KELSEYVILLE — Among the many big plays that propelled the Kelseyville Knights to a 40-21 victory over the Cloverdale Eagles in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division V football playoffs on Saturday night in Kelseyville, one stood out above the rest.
No, it wasn’t an amazing 69-yard touchdown run by Adrian Villalobos with 7:44 remaining in the game that broke Cloverdale’s back, not an 87-yard touchdown run by Jordi Lopez on the first play from scrimmage that set the early tone, and not even a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Garcia to wide receiver Zack Watkins with 3:58 remaining on a fourth-and-goal play that sealed the victory.
The play of the game didn’t yield a single point but it definitely turned the momentum in Kelseyville’s favor at a time when it was most needed.
And Cloverdale (7-5) did indeed have all of the momentum after scoring on a Jone Wesele 3-yard run with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter to cut Kelseyville’s lead to 26-21. Pinned deep in their own end following the ensuing Eagles kickoff and facing a three-and-out scenario, the Knights needed a spark to turn things around, and they got it. Facing a third-and-eight from the 19-yard line, Garcia struggled up the middle for what appeared to be a small gain, then the senior carried what seemed like the entire Cloverdale defense on his back while powering his way forward to the Eagles 36 for a key first down.
How key? After the No. 1-seeded Knights were penalized five yards for a false start, pushing the ball back to the 31, Villalobos broke through the line of scrimmage and weaved his way down the field for a touchdown that seemed to sap Cloverdale’s spirit as the Knights pushed ahead 32-21.
“He was pulling half of the Cloverdale team with him,” Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said in praise of his quarterback, who also ran for two touchdowns and passed for two others in the Knights’ 10th straight win. “That was all heart, all electricity.
“That was the play of the game,” Larsen said of Garcia’s run.
The Knights had a hard time shaking the Eagles, a team they beat 22-15 in league play on Oct. 5, and there were several reasons why. Both teams had been off an extended period of time — Kelseyville since Oct. 26 and Cloverdale since Nov. 2 — because of the bad air quality caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County, on top of which the Knights had a first-round playoff bye. Both teams showed signs of rust, especially the Knights early in the game.
“We played much better in the second half, especially on defense,” Larsen said. “We made some adjustments at halftime that seemed to help.”
Kelseyville also entered play Saturday night minus one of its key players, All-League standout on offense (running back) and defense (linebacker) Robert Chavez, who was away on a scheduled family vacation to Hawaii. While he was missed on offense, his absence was keenly felt by the Kelseyville defense, which struggled to stop Cloverdale’s running game, especially up the middle where quarterback Shayne Turner hurt the Knights time and time again with multiple keepers out of a spread formation.
“We missed Robert and they (Eagles) were able to take advantage of it, especially up the middle,” Larsen said. “We had to move two kids around to cover for him.”
Lastly, the Eagles came to play, according to Larsen. While the Knights struck early to open up a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, the Eagles came right back to tie the score at 14-all. It remained a back-and-forth tense affair until Villalobos’ long touchdown run — part of his 183-yard rushing night — gave Kelseyville the upper hand.
“I take my hat off to Cloverdale,” Larsen said. “They played us tough twice this year. They came here ready to play. They did very well.”
Kelseyville ultimately won the game without its top two running backs. With Chavez unavailable, the Knights also lost Jordi Lopez to a knee injury. He missed most of the first half but returned in the second half only to re-aggravate the same knee. He ended up with only five carries but still amassed 106 yards, most of that coming on his long TD run to start the game.
Garcia added the two-point conversion run to make it 8-0. Kelseyville had a 14-0 lead minutes later as Garcia and Watkins connected on a 17-yard touchdown.
Cloverdale answered with a 63-yard drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Turner to Garrett Robertson, and a 51-yard scoring drive on its next possession, Wesele scoring on a 25-yard run.
The tie didn’t last long. Kelseyville moved 64 yards on six plays to regain the lead early in the second quarter on a Garcia 16-yard run on a fourth-and-four play.
Cloverdale controlled the ball nearly the final 11 minutes of the first half but Kelseyville’s defense was up to the challenge, stopping the Eagles twice on drives inside Knights territory.
Kelseyville wasted no time adding to its lead as the second half opened, moving 63 yards in five plays on its first possession, Garcia scoring on a 19-yard run just one play after Watkins dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone.
The Knights appeared to be in control until late in the third quarter when the Eagles began a 66-yard march to the end zone that culminated in Wesele’s 3-yard touchdown run with 9:41 remaining in the game. The Eagles converted a third-and-long and fourth-and-short to maintain possession, both times on Turner runs up the middle — 13 yards on the third-down play and 26 yards on the fourth-down play.
Garcia’s game-changing run minutes later led to the Villalobos touchdown. The Knights sealed their victory with just less than four minutes to go when Watkins worked his way behind two Cloverdale defenders in the end zone to haul in a 14-yard pass from Garcia. That clinching touchdown was set up by a Cloverdale fumble.
Larsen said its the first time in his four-year coaching career at Kelseyville that he’s won on Thanksgiving weekend. In his last two Thanksgiving weekend games, he lost 7-0 to Middletown last year in the semifinals and 20-7 to Fort Bragg in the 2016 semifinals.
Kelseyville advances to the semifinals for the third year in a row and will host Middletown (9-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. It’s the third straight season the two Lake County rivals have squared off in the postseason and each team has one win (Middletown last year and Kelseyville in 2016).
“I love playing Middletown,” Larsen said. “It’s what small school football is all about.”
En route to winning the North Central League I championship this season with a 7-0 record, the Knights shut out the Mustangs 28-0 on Sept. 21 at Middletown High School.
The Kelseyville-Middletown winner and the winner of the other semifinal between Salesian and Stellar Prep on Saturday will then face a tiebreaker scenario to determine which team advances to the state playoffs. Because of the multiple postponements caused by the Camp Fire and the air quality issues it caused throughout the North Coast Section and Bay Area, there is no weekend available to hold the championship round before the start of the state playoffs on Dec. 7-8.
