Knights top Cougars in North action; Trojans fall to red-hot Eagles
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> Stuart Hall’s 29-28 win over Middletown on Friday night puts the North Central League I South race beyond the Mustangs’ control as the Knights (2-0) and Cloverdale Eagles (1-0) are the only South teams that now control their own destiny
Stuart Hall takes a break from its league schedule this weekend to play at Willits in NCL I interlock action before finishing up its schedule with South games against St. Helena (Oct. 30 in St. Helena) and Nov. 7 against Cloverdale (at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco). All three of Cloverdale’s remaining regular-season games are South contests – home against St. Helena this coming Friday, home against Middletown on Oct. 30, and at Stuart Hall on Nov. 7.
Middletown’s remaining South games are this Friday at Lower Lake and Oct. 30 at Cloverdale.
The Mustangs will be pulling for either St. Helena or Cloverdale to knock off Stuart Hall as the league race continues.
Middletown lost a pair of two-way starters early in the first quarter against Stuart Hall. Star running back Tyler Galamay was sidelined after taking a knee to the hip while Karp hyperextended his knee. Galamay is likely to return for Lower Lake while Karp’s status is uncertain.
Following is a look back at other Week 7 highlights and lowlights:
Statistics
Rushing – Middletown’s Johnny Finney carried the ball 27 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns against Stuart Hall. Antario Wyman’s 72 yards rushing led the Upper Lake Cougars in a 21-6 home loss to Kelseyville while teammate Gage Faalelea added another 59 yards and a TD. Case Pivniska led the Knights with 62 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown while Jayden Fabisch added 52 yards on 10 carries. Anthony Russell gained 59 yards on nine carries in Lower Lake’s 30-7 home loss to Cloverdale. Kelseyville’s Deake Lyndall Jr. finished with 46 yards on three carries, setting up a touchdown with one of those carries. In a backup role following Tyler Galamay’s injury, Ryan Halverson gained 39 yards on seven carries with a 10-yard touchdown run against Stuart Hall.
Passing – Lower Lake’s Brody Shields went 9-for-21 for 82 yards and two interceptions against Cloverdale. Kelseyville’s Kimo Brown was 7-for-15 for 78 yards against Upper Lake while Deake Lyndall Jr. was 1-for-1 with a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Receiving – Lower Lake’s Vincent Linton had three catches for 36 yards. Kelseyville’s Hugh O’Boyle caught three passes for 25 yards while teammate Carson Stone had a 24-yard reception.
Special teams
PATs — Middletown attempted two-point conversions after all four of its touchdowns against Stuart Hall, going 2-for-4. It’s the first time this season that they haven’t attempt an extra-point kick.
To the house – Lower Lake’s Roy Percoats returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Cloverdale.
Nice returns – Middletown’s Tyler Galamay helped set up his own touchdown run early in the first quarter against Stuart Hall with a 52-yard kickoff return that opened the game against Stuart Hall. Jamisen Jackson’s 30-yard kickoff return in the third quarter set up another Middletown touchdown. Ryan Halverson’s 30-yard punt return in the second quarter led to a drive deep into Stuart Hall territory that reached the Knights’ 3-yard-line in the final seconds but yielded no points as the Mustangs ran out of time.
Onside kick recoveries – Middletown’s Jamisen Jackson had one and Kelseyville’s Aurelius Santos another.
Defense
Racking up the tackles – Kelseyville’s Jayden Fabisch finished with 12 total tackles, six of them solo, and also recovered a fumble. Teammates Deake Lyndall Jr. and Gordon Astrup added 11 and 9 ½ tackles, respectively. Lower Lake’s Ishmael Orozco finished with 10 total tackles and teammate Tyler Peden had nine. Upper Lake’s Gage Faalelea, Caiden Sneed and Brody Blancas finished with seven, six and five tackles against Kelseyville. Sneed and Blancas had sacks.
