LAKE COUNTY — In a game that held no suspense from Kelseyville’s first possession onward, the Knights shut down and shut out the Middletown Mustangs 28-0 on Friday night in a North Central League I varsity football game that could go a long way in deciding the league champion, just as it did a year ago.
While Middletown had won four of the previous five meetings going into Friday’s action at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown, Kelseyville dominated the game, including limiting the Mustangs to less than 100 yards of total offense.
The Knights’ punishing ground attack went right at the heart of the Middletown defense, churning out 357 yards and three touchdowns. Kelseyville (4-1) has now won four straight, all the while without one of its key contributors from last season, running back Adrian Villalobos, who is recovering from a collar bone injury sustained in the Knights’ season-opening loss to Stellar Prep of Oakland.
Kelseyville came out of Week 5 of the high school football season with the only win among Lake County schools. Clear Lake, Lower Lake and Upper Lake all suffered road losses.
Following are some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 5:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Jordi Lopez carried the ball 24 times for 176 yards and a touchdown against Middletown. His backfield mater, Robert Chavez, added 101 yards on 17 carries and two TDs. Clear Lake’s Rodrigo Lupercio, still recovering from an ankle injury, had a season-high 19 carries for 80 yards in a loss to St. Helena. Teammate Chris White, the Cardinals’ quarterback, had 60 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.
Passing — Lower Lake’s Elijah Hernandez was 15 of 26 for 252 yards and a TD in a loss to Fort Bragg. Upper Lake’s Ray Moran completed 13 of 33 passes for 191 yards and a TD in a loss to Rincon Valley Christian.
Receiving — Gavin Watson’s 14 receptions for 139 yards and a TD for Lower Lake took top honors in Week 5. Upper Lake’s Desmond Mueller had five catches for 102 yards against Rincon Valley Christian. Other Week 5 leaders were Lower Lake’s Aries Brooke with six catches for 74 yards and Kelseyville’s Zack Watkins with four catches for 64 yards and a TD.
Special teams
So much for returns — Playing on an 80-yard-long field in eight-man football certainly has its benefits as the Rincon Valley and Upper Lake kickers kept booting the ball into the other team’s end zone for touchbacks … although the Rincon Valley kicker also booted it out of bounds a couple of times.
Defense
Says it all — How well did the Kelseyville defense play against Middletown? The Knights allowed the Mustangs a season-low 66 yards on the ground and 91 yards overall. “When you hold a team like Middletown to no points, it’s kind of hard to single out players,” Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said. “Everyone on the defense played a great game.”
Sack attack — Upper Lake quarterback Ray Moran had to run for his life all game against Rincon Valley Christian’s pass rush. He did an outstanding job avoiding the pressure in the first three quarters as he was sacked only once, but he was dropped five times in the fourth quarter of a tight game, killing the Cougars’ chances for their first win of the season.
Checking all the boxes — Upper Lake linebacker Junior Fernandez recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and had half a sack against Rincon Valley Christian.
Nice game — Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez recorded 10 solo stops with one assist, two tackles for losses, and one sack against Middletown.
This and that
Couldn’t get them off the field — Kelseyville offense gained 22 first downs rushing and three passing against Middletown. The Knights punted the ball only once.
Stinging defeat — On his final carry of the day, Upper Lake quarterback Ray Moran was tackled short of the first down near the Rincon Valley sideline and stung by a bee on the same play.
Load gun, shoot foot — Lower Lake committed 205 yards in penalties against Fort Bragg.
Elimination game? — Middletown (1-1) travels to Lakeport on Friday night to play Clear Lake (1-1). A second loss this early in the league campaign will pretty much eliminate the loser from title contention.
News from the ‘Dale — Cloverdale (2-0) joins Kelseyville as the only other undefeated team in the NCL I through the first two weeks of league play. The Eagles can make it three in a row with a victory at home Friday against Lower Lake (0-2).
JV ranks — The Middletown JVs improved to 2-0 in league and 5-0 overall with a 34-12 victory over Kelseyville.
League opener — Upper Lake (0-5) finally opens its NCL III schedule this coming Friday night in Miranda against South Fork (3-2). The two teams met on Aug. 31 in a non-league game at Miranda where the host Cubs won 48-6. Unfortunately for the Cougars, two of their league home games, Oct. 5 against Laytonville and Oct. 26 against Anderson Valley, won’t happen because those two schools have folded their football programs because of not enough players. Upper Lake only remaining home game is Oct. 12 against Point Arena.
