Upper Lake drops North Central League I North opener at Willits
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WILLITS >> The Upper Lake Cougars had the ball at the Willits 5-yard-line late in the fourth quarter but eventually turned the ball over on downs as the Wolverines held on for a 20-12 victory in the North Central League I North opener for both teams Friday at Maize Field in Willits.
Willits (1-0 league, 3-4 overall) was looking to add to its 20-12 lead late in the game when Upper Lake (0-1, 1-5) came up with a stop on defense. The Cougars then punched the ball deep into Wolverines territory.
“We missed on two shots to the end zone and turned it over on downs,” Upper Lake head coach John Toohey said. “We managed to get one final shot after another stop but just couldn’t convert.”
Willits led 6-0 after one quarter and 13-0 at halftime. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
Upper Lake’s two third-quarter touchdowns came on a Corbyn Woolley 57-yard pass to Antario Wyman and a Brody Blancas 1-yard run.
“We took our lumps early on,” Toohey said. “We gave up a touchdown in the first half and had a return touchdown of our own called back (on a penalty) right after. We then fumbled into the end zone in the second quarter to fall behind by two touchdowns.”
Upper Lake played much better in the second half, according to Toohey.
“The guys came out swinging in the second half,” Toohey said. “Corbyn Woolley ripped a 50-yard go ball down the right sideline to Antario Wyman for a touchdown.”
Willits answered with a touchdown on a fly sweep to go back up by two scores.
“We got it back within eight points after a long pass down the right seam to Gage Faalelea set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Brody Blancas.”
Woolley passed for 165 yards while Wyman had five catches for 90 yards. Jacob Weldon was Upper Lake’s top rusher with 67 yards on 10 carries. Gage Faalelea had two catches for 55 yards.
Toohey praised the efforts of Weldon, Wyman and Faalelea.
“All had monster games for us,” Toohey said. “Corbyn Woolley is also really coming into his own as a passer. I have to give a ton of credit to our offensive line, too, as well as fullback Cannon Cross-Webb. After a shaky first half, they completed locked in and cleaned up the protection. They are the reason we stayed in the game late, along with the defense playing with incredible grit and eye discipline.”
Added Toohey, “I’m incredibly proud of this team’s growth. We definitely had to fight through some tough calls and adversity, but they stayed the course and were in it until the very end.”
Blake Sneed’s 10 solo tackles, two assists and one sack anchored the Upper Lake defense. Blancas added three solo tackles, three assists and a 28-yard fumble recovery.
Upper Lake returns home next Friday to play Kelseyville. Junior varsity kicks off at 5 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.