Trojans draw Cloverdale in semifinal round of league playoffs
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MIDDLETOWN >> Closing out a 9-1 regular season, the Lower Lake Trojans took no prisoners in a 42-6 victory over the Middletown Colts on Saturday night at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown.
Braylen Fanucchi rushed for three touchdowns and Richard Occhino Jr. ran for a pair of scores as Lower Lake clinched the No. 2 seed in the varsity playoffs, which begin next Saturday. Lower Lake draws No. 3 Cloverdale (7-3) in the semifinals. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Kelseyville High School.
“We played well on both sides of the ball,” Lower Lake head coach Mark Garner said. “Our offensive and defense lines really showed up to play tonight. I couldn’t be prouder of the job the whole team did.”
Middletown set up Lower Lake’s first touchdown with a high punt snap that Lower Lake recovered at the Colts’ 1-foot line. Occhino then punched it into the end zone.
Middletown answered on its next possession with a 72-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 6-6.
Fanucchi capped a 48-yard drive with a 12-yard run to put the Trojans ahead to stay. Following a Middletown punt, Fanucchi scored his second touchdown, again on a 12-yard run, and the conversion kick was good to give the Trojans a 20-6 lead.
Middletown received the second-half kickoff but turned the ball over on downs. A short time later, Lower Lake’s Wyatt Chalecki scored on a 40-yard run, and the conversion kick made it 28-6.
Malakhi Brown’s interception set up Fanucchi’s third touchdown, a 10-yard run, for a 34-6 lead. Middletown again turned it over on downs before Occhino Jr. scored on a 4-yard drive with 5:36 left in the game. The conversion kick rounded out the scoring. The mercy rule came into play at that point.
Damion Giambra led the Trojans on defense with five tackles and a fumble recovery. Tony Velazquez added four tackles while Brown and Adriyan Diaz intercepted passes.
TEAM NOTES: The Lower Lake-Cloverdale semifinal winner will play the Westshore (10-0) vs. Napa (6-4) semifinal winner on Nov. 8 in the varsity championship game. The Westshore vs. Napa game takes place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Lakeport.