{"id":3748,"date":"2025-08-28T22:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T22:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2025-08-28T22:35:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T22:35:46","slug":"trojans-cougars-mustangs-cards-kick-it-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=3748","title":{"rendered":"Trojans, Cougars, Mustangs, Cards kick it off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four county teams — two on Friday, two on Saturday — ready to open 2025 season<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brian Sumpter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lake County Sports on Facebook<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAKE COUNTY >> It\u2019s the opening weekend for high school football action in Lake County, which means the four teams with scheduled games can begin answering any lingering questions that remain after three weeks of practice and one scrimmage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there are plenty of questions to be answered. Among them: How will the line hold up? Can we throw\/run the ball? Will those promoted sophomores and juniors be able to get the job done like last year\u2019s seniors? Just how good are we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the four county teams in action this weekend \u2013 Kelseyville has a bye \u2013 Upper Lake and Lower Lake both open at \u201chome\u201d Friday night. Lower Lake hosts Esparto at Gordon Sadler Field while the Upper Lake Cougars entertain Los Molino at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport. Upper Lake\u2019s homefield has new turf, which was set down Aug. 22, and is not quite ready for play yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday games feature the Clear Lake Cardinals against St. Bernard High School in Eureka, and the Middletown Mustangs at Berean Christian in Walnut Creek, a varsity-only game that kicks off at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is plenty of \u201cnew\u201d about the new football season. For starters, Middletown (Kurtis Woodard), Clear Lake (Augie Perez) and Upper Lake (Derek Milhaupt) all have first-year head coaches. Though they\u2019ve all been assistants at these schools in past seasons, with Woodard the most well entrenched, those three teams are now under new management and that means changes of various degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodard replaces longtime coach Bill Foltmer (1985-2024). The defensive back\/quarterback coach in past seasons for the Mustangs, Woodard has many of Foltmer\u2019s veteran assistant coaches returning, including Moke Simon and Tom Knowles. Justin Gaddy (a former Lower Lake head coach) also joins the Middletown staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m blessed to have Moke and Tom back as well as my other guys,\u201d Woodard said. \u201cJustin joins us too. I\u2019m thinking if I didn\u2019t have these guys and I had to coach the linemen and the defense and do all the other things a head coach has to do, that would have been pretty tough. I\u2019m really lucky to have them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodard is the first new head coach for the Mustangs since Foltmer replaced Keller McDonald after the 1984 season. Perez replaces Mark Cory (2016-2024) while Milhaupt takes over for Stan Weiper (2023-24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at this weekend\u2019s matchups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Molinos vs. Upper Lake (at Lakeport)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars are expected to suit up 24 against Los Molinos, a team they defeated 36-24 a year ago in Los Molinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Upper Lake\u2019s third season since transitioning from eight-man football (2015-22) to the 11-man game. After a rough 2023 season, the Cougars were competitive throughout the 2024 campaign, going 3-5 in the North Central League I and 4-6 overall. While they still struggled against the NCL I\u2019s heavyweights, they were much more competitive overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inheriting last season\u2019s junior varsity championship team, new varsity head coach Milhaupt is hoping the varsity improvement continues from previous seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping it\u2019s a year-three payoff,\u201d Milhaupt said of Upper Lake\u2019s upward climb since returning to the NCL I in 2023. \u201cWe\u2019ve made some changes to the offense, and the kids are still getting used to those as well as new coaches, so we\u2019re still working out the kinks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upper Lake has already lost a pair of starters \u2013 one to injury, one to transfer \u2013 so Milhaupt is hoping the remaining players can make up the difference. Coming off the round-robin county scrimmage last week in Kelseyville, he said he was encouraged with the team\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe effort was there, but we had some players out for various reasons, so that hurt a little bit,\u201d Milhaupt said. \u201cWe had to move a lot of people around with five to six starters out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upper Lake will operate out of a shotgun formation this season, according to Milhaupt, but has no intention of abandoning its running game, which the school is known for historically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have the skill players to make it work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The line is the question mark and continues to be a work in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe brought up a couple of sophomores because we graduated a lot of linemen,\u201d Milhaupt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landon Robinson (wide receiver\/linebacker) and Dylan Aragon (middle linebacker\/fullback) are returning three-year varsity veterans who should anchor the team. Another of those three-year vets, Ryan Boomer, was lost for the season with an injury, a real blow, according to Milhaupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milhaupt, an assistant coach under Weiper last season, expects Los Molinos to be the same tough team the Cougars tangled with last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were big and physical and tried to run the ball at you,\u201d Milhaupt said. \u201cThey\u2019re well coached and have good numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JV action is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. at Don Owens Stadium with the varsity game to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esparto at Lower Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake started a 3-7 season in 2024 with three straight wins, including a season-opening 30-22 victory at Esparto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trojans were having a solid preseason until this week when the flu bug and injury bug popped up, with emphasis on the former.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVarsity-wise, I\u2019ve had about 14 guys practice this week,\u201d Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe issued 26 helmets and we\u2019ve averaged about 23 guys (in practice), down from last year, until this week,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had 17 at practice yesterday (Wednesday).