KELSEYVILLE — Heading into Bass Bowl IX as the No. 1-ranked team in North Coast Section Division V, the Kelseyville Knights have everything to gain by beating the Clear Lake Cardinals on Friday night at Kelseyville.
The undefeated North Central League I champions are riding a wave of momentum in the form of an eight-game winning streak and would like to keep it that way before the Division V tournament opens the weekend of Nov. 2-3. If the Knights (6-0 league, 8-1 overall) beat the Cardinals (2-4, 2-7) for the sixth straight time in the annual meeting of archrivals, they could lock up homefield advantage throughout the entire length of the sectional playoffs.
“It’s not the time to let down,” said Kelseyville fourth-year head coach Erick Larsen, who is 3-0 in his previous three Bass Bowl games, all of them decided by lopsided margins.
While every bit confident is his team’s ability to come away with a victory on Friday night, Larsen said Clear Lake, long ago eliminated from the league race, is a team quite capable of rising to the occasion.
“They have nothing to lose,” Larsen said. “Their kids are athletes and they’re going to battle us to the end. They have a great football tradition and they’re not to be taken lightly.”
Clear Lake is coming off a 27-24 win over Lower Lake and has been competitive in its league losses to Middletown, St. Helena, Cloverdale and Fort Bragg, all teams that are likely to end up in the Division V playoffs as at-large selections.
“It’s hard for me to say it’s a rivalry until we beat them,” Clear Lake third-year head coach Mark Cory said. “It’s definitely been a one-sided thing. The bottom line is they have everything to lose and we have nothing to lose.”
Added Cory, “No one expects us to win, to even compete with these guys.”
Clear Lake won two of the first three Bass Bowls, long before Cory, who is 0-2 in the series, and Larsen, became head coaches at their respective schools. Since the Cardinals’ last victory in 2012, Kelseyville has won every meeting, and four of the last five have been decided by margins of 21, 28, 20 and 22 points. The only close game in that stretch was Kelseyville’s 11-8 win in 2014, the year before Larsen took over the Knights.
“They’re a good football team,” Cory said of the Knights. “We’ll come out and try and grow as a team.”
Larsen said he wouldn’t be surprised to see every trick play in the book thrown Kelseyville’s way.
“I’m expecting the hook-and-lateral, they got us with it last year, ran it at exactly the perfect time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were running trick plays randomly throughout the game, reverses, reverse passes, double passes. They can open up Pandora’s Box.”
Larsen said if the Cardinals do have success running the hook-and-lateral against his team this season, the Knights are going to pay a price next week in practice.
“They’ll be doing a lot of running,” he said.
The Knights enter play minus standout running back Jordi Lopez for a third straight week because of injury. His backup, Dylan McAdon, is now out as well because of a concussion he sustained a week ago in the Knights’ league-clinching 32-22 win at Willits.
“His head hit the ground hard, it was kind of a freak thing,” Larsen said.
McAdon, who proved more than a capable backup for Lopez, will be replaced by a familiar face, senior Adrian Villalobos, himself sidelined a good portion of the season with a broken collar bone.
“Adrian’s 100 percent,” Larsen said.
The rock in Kelseyville’s backfield this season, Robert Chavez, is also 100 percent and has a better than realistic shot at bringing home a couple of league MVP awards this year.
“Robert has done such a great job for us and he’s only a junior,” Larsen said. “And he’s also done a great job on defense (where he is the team’s leading tackler on the season).”
Lopez is scheduled to return for the Knights’ playoff opener, according to Larsen.
“Having him back at 100 percent is such a huge bonus,” Larsen said.
With Larsen’s and the Knights’ great success in the Bass Bowl series, the Kelseyville coach was asked if there is a secret to his success.
“I’ve been blessed with some good kids,” he said. “That and hard work.”
In other games involving Lake County teams this weekend:
Cloverdale at Middletown
Both teams enter this league finale 4-2 in the NCL I standings and 6-3 overall. The winner will finish no worse than tied for second place in the league standings — Fort Bragg is also 4-2 and plays Willits on Friday — and will have an edge over the other when the Division V playoff field is seeded and finalized on Sunday.
“There are a lot of playoff implications,” Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer said. “We probably both need a win to get a first-round home game. The loser will be playing somebody tough on the road.”
Both Middletown and Cloverdale are coming off losses. A bad first half cost the Mustangs in their 18-14 setback at Fort Bragg while the Eagles were routed at home by St. Helena, 49-29.
“I think my kids understand the situation,” Foltmer said. “They know this could be their final home game if they don’t play well. I think there is some pride involved in that.”
The Eagles had been playing at a high level until running into St. Helena a week ago. Foltmer said he’s not sure what happened to them.
“Cloverdale looked good against Kelseyville and Fort Bragg, but not against St. Helena,” Foltmer said.
Middletown also learned a lesson in its loss to Fort Bragg.
“We didn’t play well in the first half. We did in the second half, but the kids saw what a slow start can do. You can’t always come back from it,” Foltmer said.
A key player for the Mustangs will be running back Drake Harbison, who finished with 152 yards a week ago, most of those coming in the second half.
“If we can keep Drake running like he did in the second half against Fort Bragg, I’m feeling really confident,” Foltmer said.
Middletown also needs to limit its turnovers.
“We can’t lose the turnover battle and expect to win,” Foltmer said.
Lower Lake at St. Helena
The Lower Lake Trojans (0-6, 2-7) get one last shot at securing a league victory, but they’ll have to beat the St. Helena Saints (3-3, 5-4), who need a win to improve their at-large playoff chances in Division V.
Lower Lake could still reach the Division IV playoffs even if loses the game. Despite losing league and overall records, the Trojans do have a winning record against teams within their own division – they beat El Molino 29-27 back on Aug. 31 – and could receive an at-large berth although that would likely mean a road game against a top seed.
Upper Lake at Crystal Springs
Crystal Springs Upland (4-2) of Hillsboroguh replaces what should have been a North Central League III North game on Upper Lake’s schedule, an all too frequent theme for the Cougars in 2018. Potter Valley, Anderson Valley, Laytonville and Point Arena have all folded their football programs, leaving Upper Lake, Round Valley and South Fork as the only viable members of NCL III North.
“They’ve had a pretty good season,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said of the Gryphons. “They run a lot of the same things our offense runs. It should be a good game.”
Crystal Springs likes to spread opponents out and throw the ball a lot, especially to the running backs.
Upper Lake won’t be at full strength for the game. Running back Junior Fernandez, who sparked the Cougars in their 36-28 win over Round Valley a week ago with a 252-yard rushing performance and four TDs, will be absent so that he can take the ACT, a college admission exam. Wide receiver Desmond Mueller may miss the game for the same reason. Hank Nevarez, sidelined a week ago with an injury, is “50-50” for the game, according to Moran.
