UPPER LAKE — It was one of those nights … as in one of those good nights.
The Upper Lake Cougars had a 22-0 lead after running only four offensive plays in the first quarter Friday while rolling to a 42-6 victory over visiting Cornerstone Christian of Antioch in eight-man North Central League II football action.
In a game that used a running clock for the entire second half because of the Cougars’ 42-0 halftime lead, Upper Lake improved to 2-3 in the league standings and 5-3 overall. They finish their regular season on the road a week from Saturday against Branson.
“It was good to get off to a quick start,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said. “After last week (a 30-6 loss at South Fork) it was a nice bounceback game for all of us.”
Upper Lake was the happy beneficiary of five Cornerstone Christian first-half turnovers and six turnovers overall. Four of those first-half takeaways — one interception and three fumbles — led to quick Cougars touchdowns.
How quick? Three happened on the first play after the turnover and one on the second play. In order, Delaney Allison’s 70-yard run with 8:38 left in the first quarter, Jonathan Barnes’ 7-yard run with 8:08 remaining, and Allison’s 25-yard run (the second play of the possession) at the 5:41 mark had the Cougars up 22-0.
“Our line blocked well and Delaney got some big runs,” Moran said of the sophomore, who was one of the few running backs available to Moran because of a spate of injuries. “He needed to have a big game and he came through. I was proud of him.”
Upper Lake picked up a safety with 5:15 remaining in the opening quarter when Nick Foster tackled Cornerstone Christian quarterback Elijah Castillo in the end zone for a 24-0 lead.
Among other Upper Lake highlights in the first quarter were Allison’s 118 rushing yards (he finished the game with 132).
The second quarter wasn’t much better for these Antioch-variety Cougars. Upper Lake marched 42 yards on seven plays after taking over on downs to grab a 30-0 lead on a Foster 1-yard run with 6:05 remaining. Yet another Cornerstone Christian fumble was recovered by Will Henry, who returned it 18 yards to the Cornerstone 7-yard line. Foster scored on the very next play — another one-play possession — to make it 36-0 with 4:54 left.
Upper Lake’s final score of the first half and game followed one play after a Cornerstone Christian punt as quarterback Jerod Rosales and tight end Luke Summerfield hooked up on a 38-yard touchdown pass. Summerfield picked up a nice block from Manny Duncan to spring free and navigate his way into the end zone for a 42-0 lead.
Moran emptied his bench in the second half and Upper Lake’s reserves battled Cornerstone Christian, which suited up only 12 players, to a scoreless standstill until 3:18 left in the game. That’s when Castillo and running back Carson Butler connected on 25-yard touchdown pass, which came on Cornerstone’s final offensive play of the night.
“Our young guys haven’t been able to play much lately so it was nice to get them all in there,” Moran said. “They got a lot of playing time tonight.”
Upper Lake gained 242 of its 264 yards of total offense in the first half while holding Cornerstone Christian to 60 first-half yards, of which 43 came on the game’s first play, a busted play during which the Antioch team recovered its own fumble and turned it into a big gainer by Castillo.
“We had to mix some things up on the (offensive) line and we had one freshman (Nathan Boomer) starting tonight,” Moran said. “He did great. Gabe (Burris) also did a good job and so did our one senior Summerfield).”
Upper Lake’s defense dropped Cornerstone Christian for losses or held the Antioch club to no gain 10 times in the first half. The Cougars also sacked Castillo three times in addition to their six takeaways.
Cornerstone Christian falls to 0-5 in league play and 3-5 overall.
Upper Lake honored its seniors immediately following its final home game of the regular season.
