Week 3 features M’town at Kelseyville, Stuart Hall at Upper Lake, Lower Lake at Fort Bragg
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> With all due respect to the Bass Bowl, the annual rivalry game between Clear Lake and Kelseyville that won’t take place this year because the Cardinals don’t have a varsity team, the most compelling county matchup for the past decade has been Middletown versus Kelseyville.
The winner of this head-to-head battle the last four years has gone on to have a pretty solid season.
While Middletown (1-1) at Kelseyville (1-1) is the headliner for Week 3 of the high school football season, other games involving county teams have Lower Lake (0-1) at Fort Bragg (1-2) and Stuart Hall (1-1) at Upper Lake (1-1) in two other North Central League I interlock matches.
Middletown at Kelseyville
Going back to the 2016 season, Kelseyville and Middletown have played 12 times – they met both in the regular season and playoffs in 2016, 2017 and 2018 – with the Mustangs holding an 8-4 advantage. Seven of those games were decided by eight or fewer points.
“They took it to us last year and went on to win the section,” Kelseyville head coach Logan Barrick said of the Mustangs’ 50-6 victory last season. “We beat them the year before (24-21) and won the league title.”
Likewise, the 2023 (Middletown 28-21) and 2022 meetings (14-6 Kelseyville) were suspenseful, both teams making solid runs in the league race those years.
Kelseyville also beat Middletown 28-0 during the 2018 regular season, but the Mustangs upset the Knights 14-12 in the playoffs and went on to win a section championship.
In 2017, Middletown defeated Kelseyville 7-6 in league action and 7-0 in the playoffs while reaching the section finals. And in 2016, Middletown routed Kelseyville 40-8 in league action, but the Knights upset the Mustangs 14-12 in the playoffs.
Both teams have mastered the art of the counterpunch pretty well.
This year’s meeting is the first between second-year head coach Kurtis Woodard of Middletown and first-year head coach Logan Barrick of Kelseyville, both graduates of Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota.
“That’s a pretty random school for both of us to end up at,” Barrick said.
“I think it would be fun to sit down and talk about our experiences there,” Woodard said.
The results of Bemidji Bowl I could be a big factor down the line for both teams, who could meet again in the playoffs just like in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This year they are competing in different divisions of the newly realigned NCL I, so both could conceivably advance to the North Coast Section playoffs as league champions – Kelseyville in the North and Middletown in the South.
“Who knows that division we’ll end up in,” Barrick said. “It could be anywhere from Division 5 to Division 7.”
“They have an excellent running game, strong athletes,” Woodard said of the Knights. “Facing Pierce gave us a little insight on what to expect.”
Pierce, a team that runs the ball almost exclusively, beat Middletown 10-7 during a zero-week game on Aug. 28 in Middletown. After a bye Sept. 4, the Mustangs came back last week to dominate Willits 42-0.
“They also throw the ball decent,” Woodard of Kelseyville quarterback Kimo Brown, who is dating Woodard’s niece, Izzi Hoogendoorn of Middletown.
“She wears his jersey all the time,” Woodard said when asked who his niece will be rooting for Friday. “She better not ask me for lunch money anymore.”
During the annual Lake County Scrimmage on Aug. 21 in Upper Lake, the Kelseyville-Middletown matchup was easily the most competitive and heated portion of the preseason practice.
“It didn’t feel like a scrimmage,” Barrick said. “Both teams went at it pretty good.”
“We get more competitive based on what we’re facing, and they (players) know it’s going to be a competitive game,” Woodard said of Middletown’s opponent Friday. “Tuesday’s practice was physical.”
Kelseyville lost a 20-18 heartbreaker to Justin-Siena on zero week, a late clipping penalty wiping out a go-ahead Knights touchdown in the final seconds, but like Middletown, the Knights bounced back last week, parlaying a strong second half into a 43-33 win against Stuart Hall at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium.
The Knights are playing at home for the first time this season and are looking forward to the challenge Middletown brings, according to Barrick.
“They’re a good football team and we’re preparing for a lot of different things. We’re thinking we’ve got some sort of options for what they do,” Barrick said.
What is the game going to come down to?
“Who is going to be the most disciplined football team,” Barrick said. “On offense, we’ve got to get a block on No. 18 (linebacker Ryan Halverson). On defense, lining up correctly is something we have to do.”
“Momentum plays a huge part of it,” Woodard said. “It was nice to get that first win (last week). You can relax for a little bit.”
