LAKE COUNTY >> Clear Lake High School varsity football head coach Mark Cory considered the question for only a moment before answering.
Question: How much did not having injured fullback Sam Long affect the Cardinals’ performance on Friday night in a 42-14 loss to the Kelseyville Knights in Bass Bowl VII at Don Owens Stadium?
Answer: Not enough to account for the 28-point differential in the final score.
“They executed and we didn’t,” Cory said in summing up why the Cardinals loss for the fourth straight time in the Bass Bowl series, which officially began in 2010.
Cory wasn’t about to blame Clear Lake’s loss on the absence of one player, even if Long is the Cardinals’ leading rushing.
“Defensively we did not execute the gameplan,” Cory said. “My hat’s off to Kelseyville. They played a great game and took it to us.”
Cory added that injuries during the course of a football season are to be expected and that the Cardinals simply didn’t do enough things right with the players they had on the field to compete with the Knights for four quarters.
“I can only coach the guys who are out there,” Cory said. “I can’t worry about the ones who aren’t there. Kelseyville outplayed us.”
Clear Lake’s task won’t get any easier this week when the Cardinals host Middletown (4-0 league, 4-2 overall). Long’s status for the Mustangs is still up in the air.
Following are some of the highlights/lowlights from Week 6 and everything else in between:
Statistics
Rushing — Dwayne Yiggins’ 152 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns powered the Kelseyville Knights to a Bass Bowl VII win over Clear Lake. Middletown’s John Kelley ran 14 times for 105 yards with three touchdowns, even with his broken left hand in a padded cast,, against Cloverdale. Upper Lake’s Jacob Kalawaia had 44 yards and two touchdowns against Anderson Valley before an ankle injury sent him to the sidelines.
Passing — Upper Lake’s Derek Pritchard completed 17 of 29 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Kelseyville’s Logan Barrick was an efficient 7-for-12 for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Receiving — Upper Lake’s Dre Santos (10 catches for 93 yards, TD) and Nathan Sneed (seven catches for 121 yards, TD) put up some big numbers for the Cougars against Anderson Valley. Rob Carey had four receptions for 49 yards for Middletown.
Special teams
Two games, two scores — One week after returning a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in a 48-0 win over St. Vincent, Middletown’s Beckett Hoage returned a kickoff 68 yards for a TD in a 46-0 victory over Cloverdale.
Defense
Two more pick-sixes — The Kelseyville JVs returned two interceptions for touchdowns against Clear Lake, both in the third quarter, as the Knights won 51-0 on Friday night in Lakeport. Doing the honors were Robert Chavez with a 60-yard return and Jordi Lopez with a 40-yard return.
Billeci Vacuum Inc. — If you’re buying a vacuum, make sure it’s a Nick Billeci brand. The Middletown player recovered four fumbles in the Mustangs’ 46-0 win over Cloverdale.
Highlights
Battle to avoid the NCL I cellar — Goes to Willits with a 28-27 victory over St. Vincent on Saturday in Petaluma.
All in the county — Lower Lake (1-3, 2-4) visits Kelseyville (3-1, 5-1) on Friday night while Clear Lake (2-2, 3-3) hosts Middletown (4-0, 4-2).
The other football — Middletown (5-0-3), Clear Lake (6-1-1) and St. Helena (6-1-1) are locked in a three-way tie for first place in the NCL I girls’ soccer standings, each team with six games remaining. Middletown is looking for some share of a ninth straight league title, which is pretty incredible given that the team is on its fourth head coach in that span.
Other first-place county teams — Kelseyville varsity and JV volleyball are both 8-0 while the school’s boys’ soccer team is 6-0-2.
Pinball-type action — Jake Jackson’s 15-yard touchdown catch for Clear Lake in the third quarter went off the hands of a teammate and right into his.
Ball-control offense — Kelseyville marched 69 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown on its first possession against Clear Lake, the key play being a third-and-14 conversion early in the drive when quarterback Logan Barrick hooked up with J.D. Prescott on a 19-yard reception. The next time the Knights touched the ball they went 67 yards in 10 plays for another score. And after recovering a fumble early in the second quarter, the Knights’ third possession of the game resulted in a 10-play, 41-yard scoring drive, the key play being a 19-yard pass from Barrick to Dwayne Yiggins on a fourth-and-16 play from the Clear Lake 21.
Hit in stride — Clear Lake quarterback Alex Adams and wide receiver Austin Davis hooked up on a 39-yard touchdown strike midway through the second quarter, Adams dropping the ball right into Davis’ waiting hands as he streaked down the Clear Lake sideline.
Can’t help but peek ahead — Middletown at Fort Bragg on Oct. 21.
Can’t help but peek ahead, Chapter II — Walking Dead, season seven, debuts Oct. 23.
