Lower Lake throws scare Kelseyville’s way in final seconds
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
KELSEYVILLE >> Fourth quarters have been none too kind to the Kelseyville High School varsity football team and head coach Logan Barrick so far this season, so when Brayton Thomas scored on a 34-yard run with 1:23 left in the game to give the Knights a 28-13 lead, it looked like the Knights were home free Friday night against Lower Lake.
“I was hoping he would get a first down and we could run out the clock,” Barrick said of Thomas’ run. “And then he goes and busts it for a touchdown.”
That touchdown turned out to be the difference in a 28-21 Kelseyville victory that ended up going down to the wire, much to Barrick’s surprise.
The first-year Kelseyville coach wasn’t unhappy that Thomas broke his final run of a productive night for a touchdown, but it left time enough on the clock for Lower Lake to make it interesting down the stretch.
With backup quarterback DJ Thomas on in relief of Brody Shields, who left with a banged up heel, the Trojans needed only two plays to move 53 yards for a touchdown, the final one a short pass to sophomore running back Roy Percoats, who turned it into a 49-yard zig-zag run down the Lower Lake sideline. Percoats slipped or broke a half-dozen tackle attempts on his way to the end zone, impressing head coaches on both sidelines.
“Percoats is as explosive as we thought,” Barrick said of the speedy running back. “He’s phenomenal,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski added.
Trailing 28-19, The Trojans needed the conversion to have any shot at pulling off a miracle finish against the Knights with only 15.3 seconds remaining, and Thomas rolled to his right and banged his way into the end zone to make it 28-21.
The expected onside kick gave Lower Lake one last chance to get the ball around midfield, but the kick rolled out of bounds before the Trojans had a chance to pounce on it, and Kelseyville took a knee to run out the final seconds.
“That onside kick was really scary,” Barrick said. “When you’ve had the fourth quarters we’ve had to this point, you don’t take anything for granted.”
Kelseyville (2-3) snapped a two-game losing streak with its win, relying on its running game for the most part to move down the field against Lower Lake (1-3). Both teams would finish the game without their starting quarterbacks. In addition to Shields leaving the game late with an injury, Kelseyville starter Kimo Brown was knocked out late in the first half with a rolled ankle.
“I think Deake (Lyndall) did a pretty job for us,” Barrick said of his backup quarterback. “I know he had those two interceptions, but he was getting the ball to who he needed to get it to.”
Not much separated the two teams, but there were a handful of miscues that cost the Trojans during the night, some more than others. One of those came in the second quarter when the Trojans, trailing 15-7, were facing a third-and-goal from the Kelseyville 3-yard-line. Shields rolled to his left and let a pass go into traffic that he should have held onto, resulting in an Elijah Watkins interception.
“He shouldn’t have thrown in, but he was trying to make a heroic play,” Jakubowski said.
Kelseyville held the ball for a long time following the interception but eventually turned it over on downs. Lower Lake didn’t miss this time, moving 59 yards in 10 plays and scoring with 38 seconds left in the half on a Vincent Linton 1-yard run. The extra-point kick was blocked, leaving the score at 15-13 going into the half.
Lower Lake’s defense came up with a big interception of its own early in the fourth quarter during a Kelseyville drive that was greatly aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Trojans. Facing a fourth-and-two from the Lower Lake 7, Shields stepped in front of a Lyndall pass just in front of the goal line. The play got off to a rocky start when Lyndall bumped into one of his running backs following the snap. He rolled right but was under pressure before releasing the ball.
Lower Lake took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, receiving the opening kickoff, a failed onside kick, and marching 47 yards in five plays, the final one a 27-yard touchdown pass from Shields to a wide-open Anthony Russell.
Kelseyville had the lead three plays later. The Knights’ first play from scrimmage was a 51-yard pass from Brown to Jayden Fabisch, who was finally brought down at the 4-yard-line.
“We knew they were looking for a run, so we decided to test them right off,” Barrick said of the decision to go deep.
Fabisch gained two yards on first-and-goal and scored on a two-yard run on second-and-goal. After the Trojans jumped offsides on the extra-point conversion attempt, the Knights went for two and Case Pivniska ran it in for an 8-7 lead.
The Knights got the ball back on a punt and scored on their next possession, moving 76 yards in eight plays. A 26-yard pass from Brown to JT Smart helped set up a 17-yard touchdown run by Thomas. Jorge Gonzalez kicked the extra point to make it 15-7.
Lower Lake’s defense stopped a deep Kelseyville drive on downs at the 12-yard-line to open the second half, but the Trojans ended up pinned deep in their own end had to punt the ball. The Knights got the ball back on a punt with great field position at the 31-yard-line. Pivniska gained 11 yards on first down, and an eight-yard run by Fabisch two plays later set up a first-and-goal from the 10. Pivniska took it from there, busting up the middle for the touchdown and a 22-13 lead.
“Our running game was explosive,” Barrick said. “I haven’t been able to use Fabisch and Thomas as much as I’ve wanted, but they both did a great job tonight.”
And with starting running back Bryce Keener out of action with an injury, there were plenty of carries to go around for Kelseyville’s other three backs. Pivniska finished with 93 yards on 18 carries, Thomas had 84 yards on eight carries, and Fabish 36 yards on eight carries.
Linton led the Trojans with 83 yards on 10 carries.
“We wanted to run the ball and not throw it 30 times,” Jakubowski said. “We were able to run the first time we had the ball, but they (Knights) came right back and hit us with that long pass and scored.”
Added Jakubowski, “The defense played well enough to keep us in the game. We just got behind the chains a few too many times and made it tougher on ourselves than it had to be.”
Barrick said navigating the fourth quarter was a good first step for the Knights, who have struggled in that department. The defense helped make that possible by shutting out the Trojans in the second half until the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
“Our kids stayed tighter and did a much better job of keeping focus,” Barrick said.
“I think we built some momentum tonight with the way played against a very good Kelseyville team,” Jakubowski said.
GAME NOTES: Shields finished 9-for-15 for 93 yards, a touchdown and an interception … Brown went 4-for-8 for 97 yards before leaving the game with an ankle injury … Shields had Lower Lake’s two interceptions, both thrown by Lyndall … Kelseyville hosts Cloverdale (4-1) in NCL I interlock action next Friday while Lower Lake opens its NCL I South schedule next Saturday against Stuart Hall (4-1) in San Francisco … Kelseyville made a vast improvement in the PAT department, going 2-for-2 on kicks and 1-for-2 on two-point conversions. The Knights went 0-for-4 the previous week in a 27-24 loss at St. Helena.
