LAKE COUNTY >> On a Friday night when the Upper Lake Cougars played themselves behind the eight ball in terms of the North Central League III race, the Kelseyville Knights emerged as a NCL I contender.
Two other Friday night happenings of note were Clear Lake’s ability to hang with a big boy, something that hasn’t happened in a few seasons, and a Lower Lake homecoming dissection of the Willits Wolveirnes, who probably need the bye week they have coming up.
Meanwhile the Middletown Mustangs fell to 0-2 despite giving Berean Christian all it could want for three quarters in a non-league game on Saturday at Walnut Creek, the only time the Mustangs won’t play under the bright lights in 2016.
Yep, the Week 2 goings-on in Lake County football were filled with surprises, good and bad. For the Upper Lake Cougars, now 0-2, they simply need to put losses to Rincon Valley Christian and Calistoga behind them. For the fast-starting Kelseyville Knights (2-0), there’s no telling what the rest of their season holds.
Following are the highlights/lowlights and everything in between from Week 2:
Statistics
Rushing — Middletown’s Ty Chorjel rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Berean Christian. Kelseyville’s Dwayne Yiggins posted his second straight 100-yard-plus effort with 135 yards on 25 carries and a TD in a 27-21 upset of St. Helena. Charles Powell of Lower Lake recorded his first 100-yard game at the varsity level with 110 on only four carries and two TDs in a 64-22 mauling of Willits. Powell’s teammate, Eric Egger, had 95 yards on just four carries with two TDs.
Passing — Upper Lake’s Derek Pritchard completed 25 of 38 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, but he also was intercepted three times in a critical 14-12 loss at Calistoga. Middletown’s Luke Holt finished 8-for-15 for 168 yards and a touchdown. Kelseyville’s Logan Barrick was 7-for-19 for 124 yards and three touchdowns while Lower Lake’s Hokulani Wickard was 8-for-11 for 124 yards and two TDs.
Receiving — Middletown’s Rob Carey caught three passes for 101 yards and a TD. Upper Lake’s Chris Fecht had eight catches for 89 yards and a TD while teammate Dre Santos had seven catches for 59 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Kickoff return — Ethan Watson’s 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown set the tone for the Trojans in their homecoming blowout of Willits.
Doing a little extra — Rob Carey went 3-for-4 on his extra-point kicks against Berean Christian.
A little JV razzle-dazzle — Adrian Villalobos returned a punt for a touchdown as the Kelseyville junior varsity team shut out St. Helena 40-0. The punt return came shortly after Villalobos scored on a running play for the Knights’ first points of the game.
Defense
Getting it done — Kelseyville’s J.D. Prescott racked up 11 solo stops to go along with four assists against St. Helena. Three of his tackles resulted in St. Helena losses. Reed Diener had 11 total tackles for Lower Lake against Willits.
Pick, pick, pick — The Kelseyville defense picked off St. Helena three times, the final time by Aiden Mcadon, who intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback to seal the Knights’ win. Teammate Kyle Moore had a 57-yard interception return to set up a Kelseyville touchdown .
Sack attack — Jacob Kalawaia followed a four-sack day against Rincon Valley Christian two weeks ago with a three-sack night on Friday against Calistoga.
This and that
Filling an open date — The Upper Lake varsity was set to have a bye on Sept. 24 because Round Valley only has a junior varsity team this season, but the Cougars have filled that slot on their schedule with a home game against Branson School of Ross. Branson officially joins the NCL III starting next season.
Deuces are wild — Lower Lake running backs Eric Egger, Nick Sani and Charles Powell rushed for two touchdowns apiece against Willits. Quarterback Hokulani Wickard also had a pair of TD passes. Kelseyville wide receiver Gideon Turner had two catches against St. Helena, both going for touchdowns.
Showing up … and then some — The Clear Lake Cardinals not only showed up to play Fort Bragg on Friday night at Don Owens Stadium, but they held a 12-6 halftime lead against the defending NCL I champions. The Timberwolves caught the Cardinals and gradually pulled away in the second half, but not without a tussle as Clear Lake first-year coach Mark Cory had his team ready to go. The Cardinals play a third straight game at home Friday against new NCL I member St. Vincent. Both teams are 1-1 overall and 0-1 in league. Clear Lake beat St. Vincent in the 1998 Class A section championship game.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another — Upper Lake’s defense struggled mightily in a week-one loss to Rincon Valley Christian. In week two against Calistoga, the Cougars excelled on the defensive side of the ball but struggled on offense.
He’s got wheels, too — Strong-armed Lower Lake quarterback Hokulani Wickard rushed for 77 yards against Willits and has 171 yards on the ground through the Trojans’ first three games.
Did he stand? Did he kneel? Did he sit? — Getting real tired of hearing about what this NFL guy or that guy is doing during the playing of the national anthem. You have the freedom to do what you want but there will be consequences, as in a social media firestorm of criticism. Pro athletes are not role models. If you allow them to be for your children, it’s called lazy parenting.
Where they’ll be in Week 3 — Kelseyville at Middletown, Lower Lake at Fort Bragg, and St. Vincent at Clear Lake in the NCL I, all under Friday night lights. Also on Friday, Upper Lake visits Potter Valley for a NCL III game.
Off to a 3-0 start — The Lower Lake junior varsity team.
Not the worst ever — Giants fans who think Santiago Casilla is the worst San Francisco closer they’ve ever seen likely jumped on the bandwagon in 2010. Two words … Armando Benitez.
Testosterone test — Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio passed with flying colors after going for that two-point conversion against the New Orleans Saints with 47 seconds left in the game, the difference in the Raiders’ 35-34 victory.
In the volleyball world — The NCL I varsity race begins tonight with defending champion Kelseyville gunning for a third title in four seasons.
Four score and one win later — Caitlin Lemoine scored all four of her team’s goals in a 4-0 win over McKinleyville on Friday, the Mustangs’ first victory of 2016.
