UPPER LAKE — Upper Lake’s defense did enough to keep the Cougars in contention, but the offense simply couldn’t sustain its drives in a season-opening 20-0 loss to the Virginia City Muckers in eight-man varsity football action Friday night at Upper Lake High School.
“I thought we had a chance to get into the end zone a couple of times, but we made some mistakes,” Upper Lake coach Vince Moran said as a chaotic week for the Cougars (0-1) drew to a close. Upper Lake had a handful of its players showing animals at the Lake County Fair this week, which meant they couldn’t attend all of the team’s practices, and three other players, including two-way starter JT Thiessen, was unavailable because of injury.
“He starts at wide receiver and on the defensive line, so we definitely could have used him tonight,” Moran said.
Moran certainly wasn’t disappointed with his team’s initial effort of the 2019 season because there were a bunch of promising signs that a young and mostly inexperienced Upper Lake squad might make some noise down the road.
“That’s the most physical we’ve been (on defense) the last couple of years,” he said. “(Mark) Dutcher and (Bradley) Sneathen had a lot of big hits.”
And Upper Lake also won the turnover battle as Sneathen recovered a pair of fumbles and Benat Love picked off a pass. The Cougars coughed the ball up twice, both times on interceptions, including one to end the third quarter with Upper Lake’s offense on the move.
It was the varsity debut of quarterback Cody Banks, who played well enough for the first time out and did show flashes of promise … and impatience. He ended up going 9-for-23 for 108 yards and also ran for 37 yards, the second-best rushing total on the team behind 42 yards on 16 carries from running back Richard Guadaycan, who didn’t get much help from his line in the second half.
Virginia City, a 50-6 winner over Upper Lake during last year’s season opener at Virginia City, scored on the first play from scrimmage when sophomore running back Trent Dohoney took the handoff from quarterback Aiden Gamble, bounced it outside and motored untouched down the Virginia City sideline for a 60-yard score that made it 6-0.
Upper Lake’s defense buckled down after that. The Muckers, almost exclusively a running team, had 18 more carries in the first half but gained only 12 yards. They lost one fumble and were thrown for losses or held for no-gain seven times. The lost fumble, which was recovered by Sneathen, came just as the Muckers were about to score late in the second quarter, Sneathen pouncing on the loose ball at the Upper Lake 1-yard line.
The Muckers did pick up two points in the quarter on a safety when a high snap from center went over Banks’ head and rolled into the end zone. Sneathen alertly pounced on the ball, preventing Virginia City from scoring a touchdown.
While the Cougars went the entire first half without mounting a single scoring threat, they controlled the ball all but six plays of the third quarter but couldn’t take advantage. Back-to-back drives stalled on downs at the Virginia City 28- and 30-yard lines, and a third drive into Muckers territory ended with an interception.
Just as in the first quarter, Virginia City scored on a lightning-strike 50-yard run, this time by running back Austin Peevers, who burst up the middle and streaked untouched into the end zone to make it 14-0.
Dohoney’s second touchdown of the night, a 12-yard run around the right side, capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive in the fourth quarter that pushed the Muckers’ lead to a safer 20-0 with 5:18 remaining.
Upper Lake’s best drive of the game followed a few minutes later. The Cougars started at their own 10-yard line after Sneathen’s second fumble recovery of the game. A 33-yard pass from Banks to Benat Love and a 17-yard Banks keeper helped push the ball all the way down to the Virginia City 8 where the drive stalled out. Banks was sacked for an eight-yard loss and threw three incomplete passes. The Muckers took over on downs and ran out the clock.
Love, a senior who kicked in two games for Upper Lake last season when he played soccer in the fall, started both ways for the Cougars on Friday. He caught five passes for 61 yards and had the interception on defense.
Moran said he was impressed with Love’s first varsity start.
“He had a good game on offense and defense,” Moran said. “He had a couple of nice tackles and that interception.”
Virginia City outgained Upper Lake only 211-199, more than half of the Muckers’ total coming on its long touchdown runs in the first and third quarters.
The two teams combined for only six accepted penalties for 50 yards, including only one major infraction for a block in the back that negated much of a long gain on a completed pass from Banks to Love late in the third quarter.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Moran said. “They made some big plays, we just needed a few more.”
Upper Lake hosts Calistoga next Friday.
