MIDDLETOWN — Middletown High School football head coach Bill Foltmer predicted earlier in the week that one of the keys to beating Lower Lake was stopping big plays by the Trojans. Instead, it was the Mustangs who came up with the gut punches early on Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field.
Scoring on the second play from scrimmage on a 75-yard run by Nico Barrio, Middletown went on to defeat Lower Lake 35-14 in the North Central League I opener for both of these varsity teams.
But it was hardly an easy victory, according to Foltmer.
“Lower Lake is going to beat some people,” Foltmer said of the Trojans (0-1 league, 2-2 overall). “Their offense moved the ball, but they lost three fumbles. They were driving all three times when they fumbled it. That was kind of a key to the game. It hurt them and it was huge for us.”
In fact, Lower Lake was driving early in the fourth quarter trailing 28-14 when it lost one of those fumbles. Middletown (1-0, 3-1) answered with a long drive that consumed 10 minutes on the clock and was capped by a Drake Harbison 1-yard touchdown run.
“They score there and it’s a one-score game,” Foltmer said. “We answered with a long drive and I thought it was a solid drive.”
“That’s what Middletown does,” Lower Lake head coach Justin Gaddy said of the Mustangs’ game-clinching march down the field in the fourth quarter. “They get a turnover and then milk the clock.”
Barrio’s long touchdown run wasn’t the only haymaker thrown by Middletown’s offense, which isn’t known for its quick-strike capability but rather its ground-and-pound running game that was clearly evident in the fourth quarter.
Not long after Barrio’s 75-yard run put the Mustangs on the scoreboard, Middletown quarterback RH Hess hooked up with running back Harbison on a 52-yard pass for a 14-0 Mustangs lead.
Lower Lake finally answered on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Elijah Hernandez to Diego Gonzalez to make it 14-6, but the Trojans couldn’t get any closer. The second of Barrio’s three touchdown runs on the night, this one from 5 yards out, made it 21-6 at the half.
Barrio’s 5-yard run in the third quarter upped the Middletown lead to 28-6. Lower Lake closed to 28-14 late in the quarter on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hernandez to Gonzalez.
Hernandez threw for 254 yards on 21-of-31 passing and is now over 1,000 yards for the season. Gonzalez was his favorite target as he had nine receptions for 139 yards. Darian James also had four catches for 71 yards.
Still, it wasn’t nearly enough to counter the 372 yards gained by Middletown on the ground, with Barrio accounting for most of that as he carried the football 24 times for 257 yards.
“He had some big runs and carried the ball a lot for us,” Foltmer said.
While the four turnovers certainly hurt the Trojans’ cause, there were a few positives for Lower Lake.
“Our offense only committed 25 yards total in penalties, which is a big improvement for us. I thought we played very physical, very tough.”
Safety Adam Deleon anchored the Lower Lake defense with 19 unassisted tackles to go along with three assists.
“He was phenomenal,” Gaddy said.
Unfortunately the Trojans also racked up more injuries.
“I’ve got five guys on crutches after the game,” Gaddy said. “I’ve never seen so many injuries.”
Middletown also came up big in the junior varsity game, winning 50-29.
In other football action Friday:
Kelseyville 50, St. Helena 29
At St. Helena, the St. Helena Saints led 8-0 and 15-6 in the first half before Kelseyville’s running game took control of the game.
The Knights (1-0, 3-1) amassed 397 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Jordi Lopez again led the way with 163 yards, including scoring runs of 2 yards in the first quarter, 5 yards in the second quarter, 9 yards in the third quarter and 37 yards in the fourth quarter.
“Our offensive line played extremely well,” Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said. “Our running game was through the roof again. Jordi is on fire.”
Robert Chavez added another 94 yards and two TDs rushing, including scoring runs of 35 and 47 yards.
Kelseyville’s special teams also came up big as Bryan Carrillo returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter when the Knights outscored the Saints 22-6 to open up a 42-21 lead.
“It was a really good effort,” Larsen said. “We reached the goals that we wanted to reach. We’re not where we want to be yet, but they are taking steps in that direction. I’m happy about that.”
