Kelseyville in driver’s seat as NCL I varsity football race enters final weeks
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> The Kelseyville Knights and Willits Wolverines put on a game worthy of two teams battling for sole possession of first place in the North Central League I varsity football standings Friday night at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
Kelseyville prevailed 20-17 in a first-place showdown that featured three lead changes, a fourth-quarter comeback by the Wolverines, and a game-saving interception by River Calhoun in the closing seconds as the Wolverines were moving into field goal range (they had already kicked one).
While the NCL I race is far from over, the Knights (5-0 league, 6-1 overall) now control their own destiny. They travel to Lower Lake (1-4, 3-4) this Friday, play Clear Lake (1-4, 1-6) in Bass Bowl XIV on Nov. 1 in Lakeport, then close out the regular season Nov. 8 against St. Helena (4-1, 4-3) in Lakeport. Beating Lower Lake and Clear Lake would secure no worse than a co-championship for the Knights and set up a big regular-season finale against St. Helena, which could bring a 6-1 record into that game – the Saints host Cloverdale (0-6, 1-7) and Fort Bragg (3-2, 4-3) in their next two games before taking on Kelseyville on Nov. 8.
Willits (5-1, 6-2) travels to Lakeport this coming Friday and returns home to play Upper Lake (3-3, 4-4) in its regular-season finale Nov. 1. The Wolverines have the league bye on Nov. 8.
While Kelseyville, St. Helena and Willits are the only teams remaining in play for the league title, every other school has the opportunity to play spoiler.
Here is a look back at the Week 8 highlights and lowlights:
Statistics
Rushing – And a quarterback shall lead them. Kelseyville senior Brock Barrick rushed for a season- and career-high 165 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown, in the Knights’ big win over Willits. Teammate Michael DeJohn added 123 yards and two TDs while moving over 800 yards rushing for the season. Middletown’s Trenton Griffith was on track for another huge game, coming off a 218-yard effort against St. Helena, but Cloverdale forfeited its game with the Mustangs at halftime trailing 27-0 (because of injuries). Griffith finished with 91 yards on five carries and one TD. Clear Lake’s Zane McAuley compiled 137 yards and two TDs in the Cardinals’ Thursday night loss at St. Helena. Jon Barnes’ 48 yards on 13 carries led Upper Lake in a loss to Fort Bragg. Middletown’s Tyler Galamay added 46 yards and a TD against Cloverdale.
Passing – Upper Lake’s Jerod Rosales went 7-for-22 for 122 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against Fort Bragg. Clear Lake’s AJ Bruch put up 30 passes and completed 10 for 100 yards, one TD and one interception against St. Helena. Kelseyville’s Brock Barrick inched closer to 1,000 yards on the season by going 8-for-13 for 51 yards against Willits. Middletown’s Kolton Costlow went 3-for-4 for 40 yards against Cloverdale.
Receiving – Upper Lake’s Billy Stillman had three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against Fort Bragg. Clear Lake’s Ty Bingham had three catches for 41 yards and a TD against St. Helena.
Special teams
Solid night – Clear Lake’s Nolan Ewing went 3-for-3 on his extra-point kicks against St. Helena and Jose Juarez went 2-for-2 against Willits. Middletown’s Hayden Xavier went 3-for-4 against Cloverdale, making his first three.
Defense
Yowza! — Deake Lyndall of the Kelseyville junior varsity squad intercepted three Willits passes and forced a fumble recovered by teammate Ethan Wheeler as the Knights beat Willits 16-6. Middletown’s Brody Costlow was in on 14 tackles as the undefeated JV Mustangs routed Cloverdale 40-12.
In the end, it was big – Kelseyville’s defense stopped Willits inside the Kelseyville 2-yard line, forcing the Wolverines to kick a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead in the second quarter Friday night in Lakeport. If the Wolverines score a touchdown and add the extra point, well, it could have been a different outcome.
Not much – Middletown’s defense limited Cloverdale to 46 yards of total offense.
Momentum changer – St. Helena returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown to reverse momentum in the first half against the Clear Lake Cardinals, who broke out to a 14-0 lead.
