LAKE COUNTY >> If the script had played out the way Upper Lake intended in 2016, the Cougars would have repeated as North Central League III champions and qualified for the season-ending Redwood Bowl.
That didn’t happen and it wasn’t even close.
Consecutive league losses to Rincon Valley Christian and Calistoga to open the year ended any chance Upper Lake had of duplicating its success of 2015, its first year as a member of the eight-man NCL III. Even though the Cougars returned nearly every starter under first-year coach Mike Smith this season and even though most of the other top teams in the league graduated most of their talent from the previous year, things just didn’t work out for Smith and company.
Upper Lake (3-3 league, 4-4 overall) closes out its season tonight in Laytonville hoping to secure a winning record, which could provide some momentum for a team that is still relatively young and has plenty of help on the way from its junior varsity squad.
In other games under the lights tonight, St. Helena (4-2) visits Middletown (5-1), Kelseyville (4-2) calls on Willits (1-5) and Cloverdale (2-4) plays at Clear Lake (2-4). On Saturday, Lower Lake (3-3) heads to Petaluma to play St. Vincent (0-7).
Upper Lake at Laytonville
Count Smith among those first-year coaches who received a whirlwind education after taking over the reigns of a program.
“Absolutely,” Smith said. “I learned that potential is great, but it’s just potential if you don’t work hard, if you’re not mentally tough. You have to show up on game day.”
Added Smith, “I didn’t realize how much we would miss a guy like (the graduated) Ray Gutierrez, who shut down one side of the field when he was playing defense. He would get eight to 10 tackles a game. On offense, he was good for four of five catches a game.”
Injuries took a toll on the Cougars throughout the season but Smith won’t use it as an excuse.
“Everyone has them. You’re going to get hit with injuries, with other circumstances that you can’t control and you’ve got to get past them. That’s why you need to be tough, physically and especially mentally.”
Without a weight room this past offseason – Upper Lake’s combination weight room/wrestling room adjacent to the gym has been condemned and is scheduled to be demolished and a new structure built in its place – Smith said it was difficult getting his players on a consistent weight schedule using other sites.
“There’s no doubt that a good weight program will help you avoid injuries and players won’t miss as many games,” Smith said.
Smith said he is also looking for ways to better motivate his players.
“I want them to feel like they need to be in the game all the time,” he said.
Increased competition from younger players looking for more playing time is certainly one way to motivate veterans, according to Smith.
“I want players who want to be out there,” he added.
Keeping players academically eligible is a must as well. Dante Bassignani, a junior fullback/linebacker, became academically eligible last week and was force on both sides of the line of scrimmage in a 44-20 win over Los Molinos.
“If we have Dante and other guys like EJ (Crandell), we probably win at least one of those two games,” Smith said of the back-to-back league losses to Rincon Valley and Calistoga in weeks one and two.
“We split those games and we’re still alive,” he said. “You lose both like we did and you’re in an immediate hole.”
St. Helena at M’town
The NCL I game of the week pits the St. Helena Saints at the Middletown Mustangs. Much like the Upper Lake Cougars in the NCL III ranks, the Saints stumbled out of the gate in league play this year, dropping a 27-21 decision to Kelseyville. They’ve won five of six since, including a non-league victory over Winters. Their only other loss during that span was a 44-21 decision to NCL I leader Fort Bragg (7-0).
“Brandon Ferrell-coached teams are always going to be in the mix looking for a championship,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said of his St. Helena counterpart.
While the Saints usually play a 4-4 defense, that’s almost never the case against Middletown, according to Foltmer.
“It’ll be a 5-3 when they play us. Fort Bragg loaded the box against us and they’ll do the same,” Foltmer said. “The nice thing about that is you can break some big ones (runs) if you can get through the line.”
And that’s one thing the Mustangs failed to do last week in a 31-16 loss at Fort Bragg. With the Timberwolves loading up the box against Middletown’s running game, which was held to a season-low 84 yards, the Mustangs had a difficult time functioning.
“Fort Bragg exploited weaknesses on our line … what’s that saying, you’re only as good as your weakest link?” Foltmer said. “All my kids will have to be playing well to beat them. The kids who didn’t play well last week need to this week.”
Middletown needs a win to retain sole possession of second place in the league standings, which could mean a home game in the playoffs. If the Mustangs fall to the Saints and Kelseyville wins at Willits tonight, all three teams will be 5-2 with one week remaining in the regular season.
“We didn’t play all that well last week, but sometimes you have to look at your opponent and give him credit because they’re the reason you didn’t play well,” Foltmer said.
K’ville at Willits
What will the football field look like in Willits tonight with plenty of rain in the forecast? Kelseyville coach Erick Larsen can’t say for sure.
“Bad field conditions play to their favor with the offense they run,” Larsen said of the Wolverines, who do a little of everything, including reverses and halfback passes.
“Our defensive line has to play well, get low and get dirty,” Larsen said. “They’ve got players who run with a lot of heart and they’ve put up points against some good teams.”
And the Wolverines have surrendered even more as was the case a week ago when they lost 78-20 at St. Helena.
At 4-2 in league and 6-2 overall, the Knights are eying a playoff berth. After Willits, they return home to play undefeated Fort Bragg.
“No one is looking ahead to Fort Bragg,” Larsen said. “It’s all about Willits this week. We can’t take Willits lightly. If we finish strong we have a good shot at a home playoff game.”
Cloverdale at Clear Lake
The Clear Lake Cardinals are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak against a Cloverdale team that recently snapped its own four-game skid with a 21-18 win over Willits two weeks ago. The Eagles had a bye last week.
“They are kind of struggling like we have been a little bit of late,” Clear Lake coach Mark Cory said.
Clear Lake had a couple of chances to beat Lower Lake late in the fourth quarter a week ago at Lower Lake but interceptions ended both drives and the Cardinals lost a tough one 18-13.
“We were driving to win a game but we don’t have a lot of experience with that … not this season or in the last few seasons,” Cory said. “The kids played incredibly hard last week, definitely stepped it up, but play smart? No, we didn’t.”
Cory said Sam Long, the team’s leading rusher, will be back in the lineup tonight after an injury sidelined him for three weeks.
“He has been cleared to play and we’ll try to ease him into it,” Cory said. “The last thing I want to do is get him hurt. I want him to finish out the season.”
With only two games left, tonight’s contest and a Nov. 4 game at St. Helena, Cory said the Cardinals desperately need a win.
“At some point you’ve got to draw a line in the sand,” Cory said. “We need to go out and play well and play with a lot of passion. I think we’ll do that.”
Lower Lake at St. Vincent
With road games remaining against St. Vincent and Cloverdale, the Trojans have an excellent opportunity to finish 5-3 in league and 6-4 overall and possibly secure a postseason berth, which was one of the team’s goals at season’s start.
St. Vincent, a newcomer to the NCL I this season, is 1-7 overall. Since beating non-league opponent Elsie Allen 43-18 back on Aug. 27, the Mustangs have lost all seven of their league games. Their best shot at a victory came Oct. 8 when they dropped a 28-27 home decision to Willits. Lower Lake is their final league opponent.
Lower Lake has won each of its last two games — 18-13 last week against Clear Lake and 24-14 two weeks ago at Kelseyville.
