Knights drop 9-0 road decision to Justin-Siena to open 2026 schedule
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NAPA >> Turnovers didn’t do the Kelseyville High School junior varsity football team any favors in a season-opening 9-0 loss to the Justin-Siena Braves on Friday night in Napa where the Knights also lost starting quarterback Brayden Ponce to an injury in the first half.
“Turnovers killed us,” Kelseyville head coach Jeremy Linnell said. “We lost our QB in the first quarter and Jeff Cline did a great job stepping up at quarterback.”
While the Knights (0-1) were able to force several turnovers – interceptions by Zayden Merrill, George cline and Fabian Flores and a forced fumble by Maverick DeSimmone – the Kelseyville offense couldn’t take advantage.
Lost fumbles short-circuited Kelseyville drives as the Braves (1-0) grabbed a 9-0 halftime lead.
“I thought Pops Pasalo and Fabian Flores did a great job running the ball for us,” Linnell said.
Defensive coordinator Shane Carl praised the play of Flores, Geore Cline and Fernando Calvillo.
The Kelseyville JVs are off next week and return to action Friday, Sept. 11 in Paradise (the varsity plays Stuart Hall at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 12. Stuart Hall doesn’t have a JV team).
TEAM NOTES: Ponce, who was on the field some 20 minutes before being transported to the hospital, is back at home resting and expected to rejoin the team in a couple of weeks.
