LAKE COUNTY — It didn’t take long for Kelseyville High School’s Robert Chavez to show off the kind of ability that earned him the most valuable player award on defense and first-team honors on offense in the North Central League I a year ago as the Knights overpowered the Ukiah Wildcats 40-14 on Friday night in Ukiah.
It was a solid victory on all accounts for the Division 6 Knights (1-1) against the Division 3 Wildcats (1-1), who didn’t score their first points until the fourth quarter, by which time Kelseyville already led 34-0.
Kelseyville wraps up its preseason Friday at home against a Divising 5 Fortuna (0-2) team that has lost to pair of Division 4 opponents, Cardinal Newman, 38-0, and Miramonte, 45-39, in its first two games.
The only other game last weekend involving a Lake County school had Upper Lake dropping a 20-0 decision to Virginia City in eight-man action at Upper Lake. The Cougars’ defense gave up a couple of long touchdown runs but otherwise kept Upper Lake in the game, unfortunately the offense was inconsistent and couldn’t sustain its drives.
Quarterback Kellen Smith, who was nearly killed in an auto accident in August of 2018, completed a pass to wide receiver Benat Love on Upper Lake’s first play from scrimmage before leaving the field to a nice round of applause. While it was a symbolic gesture as Smith is still rehabilitating from the crash and is not capable of playing every day, it was a moment both teams could cherish as the Upper Lake-Virginia City game a year ago in Nevada took place with Smith still in the hospital fighting for his life. The host Muckers took up a donation for him during last year’s season opener and went out of their way to accommodate the Cougars on their long road trip.
Former Upper Lake football head coach Mike Smith, the principal at Upper Lake Middle School, thanked Virginia City for its hospitality and gave son Kellen a big hug after he completed his pass and came off the field to another round of applause.
Following are some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 2:
Statistics
Rushing — The aforementioned Chavez logged 25 carries during his 173-yard effort against Ukiah. His two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter capped the Knights’ first win of 2019. Backfield mate Dylan McAdon inflicted his own brand of suffering on the Wildcats’ defense with 141 yards on 15 carries with one TD. Upper Lake’s Robert Guadaycan led Upper Lake with 42 yards on 16 carries, most of those coming in the first half when the Cougars line did a pretty good job blocking for him. Quarterback Cody Banks added 37 yards on seven carries.
Passing — Kelseyville’s Cory Holt went 6-for-15 for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Upper Lake’s Cody Banks went 9-for-23 for 108 yards and two interceptions in his varsity debut.
Receiving — Benat Love’s varsity debut at wide receive for Upper Lake featured five catches for 61 yards. Chase Larsen’s lone reception for Kelseyville went for a 52-yard score. The always-active Robert Chavez had three catches for 26 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Still waiting — Two weeks into the high school football season and still no extra-point kicks for Lake County teams. Of course, that wasn’t a huge surprise this past week since three teams (Lower Lake, Clear Lake and Middletown) had byes, Upper Lake didn’t score and Kelseyville almost always goes for the two-point conversion following touchdowns – the Knights were 2-for-6 against Ukiah.
Defense
Nice start — Upper Lake’s Bradley Sneathen recovered two fumbles against Virginia City. Benat Love also picked off a pass for the Cougars.
Three takeaways — Kelseyville’s Matt Gomora and Tyler Linnell intercepted Ukiah passes while Jayto Bonson recovered a fumble.
Blackjack — Kelseyville middle linebacker Robert Chavez was in on 21 tackles against Ukiah, including 17 solo stops.
Sacks — Kelseyville’s Johnny Rixen and Upper Lake’s Jeff Corbin, a freshman, registered sacks on Friday night.
Miscellaneous
Words to the wise — If you’re trailing a play, don’t even think about touching an opposing player. A block-in-the-back penalty against Upper Lake, which occurred well behind a completed pass from quarterback Cody Banks to Benat Love in the third quarter, wiped out most of a long gainer. The block was unnecessary, even if it had been legal, because it wasn’t going to help the receiver.
Pretty clean — Upper Lake and Virginia City were called for a total of nine penalties (two of which offset) for only 50 yards. There was only one major infraction for a block in the back.
No points, but yardage — Virginia City outgained Upper Lake only 211-199. The Cougars’ offense struggled in the first half but made some decent noise in the second half. More than half of the Muckers’ total came on two plays – a 60-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and a 50-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Looking ahead — Upper Lake hosts Calistoga on Friday night at 7 p.m. The following week, the Cougars’ younger players host Potter Valley in a junior varsity game (the Bearcats aren’t fielding a varsity team this year). Upper Lake’s varsity will be credited with a forfeit win because it’s a North Central League III game.
Quality beats quantity — It’s not how long you hold the ball that counts as much as what you do with it when you have it. Upper Lake ran 22 plays in the third quarter to Virginia City’s six and was outscored 6-0 by the Muckers.
Officials spread thin — Until further notice, there are four games scheduled for this coming Friday night in Lake County. Upper Lake is home against Calistoga, Kelseyville is home against Fortuna, Lower Lake hosts El Molino, and Clear Lake hosts Pierce. Also on Friday, Middletown travels to Concord.
Running kudos — To the Middletown cross country boys for placing fifth in the Bill Springhorn Classic on Friday in Redding. The competition was pretty impressive, given the number of large-school teams taking part. Middletown junior Isaac Rascon placed 12th in a personal-best 16-flat on the 3-mile course to win a medal.
Soccer kudos — To Clear Lake’s Lexi Tejada who has scored three goals (a hat trick) in each of her last two games, wins over Tech and Mendocino.
Volleyball kudos — To Lower Lake’s Lynzi Milano for rallying her team from two sets down in a win over Upper Lake. She’s one tough player.