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday\u2019s turnout should give Jakubowski a better idea where the Trojans stand in regard to available personnel for Friday\u2019s opener against Esparto, a team that was on the young side a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had a lot of sophomores last year, so I\u2019m sure they want to get us back,\u201d Jakubowski said. \u201cThey have big returning linemen. They had two fast running backs last year. One graduated, but the other guy is back, and he had a lot of yards on us in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake\u2019s strength this season may very well be its line with seniors Alexis Gutierrez (6-foot-2, 295 pounds) and Xavier Arellano anchoring the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSize-wise and depth-wise I think we\u2019re pretty good,\u201d Jakubowski said of his line, which will be operating in front of three-year varsity starter Ashton Hartmann, who threw for 1,387 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024, and 530 yards and seven TDs as a sophomore in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur depth at the skill positions is not good,\u201d Jakubowski said. \u201cWe lost our top two running backs and our top receivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake\u2019s veteran coach does like what he sees in such players as returning receiver Jony Ventura, a senior, and Christian Rodriguez, another senior. Rodriguez caught 20 passes for 325 yards and two TDs last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Russell will see plenty of action at running back while Jeremiah Lopez should help the team once he returns from a broken wrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young on defense a year ago, the Trojans return quite a few starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake opens the season with non-league games against Esparto on Friday night (5 p.m. JV kickoff) and at Healdsburg on Sept. 5.  Esparto went 6-5 a year ago, including 5-1 in the Sacramento Metropolotain Athletic League (co-champions), while Healdsburg went 3-7 overall. Like Lower Lake, Healdsburg won its first three games a year ago but lost the last seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake\u2019s league opener is Sept. 12 at home against St. Helena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown at Berean Christian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mustangs played nearly the entire 2024 season without quarterback Blake Costlow and Jon Hawkins because of injuries. Both return healthy in 2025 along with standout running backs Trenton Griffith, a senior, and Tyler Galamay, a sophomore, although Hawkins won\u2019t play against Berean Christian because of his involvement in this weekend\u2019s Lake County Fair (he\u2019s a member of 4-H and is showing animals).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlame me, I scheduled the game (for Saturday),\u201d Woodard joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawkins and Costlow headline a very talented crop of skill players for the Mustangs, who went 5-5 in Foltmer\u2019s final season, including 4-4 in league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited with the talent we have and the potential,\u201d Woodard said. \u201cNow if we can go out and make some plays, I\u2019ll be even more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development of Middletown\u2019s line will be crucial to the team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can do a million things with the skills guys we have, but if the line isn\u2019t doing it\u2019s job it won\u2019t matter,\u201d Woodard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming off the Lake County Scrimmage a week ago in Kelseyville, Woodard said he was pleased with what the Mustangs were able to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsually, we look horrible at the scrimmage, but I was happy with how we played,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But please don\u2019t confuse being happy with being satisfied. Woodard isn\u2019t that, not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of little football adjustments we need to make, and we\u2019ve been working on a lot of corrections this week in practice. We used the scrimmage as a stepping stone to motivate ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he\u2019s new to the head coaching ranks, Woodard said he\u2019s not feeling any nerves \u2013 at least not yet \u2013 heading into the Berean Christian game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing yet, but I\u2019m not on the field yet and it\u2019s not the fourth quarter of a close game,\u201d he said. \u201cDo I call a timeout or not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josue Gutierrez, a sophomore two-way lineman, is questionable for Berean Christian with a hyperextended knee. Every other player on the roster, which numbers 25 players, is ready to go for the season opener (with the exception of Hawkins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown and Berean Christian last met in 2018, Middletown winning 14-13 on the road in week two of that season, which produced the Mustangs\u2019 last section championship. The Eagles went 5-5 a year ago, the same as Middletown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Lake at St. Bernard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming off back-to-back-to-back solid seasons in 2021-23 during which they went a combined 28-8 with two league championships, three playoff appearances, a section title and a NorCal playoff appearance (the first ever by a county team), the Cardinals slumped to 2-8 last season despite a talented group of junior players who enter their senior season with a lot to prove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve heavy on seniors, which is great,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those seniors is Jesse Hayes, a freshman sensation during Clear Lake\u2019s section-winning season in 2022. He sustained a knee injury against Pierce in the 2023 season opener and hasn\u2019t played since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been talking about wanting to have a big season, breaking records, and he\u2019s capable of doing that,\u201d Perez said. \u201cLook what he did a freshman. We are so glad to have Jesse back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Lake, much like Middletown, is loaded at the skill positions, including senior quarterback AJ Bruch, tight end Kaden Graham and wide receivers Zane McAuley and Joey Portlock, but also has much of its line returning \u2013 guards Landon Williams, Jesus Ballardo, center Fabian Moreno and tackles Ryken Villanueva and Colton Mendonca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portock, who doubles as a defensive back, and linebacker\/tight end Kingston Hoaglen, both sophomores, are two players Perez expects to make a huge contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a little bit of everything,\u201d Perez said. \u201cWe have a quarterback, running back, linemen and receivers, so I feel pretty confident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perez said he was impressed with his team\u2019s play at the Lake County Scrimmage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt surprised me how well we did,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was a measuring stick for us. We came out and competed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cardinals, who are 18 players strong as the season opens, sent a pair of juniors down to the junior varsity because of low numbers there (13 players).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Cardinals want to win the league title like every other team in the NCL I, Perez said the focus is on competing, being aggressive and playing as a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really excited about the season,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThe kids feel like they\u2019re capable of doing some things. I believe we\u2019re going to have a better year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ll be facing a St. Bernard team that is coming off a 6-5 record in 2024. JV kickoff is noon with the varsity game to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lower Lake veteran quarterback Ashton Hartmann and his Trojans teammates open the season Friday night at home against Esparto. (Photo courtesy of Minenna Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four county teams — two on Friday, two on Saturday — ready to open 2025 season By Brian Sumpter Lake County Sports on Facebook LAKE COUNTY >> It\u2019s the opening weekend for high school football action in Lake County, which means the four teams with scheduled games can begin answering any lingering questions that remain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,110,26,17,18,19,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3751,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions\/3751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}