LAKEPORT >> One day, Mark Cory is going to have a normal year. Until then, it has been anything but routine for the third-year Clear Lake High School head coach.
In 2016, Cory took over a Clear Lake High School football program that had forfeited two games a year earlier because it couldn’t field enough players. His presence seemed enough to draw players back to the sport and the Cardinals flourished, posting a 5-6 overall record while qualifying for the playoffs.
In 2017, the Cardinals and the Lakeport community were rocked by the sudden death of assistant football coach Rob Rumfelt. Later that same season they had their season interrupted by the October firestorm, which cost them a league game. Even with all of that, Clear Lake went 7-4 overall, finished third in the league standings with a 5-2 record, and made it as far as the Division V semifinals before losing to eventual section champion St. Patrick-St. Vincent in a wild 60-44 shootout. Enter 2018 and the Cardinals couldn’t even think about taking the practice field until the second week of the season because of the unhealthy air quality caused by the Mendocino Complex fires, which forced the evacuation of the entire city of Lakeport and scattered Cory’s roster to the wind. He ended up in Garberville before he could finally return home and re-assemble his team.
Given that the Cardinals seem to thrive on adversity under their coach, there’s no telling what they might accomplish this season.
“This group of kids has made the best of the situation,” Cory said. “These are things you really can’t control so all you can do is make the best of it.”
Clear Lake had to hold several practices indoors before finally getting back outside late last week. With a roster approximately 22 players strong as of Wednesday, Cory said there is much to be excited about as the 2018 season rapidly approaches. Clear Lake hosts Middletown in a scrimmage Friday night (5 p.m. junior varsity start, varsity to follow) before officially opening the season Aug. 24 at home against Colusa.
“I love my team and the energy they’re bringing,” Cory said. “This team is every bit as talented as last year’s team. From tackle to tackle, we’re much better. We don’t have a lot of depth, so we need to be healthy.”
A year ago Clear Lake’s storyline centered around senior quarterback Alex Adams, who broke the Lake County single-season passing record with 2,196 yards. The Cardinals didn’t have to look very far for Adams’ replacement, which is Chris White, a standout in the offensive backfield last season as both a runner and a receiver.
“He was a great player in a lot of ways,” Cory said of Adams. “He was the leader of this team last season. I’m just happy I was here to experience all he did for us the last two years. Good players like that do move on, that’s just the way it goes.”
White has done nothing but improve in the offseason while taking a crash course in Quarterback 101, according to Cory.
“He brings an element of running the ball, not that Alex was a bad runner,” Cory said. “He’s becoming better all the time.”
Game experience is what White needs most and he’ll be tested early as the Cardinals play Colusa, Pierce (at Arbuckle on Aug. 31) and University Prep (at Redding on Sept. 7) during their preseason schedule. They open their league schedule Sept. 14 at home against Willits.
“It’s not a position you step into at the varsity level and make an immediate impact,” Cory said. “It usually takes some time.”
One of the players White will be handing the ball off to and passing it to is senior Rodrigo Lupercio, an All-League first-team returnee.
“After Alex on last year’s team our top offensive guy was Rodrigo,” Cory said. “He’s a real good player, one of the best in the area.”
Treppa Marcks, one of three sophomores on this year’s varsity squad, will handle the fullback position.
“He can be as good as he wants to be,” Cory said.
Erik Valadez, a senior, also returns to the Clear Lake backfield as a halfback/fullback.
Clear Lake’s top wideouts are Preston Jones and Darius Ford, both new to football but possessing great speed and good hands.
“They are big, long athletes who can catch the ball,” Cory said.
Another sophomore, Matthew Martin, fills the tight end position and is a player on the rise, according to Cory.
Up front the Cardinals have senior Tj Marcks and junior Dion Brewster-Ramirez, the mainstays of their offensive line.
“The rest are pretty young,” Cory said of such players as Jonathan Werner, the third sophomore on the varsity squad, and Dominic Legendre, who is also up from the junior varsity squad.
“We’re a little dinged up right now, but it’s nothing lasting,” Cory said of his line.“We just do not have a lot of depth there.”
Cory also has some interesting pieces to work with in Roman Uribe and Rolando Amaya, who he calls his “fast and furious duo.”
Added Cory, “They’re going to help us a lot on offense and defense, they’ve got so much speed.”
Clear Lake’s defense will be anchored up front by nose guard Tj Marcks, defensive ends Brewster-Ramirez and Werner.
Martin and Felix Salinas are two of the team’s top linebackers while Lupercio anchors the team’s secondary where he’ll be joined by Amaya, Uribe and safety White. Jones could see time both in the secondary and at linebacker, according to Cory.
Looking at the upcoming NCL I race, one that was dominated by Lake County teams a year ago, don’t be surprised if the same thing happens again this season.
“I think we’ll be in the mix,” said Cory, who picks Kelseyville as the favorite and defending champion Middletown to be right there as well.
“We have to be better on defense this year, we know that. I think we have a chance to be a much better defense,” he said. “I feel like we can stand up against anybody.”
