Lower Lake advances to championship game with 24-8 win over Cloverdale
Lake County Sports on Facebook
KELSEYVILLE >> The varsity Lower Lake Trojans are headed to the championship game of the Mendo-Lake Empire Junior Football League after beating the Cloverdale Chargers 24-8 Saturday night at Kelseyville High School.
Lower Lake (10-1) plays undefeated Westshore (11-0) for the championship next Saturday, hoping to avenge a 24-0 regular-season loss to the Cardinals in late September.
“It was a really hard-fought game,” Lower Lake head coach Mark Garner said of the semifinal win over Cloverdale. “Cloverdale is a really good team and they came ready to play. I was really proud of our kids.”
The Trojan scored the game’s final 24 points after Cloverdale took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards for a touchdown and the conversion kick to go up 8-0.
Lower Lake drove deep into Cloverdale territory before turning the ball over on downs. The Trojans then forced a punt before marching 75 yards for a touchdown as Michael Garner and Braylen Fanucchi connected on a 41-yard score. The conversion kick tied the game at 8-8, which was the halftime score.
Lower Lake moved in front to stay on its second possession of the second half on a 77-yard touchdown drive capped by Wyatt Chalecki’s 2-yard run in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. The conversion kick gave Lower Lake a 16-8 lead.
The Trojans recovered a Cloverdale fumble to set up their final score, a Fanucchi 2-yard run.
Cloverdale’s final possession ended with a sack.
“They played tough all night,” Garner said of the Trojans. “Our coaches have done a tremendous job preparing our players every week.”
Anchoring Lower Lake’s defense against Cloverdale were Damion Gambria with five tackles and a sack, Jaymen Bagsby with four tackles and a sack, and Adriyan Diaz with four tackles.