{"id":7312,"date":"2026-10-01T19:44:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T19:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=7312"},"modified":"2026-10-01T19:44:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T19:44:03","slug":"knights-cougars-host-homecoming-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=7312","title":{"rendered":"Knights, Cougars host homecoming games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mustangs (3-1) hit the road looking for a fourth straight victory<\/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 >> Kelseyville and Upper Lake celebrate their homecomings Friday night while Middletown travels to Vallejo during Week 5 of the high school football season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville (1-3) hosts Lower Lake (1-2) in an all-county matchup, the host Knights looking to snap a two-game losing streak. Upper Lake (1-3) draws the St. Helena Saints (2-2) in its homecoming game, and Middletown (3-1) goes after a fourth straight win as it hits the road to take on St. Patrick-St. Vincent (1-4) in a varsity-only game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other games involving NCL I teams Friday, Cloverdale (3-1) travels to Willits (2-3), and Fort Bragg (1-4) hosts Stuart Hall (3-1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Both the Knights and Trojans are coming off losses in Week 4, the Knights dropping a 27-24 road decision to St. Helena, and Lower Lake falling 44-14 at home to Willits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville will be without running back Bryce Keener (ankle injury).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two teams played a thriller a year ago in Lower Lake, Kelseyville prevailing 28-26. The Knights have won each of the last five meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got athletes for sure,\u201d Kelseyville head coach Logan Barrick said of the Trojans. \u201c(Roy) Percoats is explosive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Percoats, a sophomore running back, rushed for 191 yards two weeks ago in Lower Lake\u2019s 46-14 win at Fort Bragg but didn\u2019t have much of an opportunity against Willits, which jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll take some deep shots, so it should be a fun test for our defensive backs,\u201d Barrick said of a Lower Lake passing game led by quarterback Brody Shields.  \u201cAs far as our defense, I like our stuff against what they run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Keener sidelined for at least a week, Barrick has added a few new wrinkles to the offense, things he may or may not use against Lower Lake depending on the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll come out in different defenses, so we\u2019ll have to see,\u201d Barrick said. \u201cThey\u2019ve given us different looks in the past, sometime playing two safeties or other times packing the box. If they pack the box, we have a quarterback (Kimo Brown) who has been able to take his shots and make teams pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville has led at some point in all four of its games this season, losing late leads against Justin-Siena and St. Helena, and squandering an early 13-0 lead to Middletown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur practices have been pretty focused this week,\u201d Barrick said. \u201cHomecoming hasn\u2019t seemed to have an effect on us, but we\u2019ll see (Friday).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been competition at the placekicking position in practice this week as the team looks to iron out its PAT struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said the Knights are a \u201ctough matchup\u201d for the Trojans, but the bigger battle may be the one the Trojans are fighting internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe lost five players, all starters, to injuries (against Willits), including two linemen,\u201d Jakubowski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those injuries run the gamut from minor to moderate, so the Trojans are scrambling a bit as they prepare to take on the Knights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have a nice balance of abilities,\u201d Jakubowski said of Kelseyville\u2019s run-pass attack. \u201cThey can pound the ball, but they can stretch the field. Their quarterback (Brown) can make big throws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the injuries still leave the Trojans with plenty of healthy bodies, the losses on the line hurt the most, according to Jakubowski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe took a pretty significant hit there and will have to use some sophomores,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting back to a more balanced run-pass mix that was effective against Fort Bragg would be a good first step, according to Jakubowksi. Against Willits a week ago, the Trojans were forced to throw the ball more than they wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe threw more than 30 times. We were behind the chains a lot,\u201d Jakubowski said. \u201cWe need to be to establish the run so we have more third-and-shorts and not third-and-longs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mistakes early against the Wolverines put the team in a deep hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have a whole lot of penalties, but the ones we did have hurt us,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a humbling game, so we\u2019ll see how well we bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Jakubowski, \u201cWe need to make better decisions in critical situations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Helena at Upper Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Upper Lake Cougars draw another tough assignment in the St. Helena Saints, who have had a couple of exciting weeks