Momentum maker – Fort Bragg scored on a screen pass that went between 60-70 yards, according to Upper Lake head coach Stan Weiper, on its first play from scrimmage against the Cougars on Friday night in Upper Lake. Fort Bragg also returned an interception for a touchdown during the game.
Clamping down – After Clear Lake ran all over the St. Helena defense in the first half Thursday night – Zane McAuley had 132 yards at halftime – the Saints shut down the Cardinals in the second half. McAuley gained just five yards over the final two quarters.
Two-way player – Kelseyville’s Michael DeJohn not only had 123 rushing yards and two TDs against Willits, but he led the Knights in tackles with five solo stops and three assists. Teammates River Calhoun and Adrian Garcia also had eight total tackles while Jayden Teabo and Daniel Anderson reys each had seven. Brock Barrick and Jeffrey Ballad added five apiece.
Miscellaneous
312, do I hear 313? – With his next win, Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer will be tied for ninth place on the all-time coaching victories list for California coaches. No other active coach in the state has more wins than Foltmer.
Is it me? – Or are there a lot of Costlows playing football in Middletown? That’s a good thing by the way.
Week 9 matchups – Kelseyville heads to Lower Lake, Clear Lake hosts Willits, Cloverdale visits St. Helena, and Middletown travels to Fort Bragg. Upper Lake has the bye.
THE matchup in volleyball – Kelseyville (10-2) is home Tuesday night to play Cloverdale (10-2) in a varsity match that is all kinds of a big deal. For starters, the winner clinches no worse than a share of the North Central League I title. When the teams last met on Sept. 26 in Cloverdale, Cloverdale handed Kelseyville its first league loss, winning in straight sets, 25-16, 25-12, 25-20.
Nice to see – All of the county’s youth football programs have at least one team moving onto the Mendo-Lake Empire Junior Football League playoffs that open Saturday in both Cloverdale and Sonoma. Winners advance to the championship round the following Saturday. Middletown, Lower Lake and Westshore each have two teams moving on while Northshore and Kelseyville each have one. Good luck to all.
A note from my Record-Bee days – Longtime outdoors columnist Terry Knight is retiring, effective immediately. I hired Knight back in 1985 and he wrote two columns a week right up until last month when he was involved in a traffic accident. Injuries sustained in that accident as well as other health concerns made retirement necessary. I wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Knight is an irreplaceable county resource as well as a good friend.
Speaking of irreplaceable – The Celebration of Life for longtime educator, coach and Record-Bee golf columnist John Berry, who passed away last month, is this coming Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
Man, his stuff is good – Freelance photographer Ed Oswalt. Thanks for sharing your photographs from the Kelseyville-Willits game and the Lower Lake-St. Helena double-overtime adventure.
I don’t assign – I’m not working a job any longer, therefore I don’t assign others to take photographs at specific games. All my contributing photographers work for free, just like me, so they go wherever they want and I’m happy to print their work. If you’re having trouble understanding this, please ask someone you know to explain it to you in terms you can understand or feel free to pick up a camera and submit your own photos.
It’s not all bad – Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory might not be enjoying his team’s 1-6 record this season, but he is enjoying the Dodgers’ postseason run. Cory is a good guy otherwise.
All-County team sponsors – We’re looking for businesses/organizations to sponsor the All-County volleyball and football teams that are coming up. If you’re interested, just drop me a line at briansumptermail@gmail.com and I’ll get right back to you. Whether we get sponsors or not, there will be All-Lake County teams, there just won’t be awards without sponsors.
College athletes – We’re interested in what former Lake County athletes now competing at the collegiate level are up to. If you have some news to pass on, please do. Not all college websites are created equal, but we’ll do the best we can.
Salute to youth football – Lake County Sports is doing a special salute for the county’s youth football players and cheerleaders. Part 1 ran Monday, part 2 is Tuesday and part 3 is Wednesday. All the photos were submitted by our readers. Thanks for your submissions. We couldn’t use all the photos but we used as many as we could.
