Senior running back has huge game in 28-14 North Central League I win
By Brian Sumpter & Mike Hansen
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKEPORT >> In the end, no matter how you come down on the blizzard of yellow flags that made the fourth quarter seem like an eternity Friday night at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals rode a huge effort from running back Jesse Hayes to beat the Lower Lake Trojans 28-14 in a North Central League I varsity battle that was a lot closer than the final score might suggest.
Hayes, who missed nearly two full seasons while recovering from a knee injury, didn’t do it all himself for the Cardinals (2-0 league, 2-1 overall), but no one did more – or came close — during the homecoming victory.
Hayes rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns, caught five passes for 139 yards and another score, and had a game-sealing interception. If you throw in being named homecoming king at halftime, it was a near-perfect night for the senior.
Hayes started as a freshman on Clear Lake’s league- and section-winning 2022 club that qualified for the state playoffs, but he went down with a knee injury during Clear Lake’s 2023 season opener. He couldn’t play again until this year, and he has been a whirlwind of offense for the Cardinals since returning to the field – eight touchdowns in three games.
“It feels way different,” a smiling Hayes said after a long rehabilitation period during which he could only support his teammates from the sidelines.
Hayes’ yards, especially those on the ground, didn’t come easy against a hard-hitting and physical Lower Lake defense that took control of the game from most of the second and third quarters.
“That’s the best team they’ve had in years,” Hayes said of the Trojans (0-2, 2-2), who ultimately drowned in a sea of their own unsportsmanlike conduct/personal foul penalties in the fourth quarter, turning a highly competitive game into another frustrating league loss for head coach Jay Jakubowski’s squad.
Jakubowski said it was his fault the Trojans lost their composure on the sidelines down the stretch, including the ejection of an assistant coach, and the Cardinals were only too grateful for the help, especially on their first scoring drive.
“I lost my cool,” Jakubowski said. “My (negative) energy transferred to them (Lower Lake players). It’s my fault we lost this game.”
Clear Lake dominated the first half but only had a 12-8 lead to show for it by halftime.
“We were up 12-0, but we should have been up more,” Clear Lake head coach Augie Perez said. “After we went up 12-0, we were flat.”
Lower Lake scored first in the second half to take its one and only lead at 14-12, which is where the score remained until Cardinals placekicker Copper Garrity made up for two earlier misses on extra points – both had plenty of leg but were wide – by drilling a 23-yard field goal down the middle with 31.0 seconds left in the third quarter.
Still anybody’s game going to the fourth quarter, a mental mistake ended up costing the Trojans dearly. Pinned deep in their own territory, Lower Lake had to punt and Clear Lake took over with excellent field position from the Trojans’ 26-yard line. However, Lower Lake’s defense allowed just one yard over the next three downs, and facing a fourth-and-long from the 23, Clear Lake quarterback AJ Bruch’s pass was intercepted at the 1-yard line.
Had the Lower Lake defender simply knocked the pass down instead of intercepting it, the Trojans would have taken over on downs at the 23. Instead, they found themselves backed against their own goal line. Unable to pick up a first down, Lower Lake punted the ball packed to the Cardinals, who again inherited great field position, and this time they took advantage.
Although Bruch was sacked on first down and the Cardinals were called for a false start, Clear Lake converted a second-and-17 screen pass, a play that worked well for them all night, with Bruch drawing in the Lower Lake pass rush before dumping the ball off to Hayes, who was able to turn the corner and race down the Clear Lake sideline for a 45-yard touchdown with 5:07 left in the game. Garrity’s extra-point kick made it 22-14, still a one-possession game.
Lower Lake’s Jordan Rohrbacker broke off a huge return on the ensuing kickoff but fumbled the ball after crossing midfield. The Cardinals took over at their own 45-yard line and covered the 55 yards to the end zone with all kinds of help from the Trojans, who were hit with three unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties. Hayes capped the drive with a 2-yard run. When the Trojans jumped offside as Clear Lake lined up for the extra-point kick, the Cardinals went for two points and came up short, leaving them with a 28-14 lead with 3:03 remaining.
