Three chances to reach the finals
Cougars play Friday night, Cards, Mustangs go Saturday afternoon in NCS semifinals
LAKE COUNTY >> Three Lake County football teams face huge challenges this weekend during the semifinal round of the North Coast Section playoffs.
North Central League II champion Upper Lake, the No. 3 seed in the eight-man division, is up first Friday night as the Cougars (7-2) travel to San Francisco to play No. 2 seed Stuart Hall of San Francisco at Kezar Stadium beginning at 6 p.m. The Knights (4-3) finished second to No. 1 seed Branson School of Ross in the NCL IV standings this season.
In Saturday afternoon action, No. 4 Clear Lake (7-3) travels to Petaluma to take on No. 1 seed St. Vincent (9-1) at 1 p.m. in the Division 7 semifinals while No. 4 Middletown (7-4) visits Richmond to play No. 1 seed Salesian (7-2) at 1 p.m. in the Division 6 semifinals.
Winners advance to the section finals in their respective divisions the weekend of Nov. 26-27. The other half of the Division 6 championship pairing is all ready set as No. 2 seed Arcata had to forfeit to No. 3 Justin-Siena of Napa because of COVID-19 quarantine. Justin-Siena now awaits the winner of Salesian-Middletown.
Upper Lake
Stuart Hall has been off since a 58-36 shootout loss to Branson in the NCL IV finale for both teams on Oct. 30. The Knight’s had a first-round playoff bye last week.
“They have an athletic quarterback (William Ferguson), a big tight end (Jake Goodman) and their backs and receivers had a lot of speed,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said. “In the game against Branson they threw the ball a lot, and they through it down the field instead of shorter stuff.”
While Upper Lake’s defense has played the run very well all season, the team’s pass rush and pass coverage has only improved throughout the year, according to Moran.
“I’m happy with our defense against any type of offense we face,” he said.
Stuart Hall is averaging 42.5 points a game while the Cougars’ defensive unit, led by defensive end Joey Franklin and linebacker Bradley Sneathen, has allowed a total of six points in its last four games.
Franklin, a junior, has 10 sacks in his last two games while the secondary of cornerbacks Elijah Alvarez, Daylin Hamby and safety Kyle Grandi has done a good job, especially in recent weeks, of limiting the damage done by opposing receivers.
Stuart Hall’s defense has good size up front, especially at defensive end.
“We’re a little smaller in the middle of our offensive line, but we should hold up,” Moran said.
Upper Lake’s offense offers a balanced attack that has served the Cougars well in recent weeks. The Cougars are averaging 37.6 points during the five-game winning streak they’ll take into the semifinals.
“Going down there to Kezar makes it really exciting,” Moran said.
Upper Lake beat No. 6 seed Cornerstone Christian of Antioch 48-6 a week ago in a first-round game at Upper Lake.
Middletown
To hear Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer describe friend Chad Nightingale’s Salesian Pride team sounds pretty much like any other Lake County coach describing Foltmer’s Mustangs over the better part of the last four decades.
“We know what’s coming,” Foltmer said of the Pride going into Saturday’s semifinal meeting. “They’re not going to change for us. They do what they’ve been doing for years, which they’ve been succesful at, kind of like a Middletown team. We’re
similar but different in they have plenty of speed.”
Nightingale, Salesian’s longtime and highly successful head coach, scouted Middletown’s 34-6 first-round playoff win over Pinole Valley last weekend — the Pride had a first-round bye.
“He’s going to attack weakenesses,” Foltmer said of Nightingale. “He knows us well.”
Salesian likes to trap a lot on offense and its favorite passing play in the waggle, which tries to exploit an over-aggressive defense.
Salesian’s defense is athletic and fast as always, according to Foltmer.
“They’ll play you man-toman on the outside without a free safety, that way they can put as many men as they can in the box (to stop the run).”
Running is Middletown’s forte on offense and the Mustangs are adding a bit of athleticism of their own this week as senior running back Cole Ketchum, who missed nearly the entire season with a collar
bone break, has been cleared to play against the Pride.
How much Ketchum plays, where he plays and how effective he is after such a long layoff remains to be seen.
“He’ll see limited action,” Foltmer said. “We’ll try to utilize his athleticsm at safety, wide receiver. I don’t know if he’ll run the ball. I’m just happy he’ll be out there because it was killing him watching our games from the sidelines.”
The last time these two teams met in the postseasion (December of 2018) Middletown upset Salesian 2814 in the Division 5 championship game to earn the school’s fourth section title in football.
“Win or lose, I just hope we play well,” Foltmer said. “My hope for these kids, especially the seniors, is that they can finish strong. This is a very enjoyable group to work with.”
Clear Lake
Clear Lake head coach
Mark Cory scouted St. Vincent’s 57-0 first-round win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo last weekend in Petaluma and said the Mustangs are the real deal.
“They definitely look the part of a No. 1 seed,” Cory said.
A former NCL I and NCL II member, St. Vincent is now playing in the largeschool North Bay Redwood League along with Montomgery, Santa Rosa, Piner and Healdsburg. The Mustangs tied Montgomery and Santa Rosa for the league title as those three teams took turns beating each other in league play. St. Vincent’s only loss to date is a 30-21 road setback to Montgomery on Oct. 15. The Mustangs also own a win over NCL I champion St. Helena, 14-13, back on Sept. 10 in St. Helena.
“They’re talented and athletic and they don’t have that many seniors,” Cory said
Junior running back Kai Hall (No. 25) and senior wide receiver Dante Antonini (No. 2) definitely caught Cory’s eye during the Mustangs’ rout of St. Patrick-St. Vincent.
“They’re both college players,” he said of Hall’s and Antonini’s talent and potential to play at the next level.
Hall has rushed for a team-leading 1,254 yards and 17 touchdowns this season while Antonini, a 6-foot3, 200-pound wide receiver leads the Mustangs in receptions (18), receiving yardages (478) and touchdowns (9).
“They’re going to run it at you,” Cory said of a St. Vincent offense that has amassed 2,157 yards on the ground compared to 886 through the air.
Facing a tough opponent is par for the course once you reach this stage of the playoffs, according to Cory, who said the Cardinals need to be “excited” about playing a quality team and the opportunity it presents, which is a chance to score a huge upset and advance to the section finals against the winner of the other Division 7 semifinal.
Which takes place Friday night between Cloverdale (6-4) and St. Helena (91) at St. Helena.
“It comes down to us doing what we need to do,” Cory said. “We need to execute the things we do. If we can, maybe we can hang around with them.”
One big key for the Cardinals is getting the matchups they want and taking advantage of them if they do.
The one thing the Cardinals must avoid is penalties and turnovers, according to Cory.
“It’s a tall task,” Cory said of beating the Mustangs. “They’re similar to St. Helena but maybe with a little more athleticism in some spots.”
Cory said he expects to be at full strength for the game with the exception of Isaiah Reed, the sophomore reserve who sustained a knee injury a week ago in the fourth quarter of Clear Lake’s 40-0 first-round playoff win over Hoopa. Reed sustained a dislocated kneecap.