{"id":7614,"date":"2026-11-06T00:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T00:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=7614"},"modified":"2026-11-06T00:58:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T00:58:02","slug":"north-south-titles-up-for-grabs-in-week-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=7614","title":{"rendered":"North, South titles up for grabs in Week 10"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s all or nothing for K’ville, Willits in North; M’town rooting for Cloverdale in South race<\/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 >> This is the way it\u2019s supposed to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Kelseyville Knights step foot onto Maize Field in Willits on Friday night to play the host Wolverines in a North Central League I North football game, the league and regular-season finale for both teams, the stakes couldn\u2019t be much higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How high?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWin or else,\u201d Kelseyville head coach Logan Barrick said. \u201cIt all comes down to this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville (2-0 North, 5-4 overall) brings a three-game winning streak into Maize Field, a location that has not been kind to the Knights over the last decade. Kelseyville is facing a Willits team that is 2-0 and 4-5, and that\u2019s not bad given the Willits lost its first three games, getting outscored 75-12 in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeither team started very well,\u201d Barrick said of the Knights\u2019 own 1-2 record after three games.  \u201cWe\u2019ve both played a lot better since then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the winner Friday night secures an automatic playoff berth by virtue of winning the North championship, the loser is most likely done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs far as the playoffs go, if we win, we\u2019re in,\u201d Barrick said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, there is a slight chance we could make it. Willits has to win to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NCL I North isn\u2019t the only league championship that will be decided in Week 10 of the high school season. The NCL I South race isn\u2019t completely over yet as Stuart Hall (3-0 South, 8-1 overall) needs a win at home Saturday against Cloverdale (2-1, 7-2) to secure the outright league title. If Cloverdale wins, the South race ends in a three-way tie between Stuart Hall, Cloverdale and Middletown, all at 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other Week 10 games, Middletown (7-2) closes its regular season with an interlock game at Fort Bragg (1-8), Lower Lake (0-3, 1-7) travels to St. Helena (0-3, 4-5) in NCL I South action, and Upper Lake (3-6) visits Colusa for a non-league game. Win or lose, it\u2019s the final game of the season for both Lower Lake and Upper Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown\u2019s junior varsity clinched the South title last week with a win at Cloverdale. Kelseyville\u2019s JV can lock up the North crown with a victory at Willits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville at Willits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never easy to play there,\u201d Barrick said of Maize Field. \u201cThey (Wolverines) are going to be flying around and being physical. I hope we\u2019re ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrick believes the Knights are ready based on their last two games \u2013 a 27-20 road win against Dougherty Valley two weeks ago and a 31-0 victory last week at home against Fort Bragg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville has lost its last three trips to Willits, a streak the teams needs to snap if it wants a league pennant. Ironically, Knights\u2019 last two wins against Willits have helped them capture league titles both years \u2013 in 2018 (at Willits) and 2024 (at Kelseyville).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen some weird things happen there (at Maize Field),\u201d Barrick said. \u201cThe light pole caught on fire one time. You never know what you\u2019re going to see there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Injury front, Kelseyville\u2019s Andrew Souza returns and will start on defense, according to Barrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn offense he\u2019ll contribute in different ways,\u201d Barrick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other players who are a banged up will be game-time decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see how they feel,\u201d Barrick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winner will learn Sunday who, when and where it is playing next week in the North Coast Section playoffs, most likely in Division 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville last qualified for the postseason in 2024, losing to Del Norte in a first-round game. Willits has reached the playoffs three times in the last four years, missing out only in 2024 despite an 8-2 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown at Fort Bragg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the outcome of the Cloverdale at Stuart Hall game on Saturday, the Mustangs will either be a South champion or league runner-up. Regardless, it looks like the defending Division 7 champions will be moving up to the Division 5 playoffs this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Fort Bragg game has no bearing on the South race since it\u2019s an interlock game, Middletown still has some things to check off its list before entering postseason play next week, according to Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the goal is to go there and play well,\u201d Woodard said. \u201cWe need to take care of our backyard first. After that, we have kids who have made every practice and every weight day who we haven\u2019t been able as use as much as we would have liked, and we want to get them playing time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that effect, the Mustangs are determined to get one of their reserves his first touchdown if at all possible and will do what they can to make that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great kid that I have bonded well with over the last few seasons,\u201d Woodard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Bragg won its first game of the season but has since dropped eight straight. The Timberwolves have been able to move the ball, but have had considerable trouble finishing off drives, hurt by penalties, turnovers or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown\u2019s high-powered running attack, led by juniors Tyler Galamay (nine touchdowns in his last two games) and Johnny Finney, will present the Timberwolf defense with plenty of challenges. Galamay is just seven yards shy of 1,000 for the season while Finney (764 yards) could hit that milestone before the Mustangs\u2019 year is over. Galamay rolled up 1,348 yards a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mustangs will learn on Sunday what playoff division they\u2019re in, who, when and where they play next week when postseason play begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Trojans don\u2019t have a whole bunch to play for, but they can at least escape the NCL I South cellar with a win and end a six-game losing streak in the process. It won\u2019t be easy against a rebuilding Saints team that has played especially well at certain times this season, and St. Helena has the added advantage of playing at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake did put 26 points on the scoreboard a week ago in a 44-26 loss at Upper Lake, getting multiple touchdowns from its offense as well as a kickoff return for a score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Helena had a chance to make the South race a little more interesting last week at home against Stuart Hall, but the Saints didn\u2019t have a good night and fell 55-20, one of their more lopsided losses of the season. Stuart Hall clinched no worse than a tie for the South championship with that win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saints have won their last seven meetings with the Trojans, but there have been some nail-biters in there, including a 43-37 overtime St. Helena win in 2024. Both the 2025 and 2023 games were competitive as well. Lower Lake last beat the Saints in 2017, a 33-14 victory at St. Helena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upper Lake at Colusa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars are looking to build momentum for next season, and a third straight win to close out the 2026 season would be a good start. The last time Upper Lake won three or more games in succession as an 11-man football team was 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upper Lake\u2019s offense has been on fire the last weeks as have the Cougars as a whole. They\u2019ve scored 99 points in the last two weeks alone compared to 52 in their first seven weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colusa (3-6) has lost two in a row and five of its last six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since winning a state championship in 2023 (14-0), the Redhawks have struggled, winning just eight games. This is their third losing season in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s all or nothing for K’ville, Willits in North; M’town rooting for Cloverdale in South race By Brian Sumpter Lake County Sports on Facebook LAKE COUNTY >> This is the way it\u2019s supposed to end. When the Kelseyville Knights step foot onto Maize Field in Willits on Friday night to play the host Wolverines in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[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\/7614"}],"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=7614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7617,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions\/7617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}