Battle of undefeated league leaders not decided until final second
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> The Middletown Mustangs and St. Helena Saints played the North Central League I game of the week, and perhaps the year, Friday night in St. Helena where the Saints twice overcame double-digit deficits to beat the Mustangs 41-34.
The Saints, now 4-0 in the North Central League I standings and 6-0, scored the game’s final 20 points, all of those coming in the fourth quarter, to hand the Mustangs (3-1, 4-2) their first league loss. St. Helena rushed for an eye-popping 408 yards against a Middletown defense that couldn’t stop the Saints down the stretch.
Despite a frustrating loss, Middletown showed great versatility. With its ground game struggling against St. Helena’s defense, the Mustangs went up top to give St. Helena all it could handle. Senior quarterback Blake Costlow threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, his one interception in the fourth quarter as the Mustangs were marching for a score that could have put the game away, led to St. Helena’s winning touchdown with one second left.
It was a great game played by two good teams. St. Helena still has four games left, including contests against Fort Bragg (3-1, 3-3), Willits (2-1, 4-1) and Clear Lake (3-0, 3-2), but the Saints most certainly control their own destiny heading into the remainder of the NCL I schedule.
Both teams are home next Friday as Middletown hosts Kelseyville (1-2, 1-3) and St. Helena entertains Fort Bragg.
Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights-lowlights from Week 6:
Statistics
Rushing – Kelseyville’s Michael DeJohn carried the ball 10 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-6 win over Cloverdale. Middletown’s Trenton Griffith had 13 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown against St. Helena. Blake Sneed’s 72 yards on eight carries led Upper Lake in a 18-6 loss to Fort Bragg, and Kelseyville’s Andrew Souza finished with 71 yards on eight carries with two TDs against Cloverdale. Lower Lake’s Anthony Russell gained 58 yards in a 21-14 loss to Willits.
Passing – The aforementioned Blake Costlow of Middletown went 9-for-16 for 160 yards and three TDs against St. Helena. Clear Lake’s AJ Bruch was 15-for-24 for 161 yards and two TDs in a 36-21 non-league loss to Mt. Shasta. Kelseyville’s Kimo Brown went 4-for-7 for 114 yards and two TDs against Cloverdale. Lower Lake’s backup and third-string quarterbacks, Brody Shields and Jeremiah Lopez, respectively, threw touchdown passes against Willits.
Receiving – Upper Lake’s Blake Sneed had five receptions for 70 yards. Clear Lake’s Mikah Meo caught two passes for 69 yards and a touchdown while Kelseyville’s Jayden Fabisch had two catches for 67 yards and a TD. Middletown’s Jon Hawkins had four catches for 62 yards and a TD while teammate Hayden Xavier caught two passes for 54 yards and a TD.
Special teams
Kickin’ it – Kelseyville placekicker Jose Juarez went 4-for-5 on conversion kicks against Cloverdale while Copper Garrity made all three of his against Mt. Shasta.
Defense
Baker’s dozen – Upper Lake’s Swiss army knife on defense, Tyler Collins, had 13 solo tackles and one assist against Fort Bragg. You never know where Collins will pop up on defense – end, outside linebacker, middle linebacker. Teammate Jubilee Faalelea added 10 tackles, one assist and one sack. Corbyn Woolley defensed five passes.
Knights get it done – Kelseyville’s defense limited Cloverdale to a single touchdown – that in the first quarter – of its 40-6 win on Friday night in Kelseyville. Adrian Garcia finished with 13 tackles and Milez Gambria added 11 more. Jayden Fabisch intercepted two Cloverdale passes. Gordon Astrup had nine tackles, including two sacks.
Sweet 16 – Middletown’s Ryan Halverson was in on 16 tackles against St. Helena followed by Jamisen Jackson and Brody Costlow with 10 apiece.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – Kelseyville now owns the longest winning streak in the county at one. Upper Lake scored in its second straight game after going the first four weeks of the season without scoring a single point, unfortunately the Cougars also lost their 10th straight game dating back to last season. Upper Lake travels to Cloverdale (0-3, 1-4) on Friday.
Gone for the season – Clear Lake’s Zane McAuley, a two-way player for the Cardinals, won’t return this season because of a shoulder injury that needs six weeks to heal.
QB shuffle – Lower Lake lost backup quarterback Brody Shields to a dislocated shoulder in its loss to Willits. Shields was starting in place of Ashton Hartmann, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected in the final seconds of a 12-8 loss at Fort Bragg the week before. Shields was more than holding his own against Willits until he went down with the injury in the first half. His replacement, Jeremiah Lopez, also threw a touchdown pass to give Lower Lake a 14-7 halftime lead.
Doing OK – Lower Lake’s Jordan Rohrbacker left the game against Willits early in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a serious injury – he briefly lost consciousness after an awkward fall near the Willits sidelines – but is back home recovering, according to head coach Jay Jakubowski. Rohrbacker was on the field for 20 minutes as medical personnel attended to him. He was transported to Adventist Clearlake Hospital.
Still undefeated – Middletown’s JVs beat St. Helena 30-12 on Friday to move to 4-0 in the league standings and 6-0 overall. Quarterback Kolton Costlow passed for two touchdowns and ran for another.
Quite the comeback (girls soccer edition) – Undefeated league leader Kelseyville rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit to beat Lower Lake 5-4 on Thursday in Lower Lake. Junior Mikaela Rico scored four straight goals to give Kelseyville a 4-3 lead in that game. Lower Lake entered play with without a league win, so it was quite the upset in the making until the Knights came roaring back for the victory.
Really tight – NCL I boys soccer standings: Fort Bragg 5-0-1, Lower Lake 5-1, Kelseyville 4-1-1. Stay tuned.
JV showdown – In junior varsity volleyball action this Tuesday, Kelseyville (8-0) visits Middletown (7-1).
I can’t always get county coaches to send me stats … — … But Fort Bragg varsity football sent me its game stats from a 18-6 win at Upper Lake, which I greatly appreciate. Sawyer Schlafer led the Timberwolves with 94 yards rushing on 19 carries with a touchdown and also had two catches for 22 yards.
Ran out of players – Clear Lake stayed close to Mt. Shasta on Friday but simply ran out of players. The Cardinals suited up only 13 for the non-league game but were at just 11 when they raised the white flag following a Mt. Shasta score early in the fourth quarter that gave the Bears a 36-21 lead. Clear Lake ran a handful of plays with fewer than 11 players on the field, including a couple with just nine. Clear Lake shifts back to league play this Friday and travels to Willits looking to remain undefeated in the NCL I standings.
Mr. Touchdown – Clear Lake senior running back Jesse Hayes continued his streak of scoring at least one touchdown in every game this season with a 24-yard TD reception against Mt. Shasta. He rushed for 42 yards and had another 38 receiving.
Hall of Fame reminder – Upper Lake High School’s new Hall of Fame will induct its first member, longtime football and basketball coach Craig Kinser, during halftime of the Cougars’ Oct. 17 home game against Lower Lake. A more formal induction ceremony takes place Oct. 18. Among his many accomplishments at the school, he led the Cougars to a pair of section championships in football, the last one in 1992. He also had a four-season run in girls basketball (1990-94), the likes of which this county will likely never experience again. An entire generation of Upper Lake fans may not know who Kinser is, but he accomplished more than any other coach in the school’s history. He is more than a fitting first choice to receive this honor.