Los Molinos dominates Cougars 40-0 in 2025 debut for both teams
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKEPORT >> If you’re looking for that silver lining from Upper Lake’s 40-0 season-opening loss to the Los Molinos Bulldogs on Friday night at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport, good luck.
Los Molinos, defending North Section Division 5 champion and state playoff qualifier a year ago, is picking up right where it left off last season even though many of its key players are just juniors, including running back Wyatt Gillett, who carried the ball 30 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns – in just three quarters.
While the Cougars (0-1) were without a half-dozen players who were showing animals at the Lake County Fair, something that didn’t make things any easier for Derek Milhaupt in his head coaching debut, they probably didn’t represent a 40-point swing.
“I don’t ever want to do this again,” Milhaupt said of being on the wrong end of such a lopsided blowout. “Great team we played. They pounded the ball right at us and there wasn’t much we could do.”
Upper Lake’s defense stopped Los Molinos just twice on defense, including forcing a punt on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the game. The other time came on downs late in the third quarter with the game already well in Los Molinos’ hands.
If Upper Lake struggled on defense because of Los Molinos’ size on the line and Gillett’s wrecking-ball running ability, the Cougars’ had an even worse night on offense, finishing with just 38 yards– 28 if you include yards lost on a pair of early sacks. An interception thrown by Billy Stillman Jr. in the final seconds of the second quarter, the only turnover of the game, set up a Bulldogs touchdown, capping a 28-0 first half.
“We need to be better prepared and that’s the responsibility of the coaches,” Milhaupt said. “We could have done a better job of keeping our composure (something neither team has much success with), but the kids did play with heart. You have to handle adversity and learn from it. We will.”
Between Gillett’s hard runs and quarterback Jayden Underwood’s well-timed passes, the Bulldogs had the Cougars on their heels pretty much all night.
Los Molinos went up 7-0 with 3:02 left in the first quarter on a 35-yard pass from Underwood to Clayton Raimer, the touchdown coming just one play after Gillett gained six yards on a fourth-and-six play to give the Bulldogs a fresh set of downs.
Los Molinos scored on its final three possessions of the first half as well, including a Gillett 1-yard run capping a 12-play, 70-yard drive that used over six minutes on the clock and gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with 6:34 remaining in the second quarter. Los Molinos moved 67 yards in just four plays on its next possession, the final 45 yard on a touchdown pass from Underwood to Raimer, who was initially slowed down after catching the ball for a 12-yard gain, but then broke free and raced into the end zone with 1:53 left.
The Bulldogs got the ball back on Upper Lake’s next play from scrimmage, Colin McDonald stepping in front of a Stillman pass and returning it to the Upper Lake 10-yard line. Gillett took it from there, punching his way into the end zone on a first-and-goal play. Lalito Hernandez booted his fourth straight extra point to make it 28-0 with 55.7 seconds left in the half.
Los Molinos covered 55 yards in six plays on its second possession of the second half, a 30-yard pass from Underwood to Kyson Button pushing the team’s lead to 34-0.
The Bulldogs had the ball the entire fourth quarter. Starting from their own 38, the Los Molinos reserves steadily worked the ball down the field on 14 straight running plays, Zenen Ramirez scoring on a 1-yard run with 1:52 remaining. With an Upper Lake player down on the field injured on the touchdown run, officials let the clock run, and that’s how the game ended.
“One game does not define your season,” Milhaupt told his players during a post-game huddle.
“That’s right,” Milhaupt said. “We had a tough night, but the kids our there for me played hard for me. We’ll regroup.”
Los Molinos (1-0) finished with 374 yards of total offense – 240 on the ground, 134 through the air. Both of Raimer’s catches in the game went for touchdowns. No Upper Lake player had more than four rushing yards. Stillman finished 3-for-12 for 31 yards and an interception.
“We had people running wide open early and couldn’t get the ball to them,” said Milhaupt, who attributed some of the team’s problems Friday to “growing pains” because of a new coaching staff and a newly installed offense.
Los Molinos returns home next weekend to play Esparto (0-1), a 22-7 loser at Lower Lake on Friday night. Esparto forfeited the game late in the second quarter because of too many injuries. Upper Lake hits the road Friday night to play Stuart Hall at 6 p.m. in a varsity-only game.
Upper Lake’s junior varsity team beat Los Molinos 34-6.
TEAM NOTES: Upper Lake’s deepest penetration into Los Molino territory was the 33-yard line. The Cougars were facing a fourth-and-one from the Bulldogs’ 38-yard line late in the third quarter but turned the ball over on downs after a run was stopped for a loss … Antario Wyman caught all three of Stillman’s completions for 31 yards … Upper Lake’s longest gain from scrimmage was a 21-yard completion from Stillman to Wyman late in the first quarter. Mikel Compton had a 44-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter … Upper Lake has now been shut out in its last three games dating back to last season. The Cougars closed the 2024 campaign with 23-0 and 46-0 losses to Willits and Middletown, respectively … Friday’s season opener took place in Lakeport because Upper Lake’s field had new turf installed Aug. 22 and is still not ready for use.