Well, at least a day of relaxation, Woodard joked, then it was back to game-planning for Kelseyville.
Lower Lake at Fort Bragg
The Trojans hit the road to take on a Timberwolf squad that has dropped its last two games, including a 34-22 decision to St. Helena a week ago in St. Helena. Lower Lake opened its season with a 27-14 loss at home last week to Lindhurst.
Fort Bragg won 12-5 in its season opener at Willits and lost 32-8 at home to McKinleyville two weeks ago.
The Trojans are looking to snap a five-game losing streak against the Timberwolves, who they’ve played some nailbiters against in recent seasons. Fort Bragg won 12-8 last year, 21-20 in 2023, and 19-18 in 2021. The Trojans won the 2019 meeting 29-21 at Lower Lake.
“Any time we go up there you don’t know what to expect,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said of traveling to the Mendocino coast, which the Trojans are doing for a third year in a row. “Their officials call in differently, so you’ve got to adjust. Penalties killed us a year ago, so we’re got to clean that up.”
Lower Lake will be looking to find more balance in its running game after throwing the ball 30 times against Lindhurst, which is more than Jakubowski wanted. Falling behind 21-0 in the first half was part of the reason.
“We were looking at maybe 15-18 passes, not 30,” Jakubowski said. “We’ve got to do a better job in the running game.”
Lower Lake’s top rusher, Anthony Russell, had only four carries a week ago, which is about 10 fewer that Jakubowski had hoped for.
“We couldn’t secure the front (against Lindhurst), so that was a problem,” Jakubowski said. “We’ve made some adjustments up front, which will help us.”
Fort Bragg is big and physical up front on both offense and defense. Timberwolf senior quarterback Chris Hernandez has a strong arm and is capable of going deep downfield at any point. Weapons include junior running back/receiver Valen Ivankay (No. 5) and senior Isaiah Arguellas (No. 2).
“No. 5 (Ivankay) plays all over the place,” Jakubowski said. “We have to account for him wherever he is on the field.”
Ivankay is Fort Bragg’s top rusher and receiver with 156 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and five catches for 162 yards and two TDs. Arguellas has eight receptions for 149 yards and a TD.
Lower Lake lost three kids for the season this week, though only one starter, for various reasons, according to Jakubowski.
Lower Lake’s coach is encouraged by his team’s strong second half against Lindhurst and is hoping that momentum carries over to another road trip to Fort Bragg.
“Once we settled in against Lindhurst in the second half, we allowed only one score and moved the ball on offense,” Jakubowski said. “And they were playing their third game while it was our first.”
Stuart Hall of Upper Lake
Coming off a 35-0 road loss to Cloverdale, the Upper Lake Cougars make their home debut against a Stuart Hall team that pushed Kelseyville to the limit a week ago. Complicating the Cougars’ task this week was a school closure Monday through Wednesday because of the nearby Lucas Fire.
“We were able to practice on the field, but we couldn’t use any of the buildings,” Upper Lake head coach John Toohey said. “Our attendance was spotty Monday and Tuesday (at practice). A lot of our kids had no way to get here with the busses not running.”
How much that lack of preparation time will hurt against Stuart Hall remains to be seen.
“In terms of installing our game, it definitely hurt,” Toohey said. “But we’re not in a terrible spot. The kids are ready to play.”
Stuart Hall’s passing game will definitely test the Upper Lake defense, according to Toohey.
“We’ve been working on the back end quite a bit,” he said.
Another concern is a mobile Stuart Hall quarterback.
“That quarterback getting out in space on a broken play is a hair puller,” Toohey said.
Though this week’s opponent figures to be a step up from Cloverdale, Toohey said he believes the Cougars are ready to meet the challenge.
“The game got away from us (in the second half) against Cloverdale,” Toohey said. “I think we’re going to give a better effort this week.”
Clear Lake plays Upper Lake in the junior varsity game. Stuart Hall doesn’t have a JV team and Clear Lake doesn’t have a varsity team, so the Cardinals (3-0) are slotting in to fill the vacancy. Upper Lake’s JVs are off to a 2-0 start, and neither team’s defense has allowed a touchdown so far this season.
The Upper Lake Alumni Hall of Fame will introduce its two newest members, Marci Schaefers Psalmonds (Class of 1989) and Dennis Wilson (Class of 1968), between games. Both were athletes and coaches for the Cougars. They are the first two athletes inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame, which is in only its second year of existence. Longtime coach and athletic director Craig Kinser was the lone member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class last year.
