LAKE COUNTY — Sometimes it’s OK not to share and one of those times was Friday night when the Clear Lake Cardinals clinched the outright North Central League I varsity football championship with a a come-from-behind 22-21 victory over the Cloverdale Eagles at Cloverdale High School.
Jake Soderquist’s 2-yard touchdown run with 3:24 remaining in the game cut Cloverdale’s lead to 21-20, at which point the Cardinals lined up for a game-tying extra-point kick before thinking twice and going for what likely would have been a do-or-die two-point conversion. A well-covered Cody Hayes hauled in the pass from Soderquist to put the Cardinals in front to stay.
Had Clear Lake (6-1 league, 9-1 overall) lost to Cloverdale, the league would have ended up in a five-way tie since Middletown, Kelseyville and Willits all won to finish 5-2. Cloverdale ends up fifth in the standings at 4-3.
Going for two points and the win took some guts and Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory and the Cardinals pulled it off.
Clear Lake trailed 21-7 at one point after a wild sequence in the second quarter when Cloverdale scored to tie the game at 7-7, then recovered an onside kick and scored again for a 14-7 lead. The Eagles recovered a second straight onside kick and added another touchdown for a 21-7 lead. The Cardinals’ defense held firm at that point, pitching a shutout in the second half while the offense put together the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.
It was a classic ending to a terrific league race. Now the Cardinals have to beat Cloverdale again, this time at their own house, Friday night in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 7 playoffs.
Stay tuned.
Following are some other highlights and lowlights from Week 11, the final week of the regular season.
Statistics
Rushing — Jacob Urbina rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns to power Middletown past St. Helena 20-7. Upper Lake’s Benjamin Beecher (17 carries for 131 yards, 2 TDs) and Delaney Allison (10 carries for 128 yards, 2 TDs) both topped the century mark in a 70-40 loss to Branson in eight-man NCL II action. Clear Lake’s Hank Ollenberger carried the ball 21 times for 118 yards against Cloverdale while quarterback Jake Soderquist (five carries for 62 yards) ran for all three of the Cardinals’ scores. Kelseyville’s Kyle Watkins rolled up 108 yards on 12 carries in Kelseyville’s 42-12 win over Lower Lake. Sam Vanoven added 92 yards on 12 carries, including four touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions.
Passing — Probably the quietest passing week of the 2022 season. Clear Lake’s Jake Soderquist went 10-for-14 for 89 yards with two interceptions. Upper Lake’s Jerod Rosales went 6-for-17 for 71 yards and a TD but was picked off four times by Branson. Middletown’s Hunter Hartzog completed just one pass, but it was huge – a 65-yard touchdown to Trenton Griffith. Two different Lower Lake quarterbacks — Demarion Jones and Michael Russell — threw touchdown passes for the Trojans against Kelseyville.
Receiving — The biggest catch of Week 11 was tight end Cody Hayes’ two-point conversion grab late in the fourth quarter of Clear Lake’s win over Cloverdale. Teammate Saul Reyes had four catches for 30 yards while Upper Lake’s Nick Foster caught two passes for 63 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Gold star — The Cloverdale Eagles made the most of their home turf advantage by recovering back-to-back onside kicks in the second quarter against Clear Lake, both of which led to Eagles touchdowns.
2-for-2 — Clear Lake’s Jesse Hayes on his extra-point kick tries against Cloverdale.
Defense
Baker’s dozen — Lower Lake’s Zander Carver was in on 13 tackles against Kelseyville and his fumble recovery and long return late in the fourth quarter set up the Trojans’ final score.
Seal the deal — Hank Ollenberger’s interception in the final seconds against Cloverdale sealed Clear Lake’s win. Ollenberger did the smart thing, too, as he went down to the ground to end the play rather than risk a fumble — and he had the whole field in front of him, according to head coach Mark Cory.
The fives have it — Kelseyville’s starters were pretty much out of the game after building a 42-6 halftime lead against Lower Lake, but starters Sam Vanoven and Ty Steely each had five solo tackles and two assists. Reme Strong added five unassisted tackles and he also picked off a Lower Lake pass.
