LAKE COUNTY — The 12-game losing streak against Middletown is no more as the Clear Lake Cardinals twice rallied from 12-point deficits to beat the Mustangs 26-18 in a North Central League I varsity football battle Friday night in Lakeport.
That both teams also brought 1-0 league records into Week 6 of the high school football season also is noteworthy. Through two weeks of North Central League I play, St. Helena and Clear Lake, both 2-0, are the only undefeated teams remaining. They meet Oct. 15 in St. Helena.
The league’s four 1-1 teams are Middletown, Kelseyville, Cloverdale and Willits.
Coming up this Friday night in the NCL I are Lower Lake (0-2) at Clear Lake, Fort Bragg (0-2) at Middletown (varsity only), Willits at Kelseyville, and St. Helena at Cloverdale.
NCL II play opens this weekend as Upper Lake (2-2) hosts Potter Valley while South Fork is home against Anderson Valley. Round Valley has the bye. The NCL II is an eight-man football league although each of Upper Lake’s last two games have been 11-man losses to Williams and Maxwell, so the Cougars’ strength of schedule should definitely benefit them against their smaller NCL II rivals.
Following are some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 6 of the high school season:
Statistics
Rushing — Elijah Diaz, who is replacing the injured Cole Ketchum in the Middletown backfield, has done a darn good job so far with back-to-back 100-yard-plus rushing performances. He carried the ball 31 times for 127 yards and scored all three of the Mustangs’ touchdowns in their loss to Clear Lake. Kelseyville’s Kyle Leary had 104 yards on 22 carries and a TD in the Knights’ 43-12 win at Fort Bragg. Other Week 6 leaders were Middletown’s Jacob Urbina (10 carries for 84 yards), Kelseyville’s Luke Watkins (eight carries for 72 yards, TD) and Clear Lake’s Ethan Maize (13 carries for 58 yards, TD).
Passing — Clear Lake’s Jack Daskam completed 10 of 18 passes for 113 yards and two more touchdowns against Middletown. Kelseyville’s Luke Watkins also passed for a pair of scores, going 6-for-10 for 52 yards against Fort Bragg. Upper Lake’s Jerod Rosales, a freshman, came on in the second half to go 11-for-22 for 105 yards in the Cougars’ 34-14 homecoming loss to Williams.
Receiving — Upper Lake’s Kyle Grandi had four catches for 64 yards while teammate Elijah Alvarez caught three passes for 51 yards. Clear Lake’s Zane Robinson had three receptions for 36 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Chipping in — Kelseyville kicker Joey Gentle booted a 19-yard field goal and two extra points against Fort Bragg.
Defense
Pick six (times 3) —Williams returned three interceptions for touchdowns while picking off five passes in all against two Upper Lake quarterbacks.
Instant six — Kelseyville’s Jesse Gonzales returned an interception 21 yards for a score against Fort Bragg.
Sack attack — Middletown’s Nathan Corsetti and Kelseyville’s Zayne Barker had two sacks apiece.
Deuces are wild — Upper Lake’s Kyle Grandi recovered two fumbles and Kelseyville’s Jake Keithly had two interceptions.
Denied — Middletown’s final gasp against Clear Lake, a fourth-and-five play from the Cardinals’ 10-yard-line late in the fourth quarter, was swatted away by Clear Lake safety Zane Robinson to secure the Cardinals’ 26-18 win.
Second-half shutdown — Clear Lake’s defense held Middletown scoreless in the second half.
Miscellaneous
JV notes — Kelseyville is off to a 2-0 start in league play after drilling Fort Bragg 43-19. Middletown’s JVs improved to 1-0-1 with a 46-12 win over Clear Lake.
Varsity only — Middletown’s home game Friday against Fort Bragg is varsity only and kicks off at 7 p.m. The Fort Bragg JVs don’t have enough players to field a team this week and may be done for the season.
Two in a row — One week after catching his first career touchdown pass in the Cardinals’ Bass Bowl XI blowout win over Kelseyville, Clear Lake sophomore Cody Hayes caught career TD pass No. 2 against Middletown.
Homecoming royalty — Bradley Sneathen and Zoey Petrie were crowned king and queen Saturday night in Upper Lake.
The guy can sing — Mel O’Meara’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on Saturday night before the Upper Lake-Williams kickoff was nicely done.
Homecoming week — Clear Lake and Kelseyville are celebrating their homecoming this week.
Bittersweet self-serving plug — Former UC Davis cross country and track star Sarah Sumpter entered that university’s Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night. She was only the second UC Davis athlete to be inducted into its Hall of Fame posthumously. My daughter hated being second at anything.
