Editor’s Note: This is the first in a five-part series that profiles Lake County’s varsity soccer teams as they prepare for the 2022 season.
UPPER LAKE – While the team that puts Upper Lake on the field this season may be just as talented as last year’s team that won the North Central League III championship, the Cougars will really deserve it if their goal is a repeat.
“It’s going to be a lot harder to win competition this year,” Upper Lake head coach Vince Moran said of the upcoming 2022 season.
Upper Lake moves to a remodeled NCL II that also includes South Fork, a holdover from the Cougars’ NCL III days, along with Calistoga, Branson School of Ross, Stuart Hall of San Francisco, Cornerstone Christian of Antioch and California School for the Deaf from Fremont.
It’s definitely a step forward for the Cougars, who are playing eight-man football for the eighth year in a row. Beginning in 2023, Upper Lake will return to 11-man football when it joins NCL I, a league it competed in successfully in the 1980s and 1990s before the program’s fortunes began to sour with shrinking rosters and associated losses. who followed.
Upper Lake could barely mobilize enough players in 2014, its last year as an 11-man club, and switched to the eight-man game in 2015. – 31 players from the first week of the season – the Cougars, starting with the 2023 season, will once again knock heads with other Lake County schools.
Of course that remains this season, Upper Lake’s last club as an eight-man club, and in a new league to boot.
“We’re in the same spot as last year in terms of talent,” Moran said when reviewing his 2022 roster, which has better team speed almost everywhere you look and, more importantly, four returning All-League players in senior Joey Franklin (running back/line/linebacker), junior Will Henry (running back/line/defensive end), senior Daylin Hamby (receiver/defensive defender), and sophomore quarterback Jerod Rosales.
“We have the talent, but the level of the (competition) competition for us is going up a lot,” Moran said of the new look NCL II. Branson finished 10–0 last season, including a pair of wins over a Stuart Hall team that ended Upper Lake’s season with a 12-0 win in the semifinals of the North Coast Section’s eight-man playoffs. Calistoga finished third in the old NCL IV last season behind Branson and Stuart Hall.
“A more difficult schedule means we’ll be better prepared by the time of the playoffs,” said Moran, who just as quickly understood himself, saying: “I’m probably getting ahead of things when I’m talking about playoffs. “
Scheme
Upper Lake originally had nine games scheduled (out of the maximum 10 allowed), but an August 26 season opening against Maxwell, which would have been an 11-man game, has been canceled. Unless the Cougars play a few games between now and then, they won’t play their season opener at home until September 9 against Roseland University Prep of Santa Rosa. In fact, Upper Lake is scheduled to play its first three games at home this season, including a non-league game on September 16 against Tomales and the NCL II opener on September 23 against California School for the Deaf.
The Cougars also have two Saturday games scheduled, both road league games — against Stuart Hall (October 1) and Branson (November 5, regular season finale).
schedule
Of the 31 players who played football during the first week of training, more than half were freshmen (13) or sophomores (five). The final 13 are made up of six juniors and seven seniors. Since eight-man teams do not have separate junior varsity clubs, all 31 Cougars are eligible to play on match day.
Many of those youngsters impressed last season, none more so than quarterback Rosales, who stepped into the starting lineup as a freshman mid-season and proved himself a cool client, standing steadfast in the pocket even under a heavy pass rush.
“Jerod is the kind of boy who will do whatever it takes,” Moran said.
Delaney Allison, a sophomore who played sparingly last season, thinks he will see much more playing time in 2022 as a key member of the Cougars’ offensive backfield as well as defense in the secondary.
In addition to their four returning All-Leaguers, other Cougars veterans include junior running back/defensive end Nick Foster and senior offensive and defensive lineman Luke Summerfield, who will also perform punt duties.
Out of season
Several Cougars made major improvements during the off-season, including junior Gabe Burris, an offensive and defensive lineman.
“Night and day at what he looked like last year,” Moran said. “I’m counting on him for our line.”
Senior Adrian Killough, also a two-way lineman, has also improved dramatically since the 2021 season and should be a much bigger factor for the Cougars this season, Moran said.
Flexibility
With an influx of new talent and the improvement of other players from last season, Moran has more flexibility with his line and will use it by occasionally playing Henry and Franklin in the backfield, although they could still see action up front.
Franklin is working on the fullback and looking good so far, according to Moran.
“He cuts and reads blocks. He looks quite natural there.”
Graduation losses
While the Cougars lost a number of key personnel to graduation, including All-Leaguers Bradley Sneathen (fullback/linebacker), Cody Banks (fullback/secondary), and Elijah Alvarez (receiver/secondary), Moran said the Cougars had the talent and depth have to overcome it.
On offense, Hamby at wide receiver and Allison as an all-purpose player (back and receiver) should provide some tempting goals for quarterback Rosales.
“He’s made a big leap from last year,” Moran said of Allison. “He’s so much bigger, more explosive and more mature.”
Upper Lake also has Mikel Compton (walking back) to help on the attack. Though only a freshman, Compton played well for Westshore’s youth football club in Lakeport last year.
“A really natural runner,” Moran said. “I’m pretty excited for him.”
insult
“Our attack is really stacked, especially in the skill positions, and with a lot more pace than a year ago,” Moran said. “The line depth is a little sketchy, but I think it’ll be fine and we have options.”
Line candidates alongside Burruss and Killough include sophomores Frankie Kavanaugh and Jonathan Barnes, freshmen Nathan Boomer, Tyler Collins and Jimmy Sanchez.
Defense
Franklin inherits Sneathen’s job as the middle linebacker in the Upper Lake defensive plan, while Henry will be another defensive anchor at the end. Benjamin Beecher, a junior playing soccer for the first time in high school, is another huge addition for the Cougars. The younger brother of former Upper Lake standout Ward Beecher, Benjamin Beecher, should see a lot of action on defense at linebacker and offense on running back.
“He hasn’t played since eighth grade (COVID-19 destroyed his freshman season in 2020), but he is one of the best athletes in the province,” Moran said. “He’s really fast.”
Moran said there is no shortage of defensive candidates and the Cougars should be struggling.
Allison and All-Leaguer Hamby are set as cornerbacks. The team is still auditioning for a starting safety.
“That’s our greatest need right now, but we certainly have the bodies to fill it. It’s going to be competitive for that job.”
Effort
The influx of a large and motivated freshman class speaks well for the future of football in Upper Lake, according to Moran.
“The freshmen have been there all summer,” he said of voluntary off-season training.
Players like Billy Stillman (receiver/linebacker), Dylan Aragon (running back/linebacker), Landon Robinson (receiver/safety) and Blake Sneed (running back/cornerback) are just a few names to keep an eye on. to the Upper Lake head coach.
Investment
Upper Lake hasn’t had a real weight room for several years after the old one — just north of the school gym — was condemned and torn down. A new one will open in the coming months and Moran can’t wait.
“Our (temporary) weight room has been busy all summer, people showed up and the new one will make us a much better team,” he said.
expectations
“It will be difficult, but we expect to fight for another championship,” said Moran. “The kids think they can do that.”
Going into last season, Moran said, there was a lot of uncertainty because of what happened the year before (no football season due to COVID). That is not the case this year.
“We feel really good about where we are,” he said.
0 Comments