Mustangs have the bye, Cardinals host Knights in Bass Bowl XV
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> A week from today the Middletown Mustangs may be the only Lake County football team left standing.
As the high school season enters Week 11, which means the end of the regular season, the Middletown Mustangs (7-1 league, 8-2 overall) would appear to have solid enough credential to earn an at-large berth in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs. Then again, the Willits Wolverines, who had exactly the same league and overall records a year ago, were probably thinking the same thing before they were shown the door at the at-large and seeding meeting, which takes place this Sunday. Ironically, this year’s Willits team is also likely to finish 8-2 overall if it can beat Fort Bragg in its league finale Friday, only this year the Wolverines will be at best a third-place team behind St. Helena (7-0, 9-0) and Middletown because they lost to both teams. A year ago the Wolverines were the runner-up to an undefeated Kelseyville team.
Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard is confident the Mustangs will still be around when the playoffs open the weekend of Nov. 14-15. With Middleotwn having its league bye this coming weekend, the Mustangs have this week and next week to prepare for the postseason, and while the team has been relatively injury free to date, it will allow those with minor bumps and bruises to heal up.
What division the Mustangs end up in remains to be seen, but they’ll probably stay in Division 7 and are unlikely to move up. Division 7 is the lowest of the seven numbered divisions for 11-man football teams although there is an open division for such powerhouses as De La Salle. Many other Division 7 teams are likely to move up one or even the maximum two divisions such as St. Helena (9-0), St. Vincent (8-1) and Ferndale (9-0), which would suit Middletown just fine. Ferndale finally allowed its first points all season in an 82-12 drubbing of McKinleyville last weekend.
Can you imagine a divisional playoff featuring those three teams? Ferndale won a state championship two years ago while St. Vincent is a two-time defending state champion.
Middletown last won a section title in 2018, which isn’t all that long ago. Woodard, a first-year head coach, is taking the Mustangs to the playoffs for the first time, but he’s been on the sidelines of several other Middletown postseason runs as have most of his assistants, all holdovers from former head coach Bill Foltmer’s staff.
With Middletown off in Week 11, the biggest game on the Lake County radar is Bass Bowl XV between Kelseyville (3-4, 3-5) and Clear Lake (4-3, 4-5) at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport on Friday night. Kelseyville leads the series 9-5 and is gunning for a third straight victory. A win would give the Knights a final league record of 4-4. The Cardinals need a victory to clinch a winning league season and to reach .500 overall.
The Bass Bowl trophy will be presented to the winning team after the game concludes.
Following is a look back at Week 10 highlights and lowlights:
Statistics
Rushing – Middletown’s Trenton Griffith had a fun senior night with 123 yards and a touchdown in a 30-7 win over Clear Lake. Jesse Hayes led the Cardinals with 103 yards and a TD. Middletown’s Tyler Galamay, who is just a sophomore, had the run of the game, a 63-yard burst in the third quarter that put the game out of reach. Clear Lake’s Kingston Hoaglen had 48 yards on 13 carries for the Cardinals.
Passing – Clear Lake’s AJ Bruch completed 11 of 18 passes for 86 yards but was intercepted twice. Middletown’s Blake Costlow went 6-for-10 for 87 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Receiving – Middletown’s Jon Hawkins had three catches for 59 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception. Teammate John Finney caught three passes for 28 yards. Clear Lake’s Jesse Hayes had four receptions for 27 yards.
Special teams
Taking it back –– Middletown’s Trenton Griffith returned the second-half kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown against Clear Lake.
Late field goal wins it — Fort Bragg’s junior varsity team kicked a last-second field goal to beat Cloverdale 18-16.
Sneaky — The Mustangs set up for an extra-point kick against Clear Lake – they usually go for two points on conversions – only to have holder Jamisen Jackson pull up and throw the ball to teammate John Finney for the two-point conversion.
Onside kicks – Kelseyville recovered a pair of onside kicks – one in the first half and the other in the second half – both of which led to Knights touchdowns. The latter onside recovery by Roman Mathis set up Kelseyville’s winning score in a come-from-behind 28-26 win at Lower Lake.
Defense
Pick-six – Kelseyville’s Roman Mathis helped rally the Knights from a 26-14 fourth-quarter deficit with a pick-six interception, one of his two interceptions on the night.
Stuffed – It’s rare to see Middletown’s run game lose yards on consecutive plays, but the Clear Lake defense stuffed back-to-back runs for losses on the Mustangs’ first possession of the game, with Clear Lake taking over on downs at its own 45-yard line.
First points – Ferndale (9-0) allowed its first points of the season in an 82-12 win over McKinleyville this past weekend.
Sack machine – Lucas Anderson-Reyes of the Kelseyville JV team was credited with five sacks in a 55-0 victory over Lower Lake.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – Middletown has won four in a row and Kelseyville two straight. Upper Lake, idle this past weekend, has dropped 13 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Getting it done – Arelius Santos of the Kelseyville JV football team returned a kickoff for a touchdown and a fumble for a score in a 55-0 victory over Lower Lake.
Week 11 county matchups – Kelseyville at Clear Lake in Bass Bowl XV, Lower Lake at Cloverdale, St. Helena at Upper Lake.
NCL I title – St. Helena wraps up the undisputed NCL I crown with a win over Upper Lake on Friday night in Upper Lake.
Bass Bowl – Clear Lake is looking for its first Bass Bowl win against Kelseyville since 2022.
Action-packed Wednesday on tap – Kelseyville hosts Urban in the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division 4 volleyball playoffs on Wednesday. On the same day, the Kelseyville boys (5 p.m. against Calistoga) and girls (7 p.m. against Eureka) are home in opening-round games of the North Coast Section soccer playoffs, the Middletown girls are home against Point Arena at 7 p.m. in the Division II girls soccer playoffs, and the Lower Lake boys are on the road against Redwood Christian (San Lorenzo) in the first round of the Division 2 boys soccer playoffs at 2:30 p.m. Mendocino College’s volleyball team, loaded with former Lake County stars, is home against Napa Valley College at 7 p.m. in a Bay Valley Conference battle. The Eagles are looking for a fifth straight conference victory.
Repeat sweep – Kelseyville High School’s varsity and JV teams as well as Mountain Vista Middle School’s A and B teams all won league championships for the second season in a row.
Can’t answer them – Lake County Sports can’t answer your North Coast Section seeding/matchup questions. You need to address them to your school AD and maybe he/she can get an answer from the section. Lake County Sports is a spectator just like you.
Marked safe – Lake County Sports is marked safe from hearing, “You don’t cover Kelseyville volleyball.”
All-County teams – Lake County Sports is in the process of putting together its annual All-County volleyball and football teams. Results of All-League voting help us make some of our decisions, but not all of them. There is no All-County soccer team because not enough of the county’s coaches report their results during the season – only four out of 10 did with any consistency this year, and we are extremely appreciative of their cooperation.
