LAKE COUNTY >> With the undefeated Kelseyville Knights visiting Middletown on Friday night and the winless Mustangs coming off back-to-back losses to tough non-league opponents in Salesian and Berean Christian, coach Bill Foltmer said he was confident his Mustangs were ready to open their North Central League I schedule against anyone, even Kelseyville.
“We could start 0-2 and be just fine for league,” Foltmer predicted in late August, long before losing 39-19 to Salesian in week one and 49-35 to Berean Christian in week two.
Turns out Foltmer was right about that.
Middletown’s defense limited Kelseyville, which outscored its first two opponents (Healdsburg and St. Helena) by a combined 89-28, to a single touchdown, that in the first quarter when the Knights took a brief 8-6 lead. Middletown’s offense scored the final 34 points en route a 40-8 win that was all about the Mustangs’ rushing attack — 52 carries for 336 yards and five TDs.
Luke Holt, Middletown’s quarterback, attempted just two passes and completed one.
While the Mustangs were establishing themselves as a definite NCL I title contender in Week 3, the Clear Lake Cardinals were letting everyone know their NCL I cellar-dwelling days are likely a thing of the past. They mauled St. Vincent 48-13 behind quarterback Alex Adams and have now won as many games overall (two) and league games (one) as they did all of last season.
Upper Lake, a contender for the NCL III title entering the season but now a long shot after back-to-back losses to Rincon Valley Christian and Calistoga, finally broke into the win column with 60-6 victory at Potter Valley.
Lower Lake didn’t get a win at Fort Bragg, but the Trojans did battle back from an early 28-6 hole to make it interesting, eventually falling 35-27.
Following are the some highlights, lowlights and everything else in between from Week 3 in Lake County’s high school football ranks:
Statistics
Rushing — Upper Lake Jacob Kalawaia led the way with 122 yards and three touchdowns. Close behind was Middletown’s John Kelley with 115 yards and two touchdowns and teammate Ty Chorjel with 91 yards and a TD. Nick Sani finished with 85 yards and a TD in Lower Lake’s loss to Fort Bragg, Clear Lake’s Sam Long had 69 yards in the Cardinals’ win over St. Vincent, and Dwayne Yiggins led the Knights with 74 yards against Middletown.
Passing — Lower Lake’s Hokulani Wickard completed 14 of 29 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Clear Lake’s Adams was 6-for-16 for 140 yards and four TDs while Upper Lake’s Derek Pritchard went 8-for-9 for 109 yards and two TDs.
Receiving — Lower Lake’s Ethan Watson caught four passes for 90 yards and a TD. Clear Lake’s Brandon Orozco had three catches for 54 yards and a TD. Upper Lake’s Nathan Sneed had two receptions for 44 yards and a TD while Jermaine Watson caught two passes for 41 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Two-point conversions — The Upper Lake Cougars went 6-for-8 on two-point conversion tries against Potter Valley. They could have used one or two of those a week earlier in a 14-12 loss at Calistoga.
To the house — Upper Lake’s Nathan Sneed scored on a 70-yard kickoff return against Potter Valley.
Defense
All the way back — Middletown’s Robbie Carey returned a fumble 69 yards for a touchdown to cap a 20-point second quarter against Kelseyville.
Picked and picked again — Middletown’s Ty Chorjel had two interceptions against the Knights.
Sack X 4 — Upper Lake’s Andrew Brackett sacked the Potter Valley quarterback four times while teammate Jacob Kalawaia had one, his Lake County-leading eighth of the season.
Consistent — Middletown’s Colton Hall picked up his third sack of the season against Kelseyville. He’s had one in each of the Mustangs’ first three games.
Kid’s got game — Upper Lake sophomore Junior Fernandez led the Cougars with seven solo tackles and five assists while filling in for a handful of injured starters on Friday night at Potter Valley.
Staying busy — Kelseyville’s J.D. Prescott registered 12 total tackles against Middletown, nine of them solo stops.
Pretty as they come — Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy called Charles Powell’s interception of a Lucas Triplett pass on Friday night in Fort Bragg “a thing of beauty.”
This and that
That’s Adams, Alex Adams — Clear Lake’s quarterback was involved in each of his team’s first five touchdowns against St. Vincent, passing for four and running for another.
Right behind Adams — Upper Lake’s Jacob Kalawaia rushed for three scores and caught a fourth against Potter Valley.
Varsity touchdown No. 1 — Junior Fernandez rushed for a score against Potter Valley.
South county rumble — Middletown (1-0 league, 1-2 overall) visits Lower Lake (1-1, 2-2) on Friday night.
Hide the children (or at least cover their eyes) — South Fork is Kelseyville’s homecoming opponent on Friday night. When South Fork last visited the county on Sept. 2, the Cubs lasted only two quarters against Clear Lake in a 35-0 loss called after halftime because they had sustained too many injuries. The Cubs are 0-3 after losing 31-12 to Arcata last week.
Half and half — South Fork doesn’t have a junior varsity team, so Kelseyville’s JVs play Ferndale prior to the Kelseyville-South Fork varsity game.
Half and half II — Round Valley doesn’t have a varsity team this season, so the Upper Lake Cougars are home Saturday to play Branson School of Ross in a non-league game, which starts after the Upper Lake-Round Valley JV game concludes.
No undefeated teams this season — All of the county’s varsity and JV teams have at least one loss through the third week of the season. The last two undefeated squads — the Kelseyville varsity and Lower Lake JVs – lost on Friday.
Favorable schedule — Clear Lake hits the road to play Willits (0-1, 0-3) on Friday night after a stretch of three straight home games to open the season. After Willits, the Cardinals return home for three more – against Berean Christian, Middletown and Kelseyville. In all, seven of their 10 regular-season games are at Don Owens Stadium.
Varsity win No. 1 — For Upper Lake’s Mike Smith.
