LAKE COUNTY — You’ll get two days of football instead of one as Week 10 of the high school football season unfolds across Lake County.
Four games were originally scheduled for Friday night — Fort Bragg at Middletown, Clear Lake at Lower Lake, Willits at Kelseyville, and Round Valley at Upper Lake — but there weren’t enough officials to go around, so Willits at Kelseyville has been pushed back to Saturday afternoon with junior varsity action kicking off at 1 p.m. and the varsity game to follow.
Fort Bragg at Middletown
The Middletown Mustangs (5-0 league, 6-2 overall) will clinch no worse than a tie for the league championship with a victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves (1-4, 1-6), who gave the St. Helena Saints all they could want last week before finally losing 40-28.
After going on the road to beat St. Helena (3-2, 6-2) and Willits (3-2, 5-3) in back-to-back weeks, the Mustangs control their own destiny in the league race. However, they are not overlooking the Timberwolves by any means, according to head coach Bill Foltmer.
“You have to prepare for Fort Bragg’s best,” he said. “If you step on the field thinking you’re going to win, that’s when you get upset. Our kids know they’re fighting for a championship. They know what’s at stake.”
Added Foltmer, “When you’re the favorite, you can’t beat yourself. We’ll be ready, no doubt about it. We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
After Fort Bragg, Middletown hits the road Nov. 1 to play Cloverdale (1-4, 2-6) to wrap up the regular season.
Clear Lake at Lower Lake
The pass-happy Lower Lake Trojans (4-1, 6-2) take a four-game winning streak onto the field Friday for their homecoming game against Clear Lake (2-3, 3-5), a winner of two straight.
“We’re playing confident football,” Lower Lake head coach Jeremy (Jay) Jakubowski said. “Offensively we know we’ve got weapons, but it’s about efficiency, we can’t have penalties and turnovers.”
Jakubowski said players on both teams have engaged in a mostly friendly rivalry since passing league way back in July. Now they finally get to meet on the field where the stakes are significant.
“My guys are just hungry right now, they’re champing at the bit to get back on the football field,” Jakubowski said.
“They’re very explosive,” Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory said of the Trojans’ offense. “What they did to Kelseyville last week (66-43 win) was very impressive. On defense we need to keep them in front of us like Middletown did and tackle them. You let them get away and they can take it to the house real easy. We need to make them earn it.”
“They run a lot of formations and throw a lot of stuff at you up front,” Jakubowski said of the Cardinals when they’re on offense. “Treppa (Marcks) is running confidently. Since he’s returned, he’s balancing out that attack and it’s working for them.”
Both teams certainly have something to shoot for on Friday. Lower Lake would remain a game back of Middletown in the league standings with a victory or even pull even should the the Mustangs stumble against Fort Bragg. Clear Lake has a chance to get back to .500 in league play before hosting Kelseyville in the annual Bass Bowl game Nov. 1.
Willits at Kelseyville
For the first time since the second week of the season way back in late August, the Kelseyville Knights will be at full strength when they host the Willits Wolverines on Saturday.
“We’ll have everyone healthy and ready to go,” Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said.
Both teams feature strong running games. Willits is led by Jacob Arms and Gabe McGinnis while Kelseyville’s ground attack features Robert Chavez and Dylan McAdon.
“Arms is a special athlete, but it’s not a one man show,” Larsen said of the Wolverines. “They played Middletown real solid last week (a 21-15 Middletown win at Willits). Their running game is phenomenal.”
The Knights’ biggest weakness this season has been its secondary, but with a rash of injuries now over and the starters back in place, Larsen said he’s hoping Willits, a team that doesn’t throw the ball much, won’t be able to exploit that part of the Kelseyville defense as well as other teams have done.
Willits’ defense is solid on most counts, according to Larsen.
“They’re always a tough, physical group of kids,” he said.
Kelseyville’s offensive line, which has opened holes for Chavez and McAdon all season, needs another big game, according to Larsen.
“Our line has played very well,” Larsen said.
Round Valley at Upper Lake
The Upper Lake Cougars (2-2, 2-6) wrap up their season with a North Central League III game against the Round Valley Mustangs (1-1, 3-3). Kickoff is 7 p.m. It’s the Cougars’ final chance to post an on-field victory as their only wins to date have been forfeits over Potter Valley and Point Arena.
“They’re a running team, their offense similar to the (Round Valley) teams we’ve faced in past seasons,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said.
Since losing 40-7 to Cornerstone Christian of Antioch a week ago in Upper Lake, the Cougars have lost four players – two part-time starters to grades and two full-time starters for disciplinary reasons.
“It has been a long season,” Moran said.
