LAKE COUNTY — Barring a misstep by the Middletown Mustangs during the final two weeks of the 2019 high school football regular season, the North Central League I varsity football pennant is headed back to the walls/rafters at the school gym where it will have all kinds of company.
Middletown held off the Willits Wolverines 21-15 on Friday night to complete a major hurdle in its league schedule — back-to-back road victories over St. Helena (3-2) and Willits (3-2). Both of those teams were undefeated until dropping consecutive home games. As a result, the top of the NCL I standings now features not one but two Lake County teams as the red-hot Lower Lake Trojans are 4-1 going into their homecoming game Friday against the Clear Lake Cardinals (2-3). Lower Lake also has an important league finale coming up Nov. 1 when its hosts St. Helena in what could be a winner-take-all battle for second place.
Of course, that’s all assuming that coach Bill Foltmer-led Mustangs don’t stumble in their remaining games against Fort Bragg (Friday in Middletown) or Nov. 1 (at Cloverdale). Lower Lake still has a shot at winning a piece of the title if its wins its final two games and Middletown drops one.
Looking ahead to the postseason, both Middletown and Lower Lake compete in Division 6 this year under the new North Coast Section playoff system, so they could square off at some point, which would be a rematch of week one of league play when Middletown beat Lower Lake 42-19 at Middletown. Clear Lake, Willits and St. Helena are all Division 7 teams under the realigned NCS system.
Following is a look back on the Week 9 highlights and lowlights:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez did all he could do in the Knights’ shootout loss with Lower Lake, carrying the ball 28 times for 183 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions. Backfield mat Dylan McAdon added 103 yards and a touchdown. Middletown’s Nico Barrio finished 145 yards and a touchdown in the win over Willits. Clear Lake’s Treppa Marcks carried the Cardinals on his back during touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters against Cloverdale. He ended up with 140 yards, two touchdowns and two conversion runs.
Passing — Vann Wilkins completed 18 of 27 passes for 415 yards and six touchdowns against Kelseyville. Clear Lake’s Darius Ford was only 4-for-15 against Cloverdale, but he tossed touchdown passes to Travis Howe (80 yards) and Rolando Amaya.
Receiving — Lower Lake’s Semaj Clark was a re-occurring nightmare for the Kelseyville secondary as he caught nine passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. The Trojans’ Lorenzo Zuniga had only two catches, but he finished with 102 and a touchdown.
Special teams
Short celebration — Kelseyville scored late in the second quarter to cut Lower Lake’s lead to 29-22 only to watch the Trojans’ Gavin Watson return the ensuing kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown and a 35-22 lead.
Defense
Stepping up — Middletown’s Nico Barrio intercepted a Willits pass a the Middletown 13-yard line late in the fourth quarter to snuff out Willits’ last hope in a 21-15 loss at Willits.
Deuces are wild — Middletown’s Jared Pyzer and Clear Lake’s Treppa Marcks each had two sacks.
Miscellaneous
Streaks — Middletown has won five in a row, Lower Lake four straight and Clear Lake two in a row.
287 — Bill Foltmer’s career win total.
Dialing long distance — Lower Lake had five touchdowns of 27 yards or longer against Kelseyville, not counting two others wiped out by penalties.
Multi-tasking — Lower Lake’s Gavin Watson caught two touchdown passes and had a kickoff return for a score against Kelseyville. In the same game, Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez rushed for 183 yards and had four receptions for 90 yards. Clear Lake’s Travis Howe had three catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against Cloverdale and came up with yet another interception.
First time — Clear Lake, now 2-3 in league and 3-5 overall, won its first night game on Friday vs. Cloverdale.
Moral victory — Upper Lake’s defense held undefeated Cornerstone Christian to a season-low 40 points on Friday in Upper Lake during a 40-7 loss. Cornerstone Christian is the top-ranked eight-man team in Northern California and entered play ranked fifth in the state.
Titletown — Other than Middletown varsity football, Middletown girls soccer as well as Middletown boys and girls cross country are closing in on league/conference championships. Kelseyville’s varsity volleyball team already has clinched a tie for its fifth consecutive league crown.
Meanwhile … — Two county soccer teams are approaching a historic first. Stay tuned.
