Editor’s note: This is the first in a five-part series profiling Lake County’s high school varsity football teams as they prepare for the 2022 season.
UPPER LAKE — While the team Upper Lake puts on the field this season may be every bit as talented as last year’s squad that won the North Central League III championship, the Cougars are really going to earn it if their goal is a repeat.
“It’s going to be a lot tougher winning league this year,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said of the upcoming 2022 season.
Upper Lake moves up into a revamped NCL II that also features South Fork, a holdover from the Cougars’ NCL III days, along with Calistoga, Branson School of Ross, Stuart Hall of San Francisco, Cornerstone Christian of Antioch and California School for the Deaf of Fremont.
It’s definitely a step up for the Cougars, who are playing eight-man football for an eighth straight and final year. Starting in 2023, Upper Lake returns to 11-man football as it joins the NCL I, a league it successfully competed in back in the 1980s and 1990s before the program’s fortunes began to sour with smaller and smaller rosters each year and the accompanying losses that followed.
Upper Lake could barely field enough players in 2014, its final year as an 11-man club, and switched to the eight-man game in 2015. But with the Northshore’s youth football program on the rise and numbers on the high school team steadily growing — 31 players out the first week of the season – the Cougars, starting with the 2023 season, will once again be knocking heads with other Lake County schools.
Of course, that still leaves this season, Upper Lake’s final one as an eight-man club, and in a new league to boot.
“We’re right at the same spot as we were last year talent-wise,” Moran said in assessing his 2022 roster, which has better team speed almost everywhere you look and, even more importantly, four returning All-League players in senior Joey Franklin (running back/line/linebacker), junior Will Henry (running back/line/defensive end), senior Daylin Hamby (receiver/defensive back) and sophomore quarterback Jerod Rosales.
“We have the talent, but the level of (league) competition for us is going up big time,” Moran said of the new-look NCL II. Branson went 10-0 last season, including a pair of wins over a Stuart Hall team that ended Upper Lake’s season with a 12-0 victory in the semifinals of the North Coast Section eight-man playoffs. Calistoga finished third last season in the old NCL IV behind Branson and Stuart Hall.
“A tougher schedule means we’ll be more prepared come playoff time,” said Moran, who just as quickly caught himself and said, “I’m probably getting ahead of myself talking about playoffs.”
Schedule
Upper Lake originally had nine games scheduled (out of a maximum of 10 allowed), but a season-opening Aug. 26 matchup against Maxwell, which would have been an 11-man contest, has been canceled. Unless the Cougars pick up a game or two between now and then, they won’t play their season opener until Sept. 9 at home against Roseland University Prep of Santa Rosa. In fact, Upper Lake is scheduled to play its first three games at home this season, including a Sept. 16 non-league contest against Tomales and its NCL II opener Sept. 23 against California School for the Deaf.
The Cougars also have two Saturday games scheduled, both of them league road contests — against Stuart Hall (Oct. 1) and Branson (Nov. 5, regular-season finale).
Roster
Of the 31 players out for football during the first week of practice, more than half were either freshmen (13) or sophomores (five). The final 13 consist of six juniors and seven seniors. Since eight-man teams do not field separate junior varsity clubs, all 31 Cougars are eligible to play on game day.
Many of those youngsters made an impact last season, none more so than quarterback Rosales, who stepped into starting lineup as a freshman midseason and proved himself to be a cool customer, standing tall in the pocket even when under a heavy pass rush.
“Jerod is the kind of kid who will do whatever it takes,” Moran said.
Delaney Allison, a sophomore who played sparingly last season, also figures to see a whole lot more playing time in 2022 as a key member of the Cougars’ offensive backfield and also on defense in the secondary.
Besides their four returning All-Leaguers, other Cougars veterans include junior running back/defensive end Nick Foster, and senior offensive and defensive lineman Luke Summerfield, who also will handle punting duties.
Offseason
Several Cougars made big improvements over the offseason, including junior Gabe Burris, an offensive and defensive lineman.
“Night and day to what he looked like last year,” Moran said. “I’m counting on him for our line.”
Senior Adrian Killough, also a two-way lineman, has also improved dramatically since the 2021 season and should be a much bigger factor for the Cougars this season, according to Moran.
Flexibility
With an influx of new talent and the improvement of other players from last season, Moran has more flexibility with his line and will make use of it by playing Henry and Franklin in the backfield at times although they could still see action up front.
Working out at the fullback spot, Franklin is looking good so far, according to Moran.
“He’s cutting and reading blocks. He looks pretty natural back there.”
Graduation losses
While the Cougars lost some key personnel to graduation, including All-Leaguers Bradley Sneathen (fullback/linebacker), Cody Banks (wingback/secondary) and Elijah Alvarez (receiver/secondary), Moran said the Cougars have the talent and depth to overcome it.
On offense, Hamby at wide receiver and Allison as an all-purpose player (back and receiver) should offer a couple of tempting targets for quarterback Rosales.
“He’s made a big jump from last year,” Moran said of Allison. “He’s so much bigger, more explosive and mature.”
Upper Lake also has Mikel Compton (running back) to help on offense. While only a freshman, Compton played well last year for Westshore youth football varsity club in Lakeport.
“A really natural runner,” Moran said. “I’m pretty excited for him.”
Offense
“Our offense is really stacked, especially at the skill positions, and with much more speed than we had a year ago,” Moran said. “Line depth is a little sketchy but I think we’re going to be OK and we have options.”
Line candidates besides Burruss and Killough are sophomores Frankie Kavanaugh and Jonathan Barnes, freshmen Nathan Boomer, Tyler Collins and Jimmy Sanchez.
Defense
Franklin inherits Sneathen’s job at middle linebacker in Upper Lake’s defensive scheme while Henry will be another defensive anchor at end. Benjamin Beecher, a junior playing football for the first time in high school, is another huge addition for the Cougars. The younger brother of former Upper Lake standout Ward Beecher, Benjamin Beecher should see plenty of action on defense at linebacker and on offense at running back.
“He hasn’t played since eighth grade (COVID-19 wiped out his freshman season in 2020), but he’s one of the best athletes in the county,” Moran said. “He’s really quick.”
Moran said there are no shortage of defensive line candidates and the Cougars should be tough.
Allison and All-Leaguer Hamby are set as cornerback. The team is still auditioning for a starting safety.
“That’s our biggest need right now, but we definitely have the bodies to fill it. It’s going to be competitive for that job.”
Commitment
The influx of a large and motivated freshman class speaks well for the future of Upper Lake football, according to Moran.
“The freshmen have been there all summer long,” he said of voluntary offseason workouts.
Players such as Billy Stillman (receiver/linebacker), Dylan Aragon (running back/linebacker), Landon Robinson (receiver/safety) and Blake Sneed (running back/cornerback) are just a few of the names to keep an eye on, according to Upper Lake’s head coach.
Investment
Upper Lake has gone without a real weight room for several years after the old one — located just north of the school gym — was condemned and torn down. A new one is set to open in the next couple of months and Moran can’t wait.
“Our (temporary) weight room has been busy over the summer, people were showing up, and the new one is going to make us a much better team,” he said.
Expectations
“It’s going to be tough, but we expect to be competing for another league championship,” Moran said. “The kids think they’re capable of doing that.”
Going into last season there was a lot of uncertainty because of what happened the year before (no football season because of COVID), according to Moran. That’s not the case this year.
“We feel really good about where we’re at,” he said.
