LAKE COUNTY >> Two weeks into the North Central League I varsity football race, the only three undefeated teams left are all from Lake County.
Admittedly it’s too early to make any concrete predictions, but the 2017 race is trending Lake County’s way to a large degree. Clear Lake and Lower Lake are atop the standings at 2-0, Middletown is 1-0, and Kelseyville, Cloverdale and St. Helena are 1-1. One of those undefeated teams will fall by the wayside this Friday night when Lower Lake plays at Middletown. Clear Lake is also home against Willits (0-1).
Following are some of the highlights and lowlightrs from Week 4 of the high school football season:
Statistics
Rushing — Upper Lake’s Jacob Kalawaia rushed for 181 yards and four touchdowns in a dramatic 48-40 victory over Rincon Valley Christian in North Central League III interlock play. Middletown’s Drake Harbison had 148 yards on 30 carries in a 7-6 league win over Kelseyville. Lower Lake quarterback Hokulani Wickard rambled for 136 yards and a touchdown in a 32-6 win over Fort Bragg.
Passing — Clear Lake’s Alex Adams completed 13 of 19 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-0 rout of St. Vincent. Upper Lake’s Ray Moran was 8 of 17 for 149 yards and two TDs.
Receiving — Clear Lake’s pass-catching machine, Austin Davis, had five receptions for 91 yards. Upper Lake’s Eddie Crandell caught four passes for 74 yards while teammate Hank Nevarez had two catches for 54 yards and a TD. Kelseyville’s Adrian Villalobos caught three passes for 53 yards.
Special teams
6-for-6 — Clear Lake placekicer Erik Valadez drilled all six of his extra-point tries down the middle against St. Vincent. Clear Lake mishandled a snap on another PAT and there was no kick attempted.
Nice return — Upper Lake’s Hank Nevarez returned a kickoff 60 yards early in the second quarter for Upper Lake.
Touchback — Upper Lake placekicker Jovany Martinez drilled four of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, the perfect remedy for Upper Lake’s kickoff coverage teams, which have been burned several times this season.
Defense
Pick six times two — Clear Lake’s Austin Davis returned interceptions 40 and 18 yards for touchdowns in the second quarter against St. Vincent.
You drop, he scoops — Lower Lake’s Matthew Clasen recovered a pair of fumbles in Lower Lake’s win over Fort Bragg.
That smarts — Kelseyville transfer RH Hess, now a Middletown Mustangs, stopped a Kelseyville drive deep into Middletown territory with an interception in the fourth quarter.
Piling up the tackles — Robert Chavez, called up from the Kelseyville junior varsity club, had nine solo tackles and four assists in the Knights’ 7-6 loss to Middletown.
Two picks — Upper Lake’s Hank Nevarez picked off Rincon Valley Christian’s quarterback twice.
Stopping the run — Middletown’s defense held Kelseyville to 64 rushing yards.
This and that
Good start — The Lower Lake Trojans take a 2-0 league record and 4-0 overall mark into Middletown on Friday night. It’s the Trojans’ best start since1995 when they won their first eight games.
Reverse magic — Upper Lake ran the reverse five times against Rincon Valley Christian on Friday night and it worked incredibly well the first four times. In fact, the Cougars’ Hank Nevarez had a 40-yard touchdown called back on a block in the back penalty the first time, resulting in a reduced gain of 10 yards, and he capped that same drive with a nine-yard reverse for a touchdown, and on a fourth-and-five play no less. Both times Nevarez went down the field behind two Upper Lake blockers virtually unopposed.
Hook and ladder — Rincon Valley Christian pulled off that play twice with success against Upper Lake.
Feelings running high — There were a handful of unsportsmanlike conduct and personal foul penalties in the Kelseyville-Middletown varsity game on Friday night.
It could be pinball — A two- or three-touchdown advantage doesn’t mean much in eight-man football where momentum swings can evaporate double-digit leads in the blink of an eye. Such was the case on Friday night at Upper Lake where the Cougars, up 28-0 and 48-24, had to hold on for dear life in a 48-40 win against Rincon Valley Christian.
.44-caliber impact — The players wearing No. 44 for both the Upper Lake Cougars and Rincon Valley Christian Eagles turned in sensational efforts on Friday night. Both seniors, Upper Lake’s Jacob Kalawaia rushed for 181 yards, four touchdowns and two two-point conversion on offense, recovered a fumble and had a sack on defense. Rincon Valley’s Willie Maples rushed a team-high 191 yards with two touchdowns and was a force at middle linebacker where he led the team in tackles and recovered a fumble.
Illegal forward pass — Middletown had a nice gain wiped out on a penalty for an illegal forward pass against Kelseyville even though two officials disagreed on the call. Trett Bishop’s video will soon appear on the Record-Bee’s Facebook site and you can make the call yourself.
Two Friday, two Saturday — There are two Friday night games and two Saturday games on the Week 5 schedule. Middletown hosts Lower Lake and Clear Lake is home against Willits on Friday. Upper Lake plays at Round Valley in Covelo at 1 p.m. on Saturday (varsity only) while Kelseyville travels to Vallejo on Saturday night (varsity only) to play St. Patrick/St. Vincent in a non-league game. Upper Lake at Round Valley is the Cougars’ NCL III South opener.
Strong debut — Upper Lake quarterback Kellen Smith completed two touchdown passes in a 30-14 win over Point Arena on Friday in Upper Lake. It was the JV Cougars’ first game of the season.
What a difference a year makes — Three-time defending NCL I champion Fort Bragg is 0-2 in league and 0-4 overall.
Not good — St. Vincent has been outscored 83-0 in its first two league games.
