28-26 win is Knights’ third straight in rivalry series with Clear Lake
By Brian Sumpter & Mike Hansen
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKEPORT >> Bass Bowl XV is in the books, and the performance of Kelseyville High School senior running back Michael DeJohn was certainly one for the books Friday night at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
DeJohn, one of the holdovers from Kelseyville’s undefeated league-championship squad a year ago, made his final Bass Bowl appearance a memorable one as the Knights held off the Clear Lake Cardinals 28-26, their third straight win in the rivalry game, a series they now lead 10-5.
One of the more competitive games played between these two teams during the Bass Bowl’s history, this one had a little bit of everything – seven turnovers, including a pick-six interception, costly missed conversions by both sides, some questionable strategy, a fumble into the end zone that resulted in a touchback, and a booming 41-yard field goal by Kelseyville’s Jose Juarez that was, like any number of plays in this game, a deciding factor when all was said and done.
One of those missed conversions was magnified in importance because it came so late in the game.
Clear Lake, facing a 28-13 deficit with 8:24 remaining, suddenly found its missing passing game in the fourth quarter, driving for a pair of touchdowns that narrowed Kelseyville’s lead to 28-26 with 1:32 left. Clear Lake had no choice but go for the two-point conversion and Jesse Hayes, clearly the Clear Lake MVP in this game, was stopped just short of the goal line on a run up the middle, touching off a wild celebration on the Kelseyville sideline.
Kelseyville (4-4 league, 4-5 overall) recovered the ensuing onside kick. Though there was still time for the Cardinals to make something happen as they still had their timeouts left, but DeJohn once again injected himself squarely into the picture, breaking up the middle for a 25-yard gain before the Cardinals could finally drag him down. While Clear Lake used its remaining timeouts, the Knights were able to run out the clock, touching off an even bigger celebration than the one following two-point conversion stop.
While many players came up with big plays during the game, no one had more than DeJohn, who rushed for 265 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for the first points of the game, and a 25-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that proved to be the winning score. He also jumped a short Clear Lake passing route in the third quarter, stepping in front of an AJ Bruch pass and returning it 57 yards for score that upped the Knights’ lead to 21-13.
“DeJohn is very patient and sees the holes,” said Kelseyville head coach Leo Flores, who is voluntarily stepping down following a three-season run with the Knights, during which time he won all three of his Bass Bowl appearances. “That pick six brought momentum back to us because we had lost it before that play.”
Added Flores, “I’ve been coaching him (DeJohn) and the seniors since they were freshmen, so this is an emotional game for me. I’ve been with my seniors for four years. I love these guys.”
“They did exactly what you would expect, what they were supposed to do,” first-year Clear Lake head coach Augie Perez said of DeJohn and Hayes, both standouts for their teams during Friday’s game and all season.
Hayes finished with 112 yards and a touchdown while also forcing a fumble on defense that the Cardinals recovered in the fourth quarter and turned into a score as they rallied down the stretch.
“I thought our line played great,” Perez said. “Kingston (Hoaglen) did a great job as lead blocker for Jesse. This was a game.”
Hoaglen, only a sophomore, complimented Hayes well in the Clear Lake backfield, finishing with 72 yards and a touchdown.
Clear Lake (4-4, 4-6) took its one and only lead of the game early in the second quarter on a Hoaglen 4-yard run that capped an 11-play drive that featured all runs. Clear Lake converted on three third downs as well as a fourth-and-inches play to keep the drive alive. Copper Garrity’s extra-point kick snapped the 6-6 tie.
Kelseyville answered five plays later on a 48-yard touchdown run by Bryce Keener, who was hardly touched as he burst through the line of scrimmage and accelerated to the end zone. The two-point conversion pass was dropped in the end zone, leaving the Knights with a 12-7 advantage.
Brayton Thomas’ interception of a Bruch pass had the Knights on the move moments later. Starting at its own 26-yard line, Kelseyville drove down to the Clear Lake 5 where a fumble into the end zone on a first-and-goal play was recovered by Clear Lake for a touchback.
That led to an interesting decision by the Cardinals four plays later. Facing a fourth-and-five from their 25, Clear Lake went for it with less than two minutes to play.
