Middletown, Clear Lake roll to big wins in league openers
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> You don’t often see 30 points scored by a team in one quarter, but that’s exactly what the Middletown Mustangs did to the Cloverdale Eagles on Friday night in Cloverdale, a whirlwind of early offense sending head coach Kurtis Woodard’s club to a 46-16 victory in the North Central League I opener for both teams.
Clear Lake also scored a knockout in its league opener, scoring all 41 of its points after the first quarter in a 41-0 rout of the Fort Bragg Timberwolves. In other league openers Friday, St. Helena held off Lower Lake 31-22 at Lower Lake while Willits clobbered Upper Lake 54-0 at Willits.
Junior varsity winners over the weekend were Middletown, 36-0 over Cloverdale, and Upper Lake, 20-14 over Willits. Lower Lake fell 39-6 to St. Helena while Clear Lake fell 23-13 to Fort Bragg, forfeiting that game late in the second half because it didn’t have enough healthy players to continue.
Looking ahead to Week 4, the best matchup appears to be Lower Lake (0-1 league, 2-1 overall) at Clear Lake (1-0, 1-1). Other NCL I games have Upper Lake (0-1, 0-3) at Middletown (1-0, 2-1), Cloverdale (0-1, 1-1) at St. Helena (1-0, 3-0), and Kelseyville (0-0, 0-1) at Fort Bragg (0-1, 0-3). Willits has the league bye and plays Healdsburg in non-league action.
Here are some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 3:
Statistics
Rushing – Clear Lake senior Jesse Hayes had 133 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns in the Cardinals’ blowout win over Fort Bragg. Middletown’s Trenton Griffth finished with 118 yards and two touchdowns against Cloverdale while teammate Tyler Galamay added 98 yards. Neither Griffith or Galamay carried the ball in the second half because of the Mustangs’ 46-8 halftime lead. Lower Lake’s Anthony Russell had 76 well-earned yards on 16 carries against St. Helena.
Passing – Lower Lake’s Ashton Hartmann threw for 126 yard and three touchdowns against St. Helena. Clear Lake’s AJ Bruch went 11-for-22 for 164 yards and two TDs against Fort Bragg. Middletown’s Blake Costlow went 6-for-8 for 115 yard and two TDs against Cloverdale.
Receiving – Clear Lake’s Kaden Graham had three catches for 47 yards. Middletown’s Trenton Griffith had two receptions for 47 yards and a TD. Lower Lake’s Jony Ventura also had two catches for 47 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Kickoff return – Middletown’s Tyler Galamay returned a kickoff 71 yards for a touchdown just nine seconds after Cloverdale scored following a long drive against the Mustangs. The long return staked Middletown to a 30-8 lead … in the first quarter.
On target – Clear Lake’s Copper Garrity went 5-for-6 on his extra-point kicks, converting the final four against Fort Bragg.
Back ‘em up – Middletown’s Jon Hawkins punted 44 yards to the Cloverdale 1-yard line where a teammate downed the ball.
Defense
Pick six (times two) – Clear Lake’s Kaden Graham and Middletown’s Johnny Finney returned interceptions 35 yards for touchdowns.
Trio of turnovers – Middletown’s Jon Hawkins intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchback against Cloverdale.
Sack attack – Clear Lake registered three sacks against Fort Bragg.
Tough on fourth down – Fort Bragg went for it on fourth down five times and was denied four times.
Two games, two shutouts – The Middletown junior varsity club has outscored the competition 76-0 in its last two games. The Mustangs had fumble recoveries by Kolton Costlow, Jay Lee and Brooks Schuster.
Miscellaneous
Cloverdale workhorse – Eagles junior fullback Carson Brown carried the ball 34 times for 141 yards and a touchdown against Middletown.
Damn injuries – Clear Lake High School alum Cody Hayes, a sophomore at College of the Redwood, tore his ACL last month against Sacramento City College and will be sidelined for an indefinite period of time. Hayes will red-shirt this year to retain a year of eligibility. His younger brother, Jesse, missed nearly two full seasons with an ACL injury. Jesse is finally back this season with Clear Lake High and is off to a great start.
Streaks – Upper Lake has dropped five straight dating back to last season and has been shut out in all five of those games. The Cougars try to get off the schneid Friday night in Middletown.
Tough start – If the Upper Lake Cougars are off to a bad start in 2025, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves aren’t far behind. They are 0-3 and have been outscored 126-6. Something will have to give Friday night when the Timberwolves host the Kelseyville Knights, who were outscored 47-0 in their season opener at home against Orland (3-0).
In the clutch – Upper Lake JV quarterback Isaia Pena connected with wide receiver Shaun Way on a winning touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to lift the Cougars (1-0, 2-1) to a 20-14 win over the Wolverines.
Two byes in three weeks – The Kelseyville Knights should be ready to roll the rest of the way.
Things could always be worse – You could be a Cleveland Browns or Miami Dolphins fan.
Lifetime winning percentage .667 – Middletown varsity head coach Kurtis Woodard.
Stats receiving percentage .750 – Three of the county’s four varsity teams reported statistics on Friday night.
Big thanks – To freelance photographer Ed Oswalt for sending photos from the St. Helena at Lower Lake varsity game on Friday night.
Photos of everyone – Thanks to the contributions of Ashley Lee, Skye Mateer, Amber McIntire and Trett Bishop we had photos of all the county’s varsity volleyball teams during league play on Thursday.
Soccer results – It’s hit and miss among the county’s coaches, but for those who take the time to report scores and statistics, we thank you.
Double-digit wins – The Kelseyville High School girls soccer team is 10-1.
Moment of silence – For the San Francisco Giants’ pitching staff, what’s left of it.
My heart be still – Heard from a youth football coach that wasn’t from Westshore or Lower Lake.
My sideline reporter is worth every penny – Mike Hansen, who holds down the fort during Clear Lake home games.
