl on Saturday in Upper Lake, a game that matches the top two NCL III teams during the regular season — the Cougars and Panthers tied for the league title — but means nothing as far as the final league standings are concerned.
Lower Lake (4-6), Kelseyville (3-7) and Clear Lake (2-8) all finished with losing records this season.
Following are other highlights and lowlights from Week 10 of the 2015 season:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Dwayne Yiggins and Asa Peters each rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown in a 27-14 season-ending victory over Lower Lake. Their teammate, Manny Sanchez, added 51 yards and a TD as the Knights amassed 251 yards on the ground.
Passing — Upper Lake’s Derek Pritchard completed 13 of 31 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns but also was picked off twice in the Cougars’ 32-18 Redwood Bowl loss to Anderson Valley. Lower Lake’s Hokulani Wickard went 13-for-28 for 131 yards with three interceptions against Kelseyville.
Receiving — Upper Lake’s Isaac Nevarez caught four passes for 122 yards with two TDs. Lower Lake’s Kono Geary had three catches for 44 yards and teammate Ethan Watson had two for 62 yards.
Special teams
Long return — Seconds after Upper Lake pulled into a 6-6 tie with Anderson Valley on Saturday, the Panthers returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.
Punting — Anderson Valley’s punter had a field day with punts of 50 and 48 yards to pin the Cougars deep in their own end.
Onside kick — Kelseyville opened its game against Lower Lake by recovering an onside kick and moving 30 yards for a touchdown.
Highlights
Two interceptions — Kelseyville’s Logan Barrick stepped in front of a pair of Hokulani Wickard passes on Friday night in Kelseyville. He returned the first one 31 yards to set up a touchdown that gave the Knights a 21-0 halftime lead over the Trojans.
Sack attack — Anderson Valley sacked Upper Lake quarterback Derek Pritchard six times, five in the second half, and forced him into two intentional grounding penalties.
Leave the flag in your pocket next time fella — Here’s a penalty that absolutely did not need to be called in a Week 10 game. As Anderson Valley was about to take a knee in the final seconds of its win over Upper Lake, out came the yellow hankie for the always-egregious equipment violation. The violation? An Anderson Valley player’s belt was hanging out. Wow.
Speaking of penalties — More than 200 yards worth were called in the Anderson Valley-Upper Lake game.
Quite the drive — Anderson Valley opened the game against Upper Lake with a 12-play, 62-yard drive that consumed 7:38 of the first quarter.
Championship kudos — To the Kelseyville junior varsity team for earning a share of the North Central League I title this season.
Volleyball kudos — To the Kelseyville varsity and Clear Lake junior varsity squads for running the table in league play, each going 14-0.
Soccer kudos — Middletown’s girls shut out Technology in first-round playoff action on Saturday behind three goals and two assists from senior Kaleigh Alves. Her initials are KA but they could just as easily be KO.
Class move with a cherry on top — The Sonoma Academy Coyotes, the No. 1-seeded team that Middletown’s girls face Wednesday night in the semifinal round of the soccer playoffs, voluntarily gave up their right to host that game because they wanted Middletown to play on its homefield one more time given what the Mustangs have been through the last two months following the destructive Valley Fire that claimed the homes of several Middletown players.
Sack update — Upper Lake QB Derek Pritchard was just sacked again by the Panthers.
Streaks — Kelseyville closed the season with two straight wins. Middletown takes a three-game winning streak into the playoffs.
Homecoming — Many in Middletown weren’t exactly thrilled with Clear Lake’s decision to forfeit the varsity game Friday night, which also was the Mustangs’ homecoming game. They were even less thrilled when they saw how many players suited up for Clear Lake’s JV team in a 12-6 loss to Middletown. “Enough that the varsity could have played a game had it wanted to,” said one Middletown resident. “That’s BS.”
BS — Those are my initials, but I don’t think he was talking about me.
