LAKE COUNTY — Bass Bowl IX is in the spotlight on Week 10, the final week of the 2018 high school football regular season.
When the Clear Lake Cardinals (2-4 league, 2-7 overall) travel to Kelseyville on Friday night to play the Knights (6-0, 8-1), there won’t be a great deal on the line in the traditional sense of league championship or playoff berth. The Knights secured the outright league title last weekend with a 32-22 victory at Willits, clinching an automatic playoff berth in the process. Clear Lake, long ago eliminated from the title race, is playing out the string against the Knights but would like nothing better than to snap the Knights’ eight-game winning streak on the way out.
Where the game does have significant value for the Knights is in playoff seeding. They are headed to the Division V postseason as a high seed and perhaps even the top seed. A loss to Clear Lake could jeopardize that, something the Cardinals would take immense satisfaction in.
Of course, there is also great value to the winning team even if absolutely nothing is riding on the game’s outcome. Among these two archrivals, county bragging rights would be at the top of the list and the Knights have owned those for the last five years. Kelseyville owns a 6-2 lead in the Bass Bowl series, Clear Lake’s last win coming in 2012. Kelseyville has been in possession of the wooden bass trophy since 2013.
“You can throw away the stats and all the records,” Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said on Friday night when asked about the Clear Lake-Kelseyville rivalry game. “None of that means anything when these two teams play.”
Larsen is 2-0 in the Bass Bowl games he’s presided over while Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory is 0-2.
Clear Lake enters the game with a bit of momentum after beating Lower Lake 27-24 on Friday night at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport. That victory snapped a four-game Cardinals losing streak.
Following is a look back at some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 9:
Statistics
Rushing — Junior Fernandez of Upper Lake rushed for a season- and career-best 252 yards with three touchdowns in a 36-28 victory over Round Valley. He carried the ball only 17 times. Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez rolled up 181 yards on 20 carries with two TDs in a win over Willits. Middletown’s Drake Harbison had 152 yards on 18 carries in an 18-14 loss to Fort Bragg. Clear Lake’s Rodrigo Lupercio finished with 134 yards on 16 carries and a TD against Lower Lake.
Passing — Lower Lake’s Elijah Hernandez added to his single-season county passing yardage record (now at 2,434 yards) with 195 yards against Clear Lake. He went 18-for-28 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Middletown’s RH Hess passed for two TDs in a loss to Fort Bragg.
Receiving — Upper Lake’s Junior Fernandez caught three passes for 62 yards and a TD. Lower Lake’s Darian James had seven catches for 60 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Kicking — Jorge Fonseca went 2-for-2 on extra-point kicks in Middletown’s loss to Fort Bragg. He almost got a chance to kick a third, but the Mustangs’ bid for a last-second win ended on an incomplete pass in the end zone as time expired.
Defense
Setting the tone — Zack Watkins returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown for Kelseyville’s first points against Willits.
11 sacks — Upper Lake dropped Round Valley’s quarterback 11 times. Richard Guaydacan and Russell Gordon led the way with two sacks apiece.
Sealed with a pick — Lower Lake’s bid for a game-winning drive against Clear Lake ended in the arms of Dion Brewster, who intercepted a deflected pass to seal the Cardinals’ 27-24 win.
Tackle machine — Lower Lake’s Adam Deleon had 14 unassisted tackles in the win over Clear Lake. Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez had nine unassisted stops and five assists along with a fumble recovery against Willits.
Welcome back — Having a healthy Adrian Villalobos back in its secondary has been a blessing for an already-strong Kelseyville defense. The senior picked off two Willits passes on Friday night.
This and that
Streaks — Kelseyville has won eight in a row and Lower Lake has lost six straight.
Up for grabs — Kelseyville and Willits combined for nine turnovers (five lost fumbles and four interceptions).
Not bad — Upper Lake’s Junior Fernandez had himself what you might call a complete game against Round Valley. He rushed for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion, caught a touchdown pass, accounted for 314 yards of total offense, recovered a fumble and registered a sack. Not surprisingly, he won the team’s Hammer Award, which is given to the top player every week.
Titles times two — Kelseyville High School’s varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams are the undisputed league champions this year.
One great sports mom — Sorry to hear of the death of Alvira Wilder, formerly of Lucerne, the mom of Upper Lake High School great Laura Wilder, the county’s all-time career scoring leader in basketball. Laura later played for Washington State University. Upper Lake’s varsity girls basketball teams of 1990-1994 are the most highly decorated sports teams in Lake County history. Laura Wilder, Jen Bryant and Annie Pivniska started all four years. Those were some good times and Alvira was certainly a big part of that.