leading up to their trip to Upper Lake. They fell 41-35 in overtime two weeks ago in Willits but rallied from a 24-13 deficit a week ago at home to upend Kelseyville 27-24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSt. Helena is a team on a good trajectory,\u201d Upper Lake head coach John Toohey said. \u201cThey are definitely ascending, getting better every week. It\u2019s a disciplined and quality program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toohey said the Saints continue to add to their offense, and he doesn\u2019t believe they have reached their full potential just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re bracing for what we\u2019re about to see,\u201d he said. \u201cOn a well-coached team like that, you know they have a plan to develop that offense even more. They\u2019re rebuilding, but they have a very good foundation. No matter what they have at the start of the year, they\u2019re going to develop it and keep getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Helena\u2019s offense includes two productive running backs in George Filippini (408 rushing yards, four TDs) and Julian Earls (338 yards, three TDs), both seniors. Quarterback Daniel Gonzalez has passed for 313 yards and three TDs and run for another three scores, so the Saints have plenty of options. Earls also has eight receptions and two receiving touchdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dive game is the backbone of their offense,\u201d Toohey said. \u201cWe need everyone to do their job on defense. Everyone has a responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upper Lake scored a late touchdown against Middletown a week ago in a 48-6 loss at Middletown, snapping a 12-quarter scoreless streak. The Saints have allowed 128 points so far this season, so their defense is vulnerable if the Cougars can do something they\u2019ve struggled at in their last three games, which is sustaining drives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The junior varsity game could be a good one as St. Helena brings in a 3-1 record against a 2-1-1 Upper Lake squad coming off its first loss of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown at St. Patrick-St. Vincent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bruins did almost nothing but throw the ball in their first games \u2013 all losses. A week ago in a 54-0 home victory over Berean Christian, they ran the ball most of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast week they ran the ball 95 percent of the time,\u201d Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard said. \u201cIn their other games they were throwing 75 percent of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Woodard, \u201cWe\u2019ve watched a lot of game film, and they do have tendencies that our coaching staff has picked up on. They run a lot of trips and twins. The routes their receivers run are simple and not complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown\u2019s pass defense has been barely worked this season, so the Mustangs could see their first real aerial test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re confident in the guys we have going up against their guys, and our goal is to win those battles every down,\u201d Woodard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Patrick-St. Vincent figures to have its hands full slowing down a Middletown offense that has scored 48, 41 and 42 points the last three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown\u2019s ground attack of Tyler Galamay (470 yards, eight TDs) and John Finney (261 yards, five TDs) is complimented by a mobile quarterback in Jamisen Jackson, who has passed for 474 yards and three TDs and run for another three scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey might know exactly what play we\u2019re running, but you still have to tackle those guys,\u201d Woodard said of Galamay, Finney and Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown\u2019s sideline will have plenty of extra help this week. The junior varsity team doesn\u2019t have a game (St. Patrick-St. Vincent has no JV team), so Woodard is elevating all the sophomores to the varsity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time these two teams met was the 2022 season when St. Patrick-St. Vincent beat Middletown 26-20 in Vallejo, scoring on the game\u2019s final play. In 2021, Middletown routed the Bruins 53-16 at Middletown, and in 2017, St. Patrick-St. Vincent defeated the Mustangs 28-0 in the North Coast Section Division 5 championship game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week 6 schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead to games the weekend of Oct. 9-10, North Central League I South openers feature St. Helena at Middletown (Middletown\u2019s homecoming) on Friday, Oct. 9 and Lower Lake at Stuart Hall on Saturday, Oct. 10. Upper Lake opens its NCL I North schedule Oct. 9 at Willits, and Cloverdale visits Kelseyville in NCL I interlock action, also on Oct. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Patrick-St. Vincent replaces Clear Lake on Middletown\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mustangs (3-1) hit the road looking for a fourth straight victory By Brian Sumpter Lake County Sports on Facebook LAKE COUNTY >> Kelseyville and Upper Lake celebrate their homecomings Friday night while Middletown travels to Vallejo during Week 5 of the high school football season. Kelseyville (1-3) hosts Lower Lake (1-2) in an all-county matchup, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,20,110,58,26,17,18,19,59,144,15,57],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7312"}],"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=7312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7314,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7312\/revisions\/7314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}