KELSEYVILLE — Sam Vanoven rushed for 92 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions Friday night as the Kelseyville Knights closed out their North Central League I and regular-season schedule with a 42-12 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans at Kelseyville.
While the Knights (5-2 league, 5-5 overall) were hoping to carve out a share of the North Central League I title in their final league game, something that required a Clear Lake (6-1, 9-1) loss to Cloverdale (4-3, 5-4), it wasn't to be. The Cardinals edged the Eagles 22-21 on Friday night in Cloverdale to clinch the outright league championship.
"I'm bummed they won, but I'm happy for Clear Lake," Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen said. "Their kids did a good job this season. They deserve it."
Kelseyville did finish league play and the regular-season with a four-game winning streak. A team that started the year 0-4 is now headed to next weekend's North Coast Section Division 7 playoffs with all kinds of forward momentum. Sunday's at-large and seeding meeting will determine who, when and where the Knights play in the opening round of what looks to be a highly competitive Division 7 field that also features NCL I teams Clear Lake, Willits and Cloverdale.
"I feel like we're in a good position going into the playoffs," Larsen said. "The kids really earned this opportunity. I'm really proud of our guys."
Kelseyville built a 42-6 halftime lead without completing a single pass all game. All 342 of the Knights' yards came on the ground where Vanoven (12 carries for 92 yards), Kyle Watkins (12 carries for 108 yards) and Anthony DeJohn (five carries for 92 yards) led the way.
"Our first-string offense moved the ball with no problem," Larsen said. "And our first-string defense stuffed their running game."
Kelseyville led 22-0 after one quarter on the strength of quarterback Luke Watkins' 6-yard touchdown run, Vanoven's 10-yard TD run, and DeJohn's 42-yard interception return for a score.
Vanovern TD runs of 16 and 1 yards in the second quarter helped increase the Knights' advantage to 36-0 before the Trojans (1-6, 1-9) finally got onto the scoreboard on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Demarion Jones to wide receiver Charles Jones.
Vanoven's 5-yard run a few minutes late made it 42-6.
A running clock was used the entire second half as Kelseyville emptied its bench. Lower Lake scored on the final play of the game when quarterback Michael Russell hooked up with wide receiver Zander Carver on a 4-yard pass.
"He had a monster game," Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said of Carver, whose fumble recovery and long return set up the Trojans' final score. "He finished with 13 tackles. He played out of his mind."
Jakubowski said the Trojans were able to generate a bit of a passing game, which helped the offense. "We were able to move the ball, but we made some critical mistakes. It was nice to be able to throw the ball and get some first downs."
While Lower Lake was never a threat to beat his team, Larsen said the game against the Trojans will benefit the Knights down the line.
"We're going to see more spread (offense) teams like them in the playoffs," Larsen said.
While closing out the season with six straight league losses was tough to endure, according to Jakubowski, he said there were some positives in how the Trojans finished the year.
"I saw some good things that may give us a little momentum going into next season," he said.
Larsen won't have to wait until next season after four consecutive wins and five victories in the last six weeks sent the Knights' stock soaring.
"Overall I was happy with how we played. The running game did well," he said. "It was a good team win."
Kelseyville's junior varsity squad wrapped up an undefeated league season earlier in the evening with a 42-6 win over Lower Lake. After losing their season opener to Del Norte, the Knights won their final nine games.
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