“Lower Lake didn’t help themselves with those penalties, but they certainly helped us,” Perez said. “We were happy for the help.”
Lower Lake quickly moved the ball down the field before Hayes stepped in front of an Ashton Hartmann pass with 1:32 remaining.
Clear Lake built a 12-0 lead on a Hayes 32-yard run that capped a 68-yard drive, the Cardinals’ first offensive possession. The Cardinals were on the march again late in the first quarter when Bruch’s 10-yard keeper made it a 12-0 game just six seconds into the second quarter.
Lower Lake’s defense really tightened up after that, stopping the Cardinals on downs twice in a row, including stuffing a Hayes fourth-and-2 run a yard short of the first down late in the quarter. That second stop on downs initiated the Trojans’ 70-yard march to the end zone, a 13-play drive during which the Trojans converted a third-and-12, Hartmann scrambling 12 yards for the first down, and a fourth-and-two, Hartmann escaping Clear Lake’s pass rush and breaking free for an 11-yard gain. Hartmann eventually scored on a 1-yard keeper, and his conversion pass to Jason Gandeza cut Clear Lake’s lead to 12-8 with 39.3 seconds left in the first half.
Clear Lake was able to move the ball into Lower Lake territory in the final seconds of the second quarter, but Steven Rich’s fumble recovery stopped the Cardinals’ push.
Lower Lake’s defense came up big again early in the third quarter. After Clear Lake received the second-half kickoff, the Cardinals gambled on a fourth-and-two play from their own 41-yard line, Bruch keeping the ball and smothered by Lower Lake players a yard short of the first down.
The Trojans quickly capitalized, covering the 41 yards to the end zone in three plays. A 21-yard pass from Hartmann to Brody Shields on a third-and-nine play, plus a horse-collar penalty on the Cardinals, moved the ball to the 10. Anthony Russell burst over the left side on the next play for a touchdown. While the conversion run failed, the Trojans had their first lead at 14-12.
Clear Lake got as far as the Lower Lake 21 on its next drive before running out of downs. The Cardinals took over at midfield following a Trojans punt late in the third quarter and drove to the 6 before Garrity was called on to kick his field goal, which split the uprights with plenty to spare and proved to be the winning score.
But it was Hayes that was the major topic of conversation following the game. Perez and Jakubowski said they were both impressed with his big night.
“Even when they double-teamed him or put a spy on him, he was able to get his yards,” Perez said. “He did a lot, but it was a team effort. Our line blocked their butts off to open holes for him.”
“That Hayes kid is amazing,” Jakubowski said. “Seeing him back after what he went through is a great thing.”
While impressed with what Hayes accomplished, Jakubowski said he was disappointed with what ultimately transpired into another league loss for the Trojans after the team’s 2-0 preseason.
“We gave up too many possessions on our half of the field,” Jakubowski said. “That fumble (on the kickoff return) was huge.”
Whistled for 116 penalty yards, most of those in the fourth quarter, Jakubowski said, “We couldn’t get out of our own way.
“The coach lost this game,” he said of himself.
Perez said the Cardinals, who have already equaled their league win total of last season, came out of the game unscathed with one exception. Zane McAuley banged up his shoulder and had to leave the game, the extent of the injury still to be determined.
“That would be a big loss for us,” Perez said of a squad that suited up only 18 players against Lower Lake.
GAME NOTES: Lower Lake won the junior varsity game by forfeit because Clear Lake did not have enough players to field a team … Both varsity teams had a number of dropped passes. Clear Lake dropped two in the end zone … Clear Lake finished with 389 yards of total offense, 338 of those by Hayes … Clear Lake was whistled for 97 yards in penalties, including two on the same possession for intentional grounding. Both teams had two turnovers … Bruch went 8-for-24 passing for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for a score. Hartmann went 10-for-16 for 107 yards and an interception. He led the Trojans with 43 rushing yards and a touchdown … The league schedule takes Clear Lake to Upper Lake (0-2, 0-4) next Friday while Lower Lake heads to Fort Bragg (1-1, 1-3).
