LAKE COUNTY — The ability to adapt is the mark of a good team. The Kelseyville Knights certainly did that in the second half to turn back a strong challenge from Fort Bragg and beat the Timberwolves 16-0 in a North Central League I varsity football game Friday night in Kelseyville.
“It was a true Fort Bragg, Kelseyville football game,” Kelseyville coach Erick Larsen said of the physical battle that was decided in the trenches.
Fort Bragg held Kelseyville to a season-low 137 yards rushing, so the Knights beat the Timberwolves with their passing game. Quarterback Alex Garcia completed 10-yard touchdown pass to Dylan McAdon for the games first points, those coming with 11:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the same combination hooked up on the conversion to make it 8-0.
Those were all the points Kelseyville’s defense would need, but the Knights added another score with 9:30 left to push their advantage to 16-0. And therein lies another mark of a good team, the ability to make the most of an opponent’s mistakes.
Not long after scoring the go-ahead touchdown, Kelseyville’s defense forced a fumble that was recovered by Bryan Carrillo after a wild scramble for the ball. Garcia scored on the next play, running it from 2 yards out for the touchdown.
Fort Bragg is only 1-2 in league play, but both of those losses – to Cloverdale and now Kelseyville – were close calls, so no one should be taking the Timberwolves lightly.
“They are a well-coached, disciplined team,” Larsen said of the Timberwolves, who are under the direction of veteran coach Roy Perkins. “They’ll play you tough in the box.”
While the Knights (3-0 league, 5-1 overall) had their hands full beating the Timberwolves, so did the Cloverdale Eagles (3-0, 5-1) in their 27-20 victory over Lower Lake (0-3, 2-4) on Friday night in Cloverdale. The Trojans drove from their own 1-yard line to the Cloverdale 2, where they had a first-and-goal with less than a minute to play. A penalty backed them up before the series stalled on an incomplete pass into the end zone on fourth-and-goal.
As a result of Kelseyville’s and Cloverdale’s wins, those two teams remain tied atop the standings and will battle it out for sole possession of first place this coming Friday in Kelseyville.
Following is a look back at some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 6 of the high school season:
Statistics
Rushing — Fullback Dillon Tingle of the Middletown Mustangs took top honors in Week 6 with 100 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown in a 21-6 win over Clear Lake. Teammate Nico Barrio added 91 yards on 16 carries and a TD. Kelseyville’s Jordi Lopez finished with 90 yards on 16 carries against Fort Bragg. Lower Lake’s Aries Brooke had 65 yards on 11 carries and a TD against Cloverdale.
Passing — Well on his way to breaking the Lake County single-season passing record that was set only a year ago by Clear Lake’s Alex Adams, Lower Lake’s Elijah Hernandez completed 24 of 39 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans’ loss to Cloverdale. Upper Lake’s Ray Moran went 10-for-21 for 243 yards and four TDs in the Cougars’ 50-26 loss to South Fork.
Receiving — Lower Lake’s Darian James caught 12 passes for 159 yards and a TD while teammate Diego Gonzalez had five catches for 125 yards. Upper Lake’s Hank Nevarez had six catches, three for TDs, for 152 yards. Middletown’s Drake Harbison caught the only pass completed by Middletown in its win over Clear Lake, but it was a biggie, covering 60 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Special teams
Kicking — Jorge Fonseca made all three of his extra points in Middletown’s win over Clear Lake.
Times two — The Kelseyville Knights were successful on both of their two-point conversions against Fort Bragg.
Defense, baby
Pick, pick — Lower Lake’s Diego Gonzalez picked off Cloverdale’s quarterback twice.
Bringing the pressure — Five different Upper Lake players had one sack apiece against South Fork. Junior Fernandez had one of those sacks and he also recovered a fumble.
Long return — Kelseyville’s Brandon Garcia returned an interception 54 yards against Fort Bragg. Brother Alex Garcia led the Knights with seven unassisted tackles. Chase Larsen added six tackles and one assist.
This and that
Streaking — The Kelseyville Knights have won five straight since a season-opening loss to Stellar Prep. The Upper Lake Cougars, 0-6 so far this season, have dropped seven in a row dating back to last season.
Undefeated — Middletown’s junior varsity squad is 6-0.
Sky is the limit — Lower Lake quarterback Elijah Hernandez has passed for 1,792 yards and 14 TDs in six games. He has at least four games remaining to add to that total. Clear Lake’s Alex Adams set the single-season passing record a year ago with 2,196 yards. Hernandez is on a pace to finish the regular season, not counting playoffs, with 2,987 yards.
That was quick — Clear Lake and Middletown completed their varsity game Friday night in less than two hours. Only nine passes were attempted in the game. Cloverdale’s homecoming game with Lower Lake went well over three hours.
Words of advice — If you say it and it ends up in print, own it.
Undefeated — A handful of the county’s fall sports teams are undefeated in league or conference play entering the final month of the regular season. Kelseyville varsity football, Middletown JV football, Kelseyville varsity volleyball, Middletown girls soccer and both Middletown cross country teams — girls and varsity boys — are kicking some booty.
Got it together — First-year Lower Lake cross country coach Erin Nanik had to host three meets in the first three weeks of the season. She had a complete list of results emailed out before 9 p.m. each time, which is incredible.
One tough lady — Clear Lake volleyball player Shaelyn McIntire, black and blue fingers and all.
One tough dude — Upper Lake’s Kellen Smith, who continues to make great strides in his rehabilitation from a traumatic head injury.
Unscheduled bye week — Upper Lake has a bye Friday night because Laytonville no longer has a team. The Cougars tried everything they could to find a non-league replacement team but couldn’t do it.
Kaboom! — Upper Lake and South Fork combined for 42 points in the fourth quarter on Friday night in Miranda.
That’s three — Darius Ford drew the start at quarterback for Clear Lake in its loss to Middletown and performed well, according to head coach Mark Cory. He is the third different starter for the Cardinals this year because of injury.
Opposites attract — While Kelseyville and Cloverdale, both 3-0, are battling it out for undisputed possession of first place in the league standings Friday night, Lower Lake and Willits, both 0-3, will meet in Lower Lake to avoid sole possession of the league basement.
Giants baseball, 2018 — There were no survivors.
