Trojans, Mustangs collect non-league victories; start of league play up next
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> OK, so now it’s really the fall sports season.
All five county high schools are back in learning mode, first-day-at-school photos have mercifully left the internet, all fall sports are fully engaged, Jake Moody is missing field goals for the 49ers, and the Ravens are proving there is no lead they can’t blow. Time to settle right in folks.
Week two of the high school football season featured another team tapping out early. The Healdsburg Greyhounds became the second Lower Lake opponent in as many weeks to call it quits before the end of four quarters, a depleted and banged-up Greyhounds roster being the reason. The same thing happened to the Trojans in week one against Esparto. In fact, Esparto was in such dire straits after going less than a half with Lower Lake that the team forfeited its next game to Los Molinos.
It’s tough to be a small, small football team with limited bodies. It happened to Clear Lake this past weekend as the Cardinals, with only 12 healthy bodies, canceled their game with Pierce. The two schools agreed on a no-contest, so the Cardinals won’t be charged with a forfeit loss. Clear Lake will try to make up that lost game Oct. 3 with a non-league contest at Mount Shasta, according to Clear Lake athletic director Schad Schweitzer. Clear Lake has a league bye on Oct. 3, so the date is open on the Cardinals’ schedule.
North Central League I play open for county schools this week. The most intriguing matchup in week one is St. Helena (2-0) at Lower Lake (2-0). Other games have Upper Lake (0-2) at Willits (1-0), Clear Lake (0-1) at Fort Bragg (0-2), and Middletown (1-1) at Cloverdale (1-0). Kelseyville (0-1), licking its wounds from a 47-0 season-opening loss to Orland (2-0), has the league bye. Kelseyville opens the following week at Fort Bragg.
Here is a look back at the highlights and lowlights from week two:
Statistics
Rushing – Lower Lake’s Anthony Russell had 14 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown and a pair of two-point conversions in the Trojans’ 30-6 win at Healdsburg. Tyler Galamay cracked the 100-yard mark for the first time this season with 103 yards on 11 carries and a TD in the Mustangs’ 32-17 home victory over Piedmont. Galamay’s backfield mate, Trenton Griffith, added 77 yards on 14 carries and a TD. Yet another Middletown player, Jon Hawkins, carried the ball only once but went 70 yards for a touchdown.
Passing – Lower Lake’s Ashton Hartmann went 10-for-18 for 177 yards and a touchdown against Healdsburg. His numbers would have been even better had the Trojans not dropped a handful of his passes that were delivered on the money. Max Lee made his quarterbacking debut for Kelseyville – not just his high school debut, but first time behind center ever – and went 2-for-8 for 23 yards against Orland. Middletown’s Blake Costlow went 3-for-8 for 39 yards and a touchdown against Piedmont.
Receiving – Christian Rodriguez had two catches for 69 yards in Lower Lake’s win over Healdsburg. Two of his teammates also had a productive night catching the football. Jony Ventura had three catches for 56 yards and Jordan Rohrbacker had three receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown. Middletown’s Trenton Griffith had just one catch, a 22-yard reception for a touchdown.
Special teams – Middletown’s Jon Hawkins had a 47-yard punt.
Defense
Double-digit tackles – Middletown’s Ryan Halverson was in on 11 tackles and Jamisen Jackson 10. Johnny Finney just missed with nine total tackles. Jon Hawkins added seven tackles and a fumble recovery.
Sacked – The Lower Lake Trojans sacked Healdsburg quarterback Frank Rea three times, with linebacker Jorge Carlos and defensive end Steven Rich getting credit for 1 1//2 each.
Shut it down – Lower Lake’s defense allowed a touchdown on Healdsburg’s first possession of the game, then limited the Greyhounds to one first down the rest of the first half.
Streaks – Lower Lake’s last three wins have come in games that didn’t go the full four quarters. Upper Lake has lost four straight dating back to last season, all of them shutouts.
2-0 JVs – Lower Lake’s junior varsity squad is off to a solid start with lopsided wins over Esparto and Maxwell.
Piling up the yards – Middletown rushed for 295 of its 334 yards of total offense against Piedmont. Piedmont finished with 386 yards, nearly evenly split between running and passing.
Worthy of state champions – In a battle between two teams who won state championships a year ago, St. Vincent defeated American Canyon 27-21 on Saturday.
Picked clean – The Middletown junior varsity team opened its season with a 40-0 home win over Piedmont, picking off four Highlanders passes in the process. Luke Mace returned one of those interceptions 58 yards. On offense, the Mustangs had 440 of their 459 yards on the ground. Mace (112 yards, 2 TDs) and Dre Goins (103 yards, TD) topped the century mark while Esteban Muniz (98 yards, TD) and Colton Karp (96 yards, 2 TDs) just missed.
Complete effort – Lower Lake quarterback Ashton Hartmann passed for 177 yards and a touchdown, completed a two-point conversion pass to Brody Shield, and had two carries for 14 yards and a touchdown against Healdsburg.
First win – Middletown varsity head coach Kurtis Woodard nailed down his first career win against Piedmont. Just 313 more to go to catch Bill Foltmer.
Answering the challenge – Piedmont cut an 18-3 Middletown lead to 18-17 early in the third quarter. The Mustangs immediately answered with a touchdown to go up 24-17, then put the game with a long drive that used up most of the clock in the fourth quarter.
Go time – Besides county football teams opening league play this coming weekend, the county’s volleyball squads start their league schedules Tuesday, and the soccer teams Thursday. League action in cross country also begins Wednesday. So, yes, it’s go time.