LAKEPORT >> If these football teams could choose to win only one game a year, this would be the one.
Bass Bowl VII pitting archrivals Kelseyville and Clear Lake takes place tonight at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport where the visiting Knights are looking for a fourth straight victory in a series they lead 4-2. Kelseyville vs. Clear Lake was a huge rivalry long before the name Bass Bowl was assigned to it 2010, and nothing has much changed except now the winner of the game is presented with the Bass Bowl Trophy, which simply serves to hammer home the bragging rights one of these teams will own against the other.
Clear Lake’s seniors get one last chance to see the trophy go to their school, something that didn’t happen during their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. Kelseyville’s seniors, on the other hand, have known nothing but Bass Bowl success during their high school days. They were eighth-graders when Clear Lake last won this game in 2012.
While the Bass Bowl is the biggest game on the Week 6 schedule involving Lake County teams, it’s only one of three contests taking place tonight. Also in action are the Middletown Mustangs (3-0 league, 3-2 overall), who host the Cloverdale Eagles (1-3, 1-5), and the Upper Lake Cougars (2-2, 2-3), who hit the road to play Anderson Valley (2-2, 3-2) in eight-man action. Lower Lake (1-3, 2-4) has a bye.
K’ville at Clear Lake
A relative newcomer to the Lake County sports scene, Clear Lake first-year coach Mark Cory is getting his baptism under fire in regard to what it means to be a central figure in the Kelseyville-Clear Lake rivalry. The longtime assistant at Eureka High School said the Loggers really didn’t have a rival in the Humboldt-Del Norte League where they were the hunted most years.
“All the teams wanted to beat us,” Cory said. “But these (rivalry games) are good games, one of those showdown games. I look forward to it, but it is just another game.”
If there has been a certain buzz to Clear Lake’s preparation for Kelseyville this week, Cory said it hasn’t been too much of a distraction. “They are excited about it, but nothing over the top.”
For the first time since the Bass Bowl title was added to the Kelseyville-Clear Lake rivalry, this year’s game actually means something.
“Everything is pretty even,” Cory said when asked about the strengths and weakness of the two teams.
And that includes their records. Both teams enter play 2-1 in the North Central League I standings and the winner will remain in the title hunt along with Fort Bragg (4-0), Middletown (3-0) and St. Helena (3-1). Both teams also sport winning overall records – Kelseyville at 4-1 (only loss to Middletown) and Clear Lake at 3-2 (losses to Fort Bragg and Berean Christian). It’s the first time Kelseyville and Clear Lake have sported winning league and overall records in the seven-year history of the Bass Bowl.
By comparison, last year’s meeting on Oct. 30 featured two teams still looking for league win No. 1. Kelseyville got it with a 26-6 victory.
“In a rivalry game so all bets are off,” Kelseyville coach Erick Larsen said. “Records don’t matter.”
Kelseyville’s battle cry this week, according to Larsen, is pretty straightforward.
“Play with passion, not emotion,” Larsen said. “This week we’re focusing a lot on being disciplined. There were certain plays last week where Cloverdale was able to take advantage of our not being disciplined. Clear Lake runs a lot of option and you have to be disciplined with all the cutbacks they do.”
“We need to do a better job of executing on offense and defense,” Cory said. “Kelseyville has guys who can make plays and we need to limit them.”
Cory said the Cardinals also need to clean up some simple things on offense such as fumbled snaps and too many penalties.
Added Larsen of the Cardinals, “They have a physical line and a fullback (Sam Long) who is good at finding the seams.”
Unfortunately for Clear Lake, Long banged up his knee in last week’s 42-6 loss to Berean Christian and will miss the Bass Bowl and possibly next week’s home game against Middletown, according to Cory.
“He played an excellent game against Berean Christian, so it’s unfortunate. He really didn’t notice it (the injury) until after the game.”
Kelseyville gets running back Patrick Mick (elbow injury) back this week.
At the conclusion of tonight’s game each team’s sports program will receive $500 in the name of a player who contributes the most to his team’s on-field success, according to Bass Bowl official Phil Smoley.
Cloverdale at M’town
Running back John Kelley (broken left hand) returns to the Middletown lineup tonight against Cloverdale and he will start, according to Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer. Kelley will wear a padded cast.
“We’ll see if he can hold onto the football,” Foltmer said. “He hasn’t fumbled once in practice this week.”
While the Eagles don’t look like much record-wise, Foltmer said they are better than the St. Vincent team the Mustangs beat 48-0 at home last week. Besides, Middletown’s longtime coach said the Mustangs are still smarting from a 25-7 loss at home to the Eagles in 2014, a game they were heavily favored to win.
“We drove 80 yards on our first series, then they laid a physical ass-whooping on us,” Foltmer said.
That loss cost Middletown a share of the NCL I title as the Mustangs finished 5-2 to St. Helena’s and Fort Bragg’s 6-1.
“That (Cloverdale) team may have been more talented than this one, but you can’t take any chances,” Foltmer said.
Middletown has outscored its first three league opponents — Kelseyville, Lower Lake and St. Vincent — 110-16.
“Every week we’ve got to get a little better because we’re moving into the tougher part of our schedule,” Foltmer said with an eye toward his next three opponents – Clear Lake, Fort Bragg and St. Helena.
Upper Lake at And. Valley
This was the game for all the marbles a year ago in the NCL III. Upper Lake beat Anderson Valley at home during the regular season and then lost to the same Panthers squad in the season-ending Redwood Bowl, also at Upper Lake High School.
Fast-forward to a year later and the two teams aren’t fighting for a league title or a Redwood Bowl berth this year, but they are trying to post a winning record.
“Having a winning season is huge for us,” first-year Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said. “And we have a chance to knock them off in Boonville.”
Anderson Valley can pass the ball and Upper Lake is hoping to neutralize that air attack with a four-man line featuring defensive ends Jacob Kalawaia and Francisco Gregorio Flores, who is back from an injury.
“We’re hoping we can put enough pressure on their quarterback so he doesn’t have the time to get comfortable back there and throw it,” Smith said.
Upper Lake also should be at full strength on offense with the return of running back Dre Santos to the starting lineup. He had to sit out the team’s league win over Tomales last week after being ejected in a non-league loss to Branson on Sept. 24.
The Cougars’ strategy on offense will be to test Anderson Valley up front with a good dose of fullback Kalawaia, then go after the Panthers through the air.
“We’ll try to get Jacob established with the running game and then attack them on the corners with (Nathan) Sneed and Dre,” Smith said.
Upper Lake is also close to adding two players to its roster although it won’t be this week. Eddie Crandell Jr. and Dante Bassignani will come off the academic ineligibility list later this month.
“That’s the one guy who can give Jacob fits in practice,” Smith said of Bassignai.
With no game next week (Mendocino folded its program at the start of the season) or the following week (Point Arena folded its program this week), Crandell and Bassignani won’t see any action until the Cougars’ Oct. 28 game at Laytonvile.