“Why not?” Perez said when asked about the play after the game. “My quarterback wanted to go for it, my running back wanted to go for it, and I have faith in those guys, I trust them. They thought they could get it (first down) and so did I.”
Hayes was stopped just shy of the first down, however, and the Knights took over with 1:29 left in the first half. DeJohn punched the ball down close to the 20 before a holding penalty backed up the Knights. After DeJohn gained five yards on third down, Kelseyville sent Juarez out onto the field to attempt a 41-yard field goal, which he drilled down the middle, and with plenty of leg behind it, to up Kelseyville’s lead to 15-7, three points that would prove invaluable at the end of the game.
Clear Lake wrestled momentum back from the Knights in the second half as Zane McAuley picked off a Kimo Brown pass on second play of the third quarter. The first play was a long Max Lee run deep into Clear Lake territory that was wiped out by a penalty.
The Cardinals took over at Kelseyville’s 42-yard line and punched the ball down the field on nine running plays, overcoming a holding penalty in the process. Hayes carried the load on this drive with eight runs for 45 yards, the final one on a second-and-goal play that put him into the end zone.
Now trailing 15-13, the Cardinals went for two points and the conversion run failed.
Mikah Meo’s fumble recovery put the ball right back in Clear Lake’s hands, but the Cardinals couldn’t take advantage. After a 14-yard Hayes run moved the ball to the Kelseyville 43, DeJohn alertly stepped in front of a pass thrown in McAuley’s direction and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead.
Juarez, an extremely reliable kicker for the Knights season, pulled the extra-point kick to the left, leaving the Cardinals within range.
Clear Lake spent the final part of the third quarter and the opening minutes of the fourth quarter driving down the field until a fumble recovered by Thomas at the Kelseyville 28 put the ball back in the Knights’ hands.
Kelseyville bulldozed through the Clear Lake defense on five straight running plays that covered the 72 yards to the end zone. Back-to-back 18-yard runs by Keener and DeJohn set up DeJohn’s 25-yard touchdown run as Juarez added the extra point for a 28-13 lead.
If the Knights were feeling pretty good on their sideline at that point, the mood quickly changed as Clear Lake’s passing game, held to 28 yards through the first three quarters, suddenly burst to life, Bruch going 4-for-4 for 56 yards on Clear Lake’s next possession to quickly move the Cardinals down the field. After connecting with McAuley on back-to-back-to-back passes for 46 yards in gains, Bruch’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Tony Moreno had Clear Lake right back in the game at 28-20 with 6:33 left, Garrity tacking on the extra point.
Kelseyville was just three plays into its next drive when another fumble by the Knights once again ended up in Meo’s arms as the Cardinals took over at the Kelseyville 48 with 4:01 remaining.
Using a combination of runs and two completions from Bruch to tight end Kaden Graham, Clear Lake was facing a second-and-goal from the Kelseyville 10 when Bruch found McAuley alone in the end zone for a touchdown that narrowed the lead to 28-26.
Perez said there was no doubt who the Cardinals were giving the ball to on the conversion, and Hayes’ fight for the goal line came up inches short as the Kelseyville defense, anchored by three-year starting linemen Adrian Garcia and Milez Gambria, won the battle in the trenches.
“In a rivalry game like this, the kids don’t give up,” Flores said of both his Knights and the Cardinals. “The seniors on both teams are not going give up. This is a big game for all of them.”
“I’m proud of my guys,” Perez said. “We challenged all year. I had fun with these guys. It was a great experience.”
Kelseyville won its final three league games to finish at .500 in league play, no small accomplishment given the team’s 1-4 start. Flores, who said he would like to return to coaching one day but is limited now because of the requirements of his job (he’s a detective for the Clearlake Police Department), believes the Knights are in good hands as assistant coach Logan Barrick, a Kelseyville three-sport star during his playing days, takes over as head coach next season.
Perez will be back for a second season at Clear Lake in 2026, but he’s not going to “lose a second of sleep” thinking about next year until spring ball arrives. He’ll certainly have plenty of challenges ahead as the Cardinals graduate the bulk of their starters this season and inherit a junior varsity team that finished 0-10, hamstrung by a shortage of players all year.
