Knights QB goes 17-for-17 for 317 yards, four touchdowns in NCL I interlock action
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
UPPER LAKE >> It was Hall of Fame night for the two newest members of the Upper Lake Alumni Hall of Fame, though Stuart Hall junior quarterback Napoleon Cabading isn’t one of them.
On the other hand, if Cabading continues to play as well as he did Friday in the Knights’ 39-0 victory over the host Upper Lake Cougars, he may be entering a Hall of Fame himself in the not-so-distant future. Cabading went 17-for-17 for 317 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for a score as Stuart Hall improved to 2-1 on the season.
“They’ve got athletes and we’re still learning, but that’s OK,” Upper Lake head coach John Toohey said. “We didn’t do a lot of the little things, which can make a big difference, but those guys (Knights) are a good team and definitely can play.”
Not all of Cabading’s passes were delivered exactly on target, but they didn’t need to be. The Knights are loaded with guys who can catch the ball pretty much wherever its thrown, and seven different receivers had receptions against Upper Lake, led by Titus Hughes (four catches for 111 yards, two TDs). Jake Oenning and Trey Hughes also had touchdown catches.
Stuart Hall also kept Upper Lake’s defense honest with a running game led by Alex Dubrovsky’s eight carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. Dubrovsky also caught three passes for 44 yards.
Upper Lake (1-2) gained only one first down in the first half and five for the game, which finished with a running clock in the second half. The Cougars never really threatened against the Knights and finished with only 102 yards of offense.
“The message I had for the kids in the locker room is that it’s OK to do and fail at hard things but just don’t let the failure define you and all the hard work you’re putting in,” Toohey said. “This team is still developing its football IQ, teamwork and camaraderie. We are going to compete when the talent level is more equitable.”
Added Toohey, “I’m quite proud of them. I still think we can compete.”
After a 13-0 first quarter, the Knights put the game away by tacking on 20 more points in the third quarter. Upper Lake’s defense was unable to cover Stuart Hall’s receivers, and even when the Cougars managed to get some sort o pressure on Cabading, he scrambled away, either keeping the ball and running with it or buying himself time to find an open receiver, mostly the latter.
The Knights went out of their way not to run up the score in the second half after taking a 33-0 lead into halftime. In fact, after scoring in the third quarter to go up 39-0, they took a knee on the conversion, which is something you won’t often see.
The two teams knelt near midfield after postgame handshakes for a brief prayer.
In the earlier junior varsity game, Upper Lake tied Clear Lake 8-8. Both teams allowed their first defensive touchdowns of the season, and both remained undefeated – Clear Lake at 3-0-1 and Upper Lake at 2-0-1.
Upper Lake’s job doesn’t get any easier next Friday when it travels to Middletown to take on the Mustangs (2-1), North Coast Section Division 7 defending champions.
NOTES: Upper Lake quarterback Corbyn Woolley went 5-for-9 for 41 yards, including a 10-yard pass to Isaac Stephen Caballero in the third quarter and a 15-yard pass to Caiden Sneed in the fourth quarter … Upper Lake’s Brody Blancas had a 12-yard run in the second quarter that gave the Cougars a first down at the Stuart Hall 43 … The Cougars have been shut out in their last two games after a season-opening 40-6 win at Esparto … Upper Lake has lost eight straight at home since a 24-0 win over Cloverdale on Oct. 4, 2024 … Stuart Hall split time between eight-man and 11-man football last year. They’re a full-time 11-man team this year as the newest member of the NCL I … Marci Schaefers Psalmonds (Class of 1989) and Dennis Wilson (Class of 1968) are the members of the Upper Lake Alumni Hall of Fame. They will be honored during a dinner Saturday night at the Twin Fir Ranch north of Upper Lake.
