LOWER LAKE >> The Lower Lake Trojans didn’t win their football game against De Anza on Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field, but they did play football on Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field, something that was unimaginable less than two weeks earlier when the Clayton Fire took aim on Lower Lake and burned much of it to the ground.
Rumors swirled on social media at the height of the fire that the high school was burning, the new gym was gone, and so forth and so on, almost a replay of the Valley Fire in September of 2015 when the same rumors circulated about the demise of Middletown High School.
Fortunately the rumors were wrong in both instances and the high schools and their football fields — Bill Foltmer at Middletown and Gordon Sadler at Lower Lake — are still standing and open for business as usual.
Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy would have preferred to open a new year with a win, but the De Anza Dons, a Division III program on the rise after more than a decade of underwhelming the opposition, were just too tough in the end.
Lower Lake’s passing game showed some flashes and the running game had its moments. There simply worth enough of them. Missed scoring opportunities in the first quarter when the Trojans twice pushed the ball inside De Anza’s 10-yard didn’t help. Lower Lake had another drive stall inside the red zone to open the second half.
Gaddy said the loss will simply strengthen the Trojans’ resolve as they move on to their next game against Esparto (0-1) on Friday night in Esparto. It’s unlikely they’ll run into another team with so much speed, certainly not in the regular season.
Esparto, like Lower Lake, opened at home with a lopsided loss. In the case of the Spartans, it was a 35-6 setback to Pierce. One of those two teams is going to feel a lot better about itself after Friday’s action.
Following are some other highlights and notes from the Lake County/Redwood Empire football scene:
Statistics
Rushing — Hokulani Wickard, the Lower Lake quarterback, led the Trojans against De Anza with seven carries for 26 yards. Charles Powell had eight carries for 16 yards.
Passing — Wickard completed 10 of 24 passes for 93 yards and one interception, a pick-six return of 97 yards in the first quarter for the first points of the game.
Receiving — Ethan Watson pulled in five Wickard passes for 67 yards.
Special teams
Punt return — De Anza’s Devon King returned a punt 46 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for his team’s final points against Lower Lake.
Kickoff return — Lower Lake’s Marlon Jones opened the second hald with a 38-yard return that gave the Trojans great field position at the De Anza 48.
Defense
To the house — De Anza middle linebacker Rico Tolefree stepped in front of a Wickard pass in the first quarter and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown, the first points of the game for the Dons.
Interception — Lower Lake’s Reed Diener picked of a De Anza pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 53 yards.
Great stop — Lower Lake defensive back Nathan Chatoff capped a goal-line stand by the Trojans early in the fourth quarter, droppiing De Anza’s quarterback for a three-yard loss on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line.
This and that
Drive from hell — De Anza’s first and only possession of the third quarter started at its own 16 and ended with a goal-line stand by Lower Lake early in the fourth quarter as the Trojans took over on down as the De Anza 4. During that one drive there was a veritable blizzard of penalty flags – five called against the Dons and three against the Trojans. In all, 21 penalties were assessed during the game with a handful of others declined. It’s not good football and it’s not good for meeting a deadline.
It’s good to be King — De Anza running back Devon King rushed for one score, caught another and had a punt return for a third. He also had two touchdown runs called back on penalties – on the same drive that ended with Lower Lake’s goal-line stand.
Coming up this weekend — Lake County football shifts into high gear with four games on Friday and another on Saturday afternoon. The under-the-lights action features South Fork at Clear Lake, Healdsburg at Kelseyville, Salesian at Middletown, and Lower Lake at Esparto. On Saturday at 1 p.m. (no junior varsity game) it’s Rincon Valley Christian at Upper Lake.
Speaking of JV games — South Fork and Healdsburg do not have JV teams this season so the Upper Lake and Clear Lake JV teams will play an eight-man game prior to the Clear Lake-South Fork varsity contest. Kelseyville’s JVs play Clayton Valley Christian prior to the Kelseyville-Healdsburg varsity game.
New look for NCL III in 2017 — Beginning next season, the North Central League III will have 12 teams as Branson School of Ross and Stuart Hall of San Francisco join the league. As a result, the NCL III will split into six-team North and South divisions. Upper Lake is in the North along with Anderson Valley, Potter Valley, Round Valley, Laytonville and Branson. The South consists of Calistoga, Tomales, Point Arena, Rincon Valley Christian, Mendocino and Stuart Hall. Schools will play everyone in their own division and four games on a rotating basis against teams in the other division.
Congrats — To Kelseyville High School sophomore Andre Williams III for winning the overall men’s 5K title at the eighth annual Santa Rosa Marathon on Sunday.
First games — Clear Lake coach Mark Cory and Upper Lake coach Mike Smith will be making their varsity coaching debuts this weekend. Cory is facing the high school he graduated from.
Not his first game — Bill Foltmer is opening his 32nd season at Middletown.
Reporting scores — To report scores and results to the Record-Bee sports desk, please dial 900-2018. That’s a direct line to the sports editor. We print all the results we receive and none of the ones we don’t.
