LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Saturday’s Middletown-Upper Lake varsity football game was postponed early Saturday due to air quality concerns from smoke caused by a fire that had been raging since Friday afternoon near the Mendocino and Lake county line.
The game, pitting the county’s top two teams, was tentatively rescheduled for Monday at 4 p.m. at Upper Lake High.
The Middletown-Upper Lake JV football game and the Cougar Classic cross country meet were also scratched early Saturday due to excessive smoke from the Scotts Fire west of Scotts Valley Road and east of Ukiah, which had consumed 1,600 acres by Saturday morning.
Instead of hosting a football game on Saturday, Upper Lake High School was the site of an evacuation center, where about 15 people who resided too close to the fire for comfort had gathered.
The JV football game and the cross country meet at the high school weren’t immediately rescheduled.
Reagan leads Kelseyville to 43-14 win over John Swett.
Kelseyville High needed a win Friday night against John Swett of Crockett in the worst way. Following a lackluster 52-6 loss to Upper Lake in their season opener last week, the Knights needed to prove to someone, anyone, that they could play football.
And they did.
John Mark Reagan ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns and passed for a third as Kelseyville got its act together and crushed John Swett, 43-14, at Crockett.
The Knights (1-1), who allowed a touchdown on the game-opening kickoff to Upper Lake last week, and then proceeded to lose two fumbles in the first quarter that set up two more Cougar scores, went on a first-quarter blitz of their own Friday. On their third play from scrimmage, Reagan ran 57 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.
Perhaps relishing the feeling of finally owning a lead, Kelseyville tried an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff – and recovered it. Shortly thereafter, Reagan made it 13-0 on a 28-yard run. And the Knights were on their way to a victory that might help them forget their poor showing a week prior.
Reagan ended the night with 215 yards in total offense--101 yards passing (with a touchdown) to go along with his rushing totals.
The Knights pushed their lead to 29-0 by halftime on touchdown runs by Robert McLean and Dasan Vasquez, with Vasquez converting both conversion runs.
Kelseyville added to the lead in the third quarter on Reagan’s 24-yard scoring pass to McLean and closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter on Vasquez’s 4-yard run.
Vasquez finished with 87 yards on 15 carries and McLean had 79 yards on 10 carries.
Zac Cocco stood out on defense with five solo tackles, including a sack, and a fumble recovery.
John Swett fell to 1-2 with the loss.
Arcata rides onside kicks to 44-6 victory at Lower Lake
Arcata, using onside kicks after its touchdowns, defeated Lower Lake 44-6 Friday night at Lower Lake.
Arcata (2-1) broke the game open with a 30-point second quarter, using onside kicks after each touchdown to get the ball back.
Onside kicks are fair game, of course, but are usually used by teams that are trailing in the closing minutes of a game and need to gamble to get the ball back, or for teams who want to surprise an opponent early in a contest.
The Trojans scored their only touchdown in the third quarter when quarterback Richard Tucker hit Thomas Cross on a 15-yard pass.
Lower Lake (0-2) has two more strong opponents coming up--Valley Christian on the Trojans' home field next week, then Middletown the following week.
Other games…
Ukiah High won the anticipated defensive battle with Willits 7-0, Fort Bragg breezed past Elsie Allen 46-6 and St. Helena defeated St. Vincent of Petaluma 44-14 … In games involving NCL II-Bay Football teams, Tomales routed South Fork 54-0 and California School for the Deaf edged surprising Calistoga 35-29.
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