Fourth-down woes – St. Helena and Stuart Hall went a combined 8-for-8 on fourth-down conversions against Middletown the last two weeks.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – Upper Lake has dropped six straight and Lower Lake four in a row. Stuart Hall snapped Middletown’s five-game winning streak. Cloverdale (6-1) has won six straight.
Ouch! – After shoving the ball down Stuart Hall’s throat with its running game late in the fourth quarter and scoring a touchdown to go up 28-21, Middletown was a two-point conversion away from sealing the win over Stuart Hall, but the Mustangs fumbled the ball into and were stopped short of the goal line. Stuart Hall marched 65 yards in just over three minutes for a touchdown and made the two-point conversion to win it. The Knights converted on a fourth-and-7 play right before scoring their touchdown.
Injuries – Middletown lost Tyler Galamay and Colton Karp early against Stuart Hall. Likewise, Upper Lake lost starting quarterback Corbyn Woolley, center Jaden Garcia-Green and cornerback/receiver Shaun Way against Kelseyville.
Backups get it done – They lost the game but went down fighting. Hudson Kelley came off the Middletown bench to replace the injured Colton Karp while Ryan Halverson filled in for the injured Tyler Galamay on offense. According to head coach Kurtis Woodard, both turned in exceptional performances.
No passing – Middletown attempted just four passes and completed none against Stuart Hall. That’ll happen when two of your best receivers are out of the game with injuries and when you’re moving the ball on the ground with great success, even with a top starter out.
JV comeback – Kelseyville trailed Upper Lake 16-6 at halftime but rallied for an 18-16 victory, its second win in the last weeks after an 0-4 start to its season.
Something’s gotta give – Upper Lake (0-2 North, 1-6 overall) hosts Fort Bragg (0-1 North, 1-6 overall) on Friday night. Fort Bragg has dropped six straight.
Week 8 games – In the North, it’s Fort Bragg at Upper Lake. In the South, it’s St. Helena at Cloverdale and Middletown at Lower Lake. In non-league action, Kelseyville visits Dougherty Valley (San Ramon). In interlock action, Stuart Hall travels to Willits.
Bass Bowl – The annual rivalry game between Clear Lake and Kelseyville was supposed to take place this Friday, but the Cardinals were unable to field a varsity team this season. The forfeit win gives Kelseyville a 11-5 lead in the series, which coined the name Bass Bowl in 2010. There was no game played in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Week for pennants – Kelseyville’s girls soccer, varsity volleyball and junior varsity volleyball teams can all clinch outright North Central League I championships with wins on Tuesday.
Bad week for LA sports – Dodgers and Rams take it on the chin. Pity.
Exactly what do you want? – Do you expect a school’s administration to replace a coach because you don’t like them? Parents, quit dragging your dirty laundry into social media. It helps nothing.
Cleaning warning – Be careful when dusting those glass MVP and Athlete of the Year awards. You never know when one will come tumbling down and break.
Free legal advice – Not an attorney but have some real-life experience in the area of unlawful detainers and the eviction process. It’s kind of like tackle football, only much bloodier.
Extended thanks – To those individual submitting photos and videos to Lake County Sports. Kids love them and that’s all that matters.
I can’t keep up with all of them – Riley Hanson (junior, KHS varsity volleyball), Cassidy Hanson (freshman, KHS varsity volleyball), Hazel Hanson (seventh grade, Mountain Vista A volleyball). On the way up, Mackenzie Hanson (third grade). The Hanson sisters have the Knights set for years.
Northshore Youth Club – Hope it sticks around considering all the turmoil in the Upper Lake Union High School District of late.
Definitely a highlight – During my sports journalism career, covering Bill Foltmer from his first days as Middletown High School’s football coach to being inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Congrats Bill!
PHOTO: Fisheye view of the coin flip prior to the start of the Stuart Hall at Middletown varsity football game on Friday in Middletown, courtesy of Ed Oswalt.
