21-18 victory sends Kelseyville to Division 7 semifinals against St. Helena
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MCKINLEYVILLE >> Airliners throughout the country weren’t the only things grounded Friday.
The Kelseyville Knights, the No. 8 seed in the eight-team North Coast Section Division 7 football playoffs, grounded No. 1 seed McKinleyville’s passing attack and season while pulling off a dramatic 21-18 victory that was decided on quarterback Kimo Brown’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 14 seconds remaining.
“Their passing wasn’t what really hurt us,” Kelseyville head coach Logan Barrick said of a McKinleyville offense that has made a living off throwing the ball this season. “They had some success running the ball, but it’s not something they like to do. We put them in an uncomfortable situation and they made some mistakes.”
And none of those mistakes was more costly than a lost fumble with 6:57 remaining. Kelseyville, trailing 18-14, had just turned over the ball on downs deep in its own territory after a low punt snap resulted in no kick, according to Barrick.
“Our punter had to reach down for the ball, and his knee touched the ground,” Barrick said.
McKinleyville (7-4) could have finished off Kelseyville (7-4) with another score, but the Knights’ defense was having none of that. Elijah Watkins forced a fumble that teammate JD Smart recovered, putting the ball back in Kelseyville’s hands.
And the Knights knew exactly what to do with it this time.
Aided by a couple of penalties, and mixing up runs with passes, the Knights punched the ball into McKinleyville territory as the clock continued to move. A key third-down scramble by Brown gave the Knights a critical first down and set up one of the biggest plays of the game as Brown hit Jayden Fabisch with a pass down to the McKinleyville 2-yard-line.
Although the Panthers had timeouts left, they didn’t use them.
“I don’t know why, but I’m glad they didn’t use them,” Barrick said.
Brown’s first quarterback sneak was stopped at the 1-yard-line. A second sneak nudged the ball a bit closer, and a third sneak finished off the drive as the Kelseyville sidelines exploded in celebration.
Jorge Gonzalez tacked on his third extra point of the night – the difference in the game as McKinleyville failed on all three of its conversions following scores in the second, third and fourth quarters.
Barrick said no team is better suited to play in close and down-to-the-wire games this season than the Knights, who have played in six contests decided by one score or less. And they’re also accustomed to winning on the road where they are 5-2 this season.
“We’ve got more road wins than we have home games (four) this season,” Barrick said.
And the Knights will be on the road again next Friday in the semifinals against the St. Helena Saints, their second trip to the Napa County school this season – they lost there 26-24 on Sept. 25. The Saints are coached by former Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen.
St. Helena (6-5) extended its season Friday night with a road win of its own, beating Cloverdale 35-31 (the Saints lost 35-32 to the Eagles in NCL I South action last month in Cloverdale).
Both Kelseyville and St. Helena have struggled in recent postseasons to advance past the semifinal round, but someone will do exactly that next Friday.
“This really was a team effort,” Barrick said of the win over McKinleyville, a team the Knights trounced in back-to-back season openers in 2023 and 2024. “I had a lot of guys come through in big moments.”
One of those moments was early in the second quarter. Kelseyville grabbed a 7-0 lead on a Brown 1-yard run in the first quarter, then added it to when Deake Lyndall Jr. returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown.
McKinleyville, stymied most of the first half by Kelseyville’s defense, finally broke through with a touchdown late in the second quarter to make it 14-6.
While the Knights recovered an onside kick to open the second half, Carson Stone dropping on the ball, they struggled to move the ball on the ground as McKinleyville began packing the box with defenders.
A blocked punt helped McKinleyville close the gap to 14-12 in the third quarter, and the Panthers were finally able to take the lead, 18-14, with 8:03 left in the game.
Turnovers played a huge factor in the outcome. McKinleyville lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions in addition to Kelseyville’s onside kick recovery.
“You have to win the turnover battle in games like this, and we did,” Barrick said.
While heavy rain pounded the McKinleyville area before the game, the rain let up as the game opened, leaving a thoroughly drenched field. By the second half, Barrick said the turf was pretty torn up and that made footing and ballhandling extremely difficult for both teams.
Kelseyville almost had another three points, but Gonzalez’s 25-yard field goal went wide right early in the third quarter.
“I don’t think it was Jorge’s fault,” Barrick said. “We had a little trouble with the snap and hold.”
There were certainly plenty of individual kudos to go around, according to Barrick.
Fabisch finished with 64 hard-earned yards on 10 carries, and his runs early in the game helped set up the team’s first touchdown while his reception down the stretch paved the way for the game-winning touchdown. He had 49 yards receiving on two catches.
Workhorse Case Pivniska added another 45 yards on 14 carries, and Thomas had two catches for 35 yards. Brown finished 7-for-14 passing for 103 yards and had 12 rushing yards and two TDs.
The Knights shined equally bright on the defensive side of the ball between interceptions from Thomas and Lyndall, 13 Hayden Brown tackles, 10 tackles apiece from Watkins and Andrew Souza (Souza had two tackles for loss), and eight tackles and a sack from Gordon Astrup. Hugh O’Boyle added six tackles.
“It was no one person,” Barrick said of the Knights’ workmanlike path to victory.
“It felt really good,” Barrick said of not only winning his first playoff game in his first year as head coach but coming through late in the fourth quarter with their season hanging in the balance. “We’ve certainly been in this type of situation before earlier this season. We didn’t always win, but I think we’re figuring it out.”
And at just the right time.
GAME NOTES: McKinleyville wasn’t the only No. 1 seed to have a tough Friday the 13th. Moreau Catholic, the No. 1 seed in the Division 6 playoffs, lost 25-23 to No. 8 seed Pinole Valley … In the Division 5 playoffs, No. 1 seed Ferndale had all it could handle in beating No. 8 Montgomery 28-21 … Field conditions won’t be a factor for the Knights next Friday on St. Helena’s all-weather surface … It was Kelseyville’s first playoff win since a 41-21 first-round victory over St. Patrick/St. Vincent in 2023 … Kelseyville reached the sectional semifinals in 2023 (31-7 loss to Willits), 2022 (28-21 loss to Clear Lake), 2018 (14-12 loss to Middletown), 2017 (7-0 loss to Middletown) and 2016 (20-7 loss to Fort Bragg).