To the house — Anthony DeJohn’s 42-yard interception return for Kelseyville staked the Knights to a 22-0 lead in the first quarter.
Miscellaneous
Streaks — Kelseyville closes league play and the regular season with four straight victories. The Knights hit the road Friday to play St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo in the opening round of the Division 7 playoffs. If they win, they’ll play the Cloverdale at Clear Lake first-round winner in the Division 7 semifinals the weekend of Nov. 18-19.
Checking the playbook — Clear Lake was looking at a fourth-and-35 and one point Friday night against Cloverdale.
300-win celebration — Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer was honored during a five-minute pregame ceremony Friday night before the Mustangs played St. Helena. Foltmer won his 300th career game Oct. 21 with a dramatic come-from-behind 36-29 win at Cloverdale. After a 20-7 win over St. Helena, he now has 301 … and counting. Middletown plays at Justin-Siena (Napa) this Friday night in the opening round of the Division 6 playoffs.
Don’t look now — … but there’s a second Foltmer 300-win pin arriving in a couple of weeks. This one is completely different from the first.
The Hayes Report (sponsored by Wile E. Coyote and ACME Corporation) — Clear Lake’s Cody Hayes caught the winning two-point conversion pass against Cloverdale. He also had two other catches for 10 yards. Brother Jesse had one carry for eight yards and kicked a pair of extra point.
Congrats youth winners — Middletown’s varsity and pee teams claimed championships on Saturday in the Mendo-Lake Empire Junior Football League. Middletown beat Kelseyville 28-12 in the varsity game while Middletown’s pee weeks defeated Westshore 28-6. Willits won the junior varsity championship with a 14-13 victory over Middletown.
Solid day — Kelseyville’s Anthony DeJohn rushed for 92 yards and had a pick-six interception return against Lower Lake.
Kudos — Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Middletown and Upper Lake are all advancing to the North Coast Section playoffs in their respective divisions. Upper Lake, which is moving up into the NCL I next season in all sports, hosts Calistoga Friday night in the opening round of the eight-man playoffs, a rematch of their league game Oct. 8 won by Upper Lake 38-12 at Upper Lake.
NorCals — Clear Lake (30-4) hosts Colusa in the first round of the NorCal playoffs, part of the state volleyball tournament, Tuesday at 7 p.m. Colusa beat Clear Lake in four sets in the season opener for both teams way back on Aug. 16 in Colusa. If the Caridnals win, they’ll be home against Thursday night in the quarterfinals.
Add another pennant — Upper Lake girls soccer didn’t get the pennant it wanted after falling 3-1 to St. Bernard’s of Eureka Friday night in the North Coast Section Division 3 championship game, but a runner-up section pennant along with the Cougars’ pennant for winning the NCL II will be a welcome addition to the Upper Lake gym. The Cougars went 23-1-2 this season, which is quite an achievement.
Monday blues — Tell me about it. I was that close to joining my wife in retirement after the latest company software curveball thrown our way.
Big thanks — To my Clear Lake sideline reporter Mike Hansen for keeping me up to date on the happenings Friday night at Cloverdale. When I mean up to date, I mean everything that pretty much happened during that game in real time.
Week 12 games (playoff openers) — Cloverdale at Clear Lake, Kelseyville at St. Patrick-St. Vincent in Division 7, Middletown at Justin-Siena in Division 6, and Calistoga at Upper Lake in eight-man. Good luck to all the county teams.
Run, run, run — The Coastal Mountain Conference Championships in cross country take place Wednesday at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa. Clear Lake junior Hannah Garrity will be looking to defend her title as she takes a first step toward a return trip to the CIF State Championships.
Sure sign of the apocalypse — the New York Jets beating Buffalo.
JV champions — Kelseyville’s junior varsity football team ran the table in league play in 2022, going a perfect 7-0. The Knights went 9-1 overall, including victories in their last nine games.
Winter sports — Just a week away from the first high school non-league basketball game of the 2022-23 season.
All-County volleyball team — Coming up soon.
