LAKE COUNTY— As the calendar teeters from summer to fall, the nascent prep. football season gets underway with county programs in action Friday night under the lights.
The Kelseyville Knights start off with a non-league away contest against McKinleyville of the Humboldt-Del Norte League whose last game was a 14-9 loss against Arcata last November. The Panthers (7-4 last season) will look to turn the page against Kelseyville which posted a 6-6 record, including five straight wins, to close out the 2022 regular season before just coming up short from moving on to the sectional championship game. The Knights fell to rivals Clear Lake in a wild 28-22 result last November, but will look to rebound back from a slow start last year.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier after that with non-league games against Sonoma Valley and Fort Bragg in their league opener before hosting the Middletown Mustangs at home on September 15. The new head coach is Leonardo Flores. Kick off or this week’s game is set for 7:30 PM, with the JV game preceding at 5:30 PM.
Another intriguing matchup sees Terra Linda visiting Upper Lake. The Cougars will host the Trojans who are coming off a second straight disappointing season where they finished 1-9 overall and recorded 8 straight losses to end their 2022 season.
Conversely, the Cougars and new head coach Stan Weiper will be looking to improve on the team’s 5-5 2022 campaign which ended with a two game losing streak and a 2-4 record which netted them 4th place in NCL II League play. Kickoff for their game is set for 7:30 with JV playing at 5:30 p.m.
Other games of local interest Friday include:
Middletown at Piner, JV kickoff 5:30 p.m, Varsity kickoff at 7 p.m.
Another intriguing matchup sees Del Norte visiting Lower Lake where the Trojans will show off their new field and scoreboard. The game was almost played in Middletown, but preparations were completed in time for Lower Lake to host the visiting Warriors.
Football coaches are welcome to report scores and stats by calling 707-900-2016 after the game, or emailing desk@record-bee.com
