KELSEYVILLE — Postponed once, postponed twice and ready to go on Saturday are the Kelseyville Knights against the Cloverdale Eagles in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division V football playoffs
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Kelseyville High School although that starting time could be moved up to noon, according to Kelseyville High School head coach and athletic director Erick Larsen.
Section officials will make the final call on kickoff time Friday morning depending on what the air quality is like in Kelseyville, according to Larsen.
Larsen said the morning air quality has typically been better than later in the day, so a noon kickoff might make more sense than a 7 p.m. starting time.
“We’re trying to be as open-minded as possible and make sure this game gets played,” Larsen said.
Contingency plans call for a Saturday night or Monday night game in Fort Bragg should the air quality in Kelseyville remain in the unhealthy range.
“If we wake up tomorrow (Friday) morning and the air quality is still in the 160-170 range, then we’re looking at moving the game to Fort Bragg on Saturday (or Monday). That’s the nuclear option,” Larsen said. “Fort Bragg is a nice little slice of heaven.”
Fort Bragg hosted Middletown on Monday night in another quarterfinal-round game and the air quality was in the good range (less than 50). Middletown won 29-22 and will play the Kelseyville-Cloverdale winner in the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 23-24.
Around the section
Unhealthy air quality caused by the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County is playing havoc with playoffs in all of the fall sports, forcing section officials to reschedule games in all of its divisions, including Division V that includes Kelseyville and Middletown. The Kelseyville-Cloverdale game was originally scheduled for last Friday and then moved to Monday before being rescheduled for Saturday. Air Quality Index readings in the hazardous and unhealthy range forced the moves. As a result of postponements throughout the section, the football playoffs are now running one full week behind schedule. The CIF State Championships have been moved back as week as well to accommodate sections affected by fires in both the northern and southern parts of the state.
Kelseyville, the North Central League I champion working on a nine-game winning streak, has been off since its last game on Oct. 26 against Clear Lake. The Knights, the No. 1 seed in Division V, were awarded a first-round bye the weekend of Nov. 2-3 and were supposed to host Cloverdale, the No. 8 seed and a 31-12 first-round winner over Arcata, on Nov. 9 before the string of postponements began.
Now, three weeks later, the Knights appear ready to take the field once again. A victory over the Eagles, a team they beat 22-15 on Oct. 5 in Kelseyville despite not playing nearly their best football, would put Larsen’s squad into the Division V semifinals for a third straight year.
While the Knights were missing a couple of key players late in the regular season because of injuries, the extended break has allowed Kelseyville’s roster to heal and the team will be at full strength for its rematch with Cloverdale, a team that struggled mightily to stop the run while losing lopsided games to St. Helena and Middletown in its final two league games.
Last meeting
In the Oct. 5 league game with Kelseyville, the Eagles loaded the box with 10 players in an attempt to slow down the Knights’ formidable running attack with mixed results. While Cloverdale held Kelseyville below its season rushing average, its emphasis on stopping the running game opened things up for the Knights’ passing attack, which took advantage in the fourth quarter when quarterback Alex Garcia and wide receiver Zack Watkins hooked up on a 73-yard touchdown that wiped out a 15-14 Cloverdale lead with 3:23 remaining.
The Knights also proved their own worst enemy at times, turning the ball over twice and nearly a third time late in the game. Garcia accounted for a huge chunk of Kelseyville’s yardage that night with 69 yards rushing and another 85 passing.