The Knights’ early struggles on defense evaporated in the second half.
“Our ends (Carrillo and Lopez) did a great job containing their quarterback (Dan Martinez) and once we did that, we were OK,” Larsen said.
Carrillo sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter while receiving a punt.
“His cleat got caught in the turf and he twisted the ankle pretty good,” Larsen said.
Carrillo fumbled on the play and St. Helena returned the turnover for a touchdown.
“I just hope it’s not too bad,” Larsen said of the injury to one of his top defensive and special teams players.
St. Helena won the JV game. The score wasn’t reported.
Clear Lake 32, Willits 13
At Lakeport, after failing to score a point in their first three games of the season, the Clear Lake Cardinals are back on speaking terms with the end zone. In fact, Clear Lake found the end zone time and time again in the first half against the Willits Wolverines in the league opener for both teams at Don Owens Stadium.
Entering the game with matching 0-3 records, Clear Lake and Willits were both desperate for a win, any kind of win, and it was coach Mark Cory’s squad coming away with its first victory of 2018 in decisive fashion.
“We did play with great energy in the first half,” Cory said of the Cardinals’ 32-0 halftime lead. “We let down in the second half and had lots of penalties.”
The Cardinals (1-0, 1-3) welcomed back running back Rodrigo Lupercio to the sidelines and while not 100 percent as he recovers from an ankle injury, he carried the ball five times for 34 yards.
“Just having him there, his energy, what he brings to the team, that was big,” Cory said.
Also big was the performance of fullback Treppa Marcks, who scored each of the Cardinals’ first three touchdowns on runs of 7 and 10 yards in the first quarter and 6 yards in the second quarter. Older brother Tj Marcks ran for two conversions and passed to Treppa for a third.
Rolando Amaya rushed for a team-leading 112 yards on 13 carries, part of Clear Lake’s 330-yard night running the ball. Treppa Marcks added 83 yards on 11 carries while quarterback Chris White had 64 yards on nine carries.
Erik Valadez had two of the Cardinals’ four sacks, including one for a safety in the second quarter.
Willits (0-1, 0-4) scored all 13 of its points in the third quarter.
The Wolverines won the JV game 27-0.
Stuart Hall 60, Upper Lake 20
At Upper Lake, Stuart Hall of San Francisco built a 22-6 lead in the first quarter while rolling past the Upper Lake Cougars in non-league action.
“We kept fighting until the end,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said. “I’m proud of the guys.”
Stuart Hall (2-0) led 28-12 at halftime before breaking the game wide open with a 24-0 third quarter. The game ended with a running clock.
Upper Lake (0-4) scored on a runs of 25 yards by quarterback Ray Moran in the first quarter and 75 yards by Hank Nevarez in the second quarter. The Cougars’ final score was a 35-yard pass from Moran to Armando Santos in the fourth quarter, with Junior Fernandez adding the conversion run.
Upper Lake was hurt by yet another poor start. Stuart Hall drove down the field for a touchdown on its first possession. When the Cougars got the ball back they eventually snapped the ball into the end zone while lined up to punt and the Knights scored a safety to go up 10-0. On the free kick that followed, Stuart Hall drove down the field for a touchdown and a 16-0 lead.
Upper Lake put together its best drive of the game on its next series, capped by Moran’s 25-yard score.
“We moved the ball down the field primarily on passes,” Moran said.
The Cougars’ young offensive line played its best game of the season, allowing no sacks after giving up a combined 20 in losses to Virginia City, South Fork and Calistoga.
“It was their best performance of the year and I’m proud of those guys,” Moran said.
The solid line play allowed Ray Moran to complete 13 of 20 passes for 166 yards and no interceptions.
Upper Lake’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked the Stuart Hall quarterback twice, but subpar tackling again hurt the Cougars.
Nevarez rushed for 95 yards and also caught four passes for another 66 yards.
Fernandez had two sacks for Upper Lake.
“They were quick, athletic and pretty big,” Moran said of the Knights.
