There are times where you know you are covering a team that is good but not necessarily great. You watch that team win a particular game. The process of the win won’t make you forget say the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1984 San Francisco 49ers, 1985 Chicago Bears, etc.
You watch the game and the outcome does not appear signed, sealed and delivered until late in the contest. After the game, however, you feel like it is a solid road victory because it is a one-and-a-half hour drive that feels like three hours where you go “to” the game. On the way home, however, the hour-and-a-half drive feels more like 45 minutes because you saw the team you cover win.
That win would describe the 2008 St. Helena High football team’s 27-12 win over the Upper Lake Cougars.
Setting the stage: The Saints went into the 2008 season with their third coach in as many seasons and their 13th in 28 years when Brandon Farrell moved to Northern Napa Valley from Savanna, Ill. St. Helena won its first two games of the Farrell era (37-0 over Calistoga and 33-8 over Lower Lake). The Saints lost their next two games (37-21 to Kelseyville and 35-6 to Fort Bragg) before winning the following week, 27-7 at Willits.
Upper Lake also entered the game 3-2 with wins over Potter Valley (20-6), Lower Lake (28-14), and Kelseyville (30-18). The Cougars two defeats were against Fort Bragg (42-6) and Middletown (35-0). This mid-October matchup in Upper Lake on a Saturday afternoon would represent the North Central League I South opener.
After 2006, Ian MacMillan resigned after going 21-11 in three seasons. Then came the Dave Collinsworth experience that saw the program go 2-8. Collinsworth was a bad fit from jump. The 1988 Woodland High graduate was a University of Oregon offensive lineman that coached at large schools like Sheldon (Sacramento). He failed to realize that there is a big difference between coaching at a school, of 1,800 where kids are laser-focused on sport versus a school of 500 kids where coaches have to share athletes. Bar none, Collinsworth was one of the most arrogant turds I ever dealt with as a coach but that’s another story for another day.
Thumbnail sketch of the game: St. Helena made the Upper Lake fight uphill all day by scoring the game’s first 14 points in the first quarter en route to victory.
The Saints bolted to their 14-0 lead after one quarter on the strength of quarterback Morgan Densberger’s 17-yard touchdown run with wide receiver Jeff Quirici delivering a key downfield block. That touchdown capped off an remarkable 14-play, 80-yard march on the game’s opening series. St. Helena converted two third downs on the drive.
The Saints were successful on 6 of 10 third down conversions and 2 of 4 fourth down attempts for the game. Densberger later connected with Quirici for a 22-yard touchdown strike on fourth and eight. Will Saladin added both extra points.
Upper Lake used the big play to get back in the game as running back Joe Barnes raced 66 yards to paydirt with 7:06 left in the first half. The two-point conversion was no good and the Saints still led 14-6.
St. Helena took a 20-6 into the locker room when running back Ezekiel Valdivia scored from seven yards away. The extra point failed, giving the Saints a 20-6 halftime lead. The Saints controlled the pace of the game in the first half, running 41 plays from scrimmage to Upper Lake’s 16.
Upper Lake then cut the lead to 20-12 on quarterback Brandon Mendoza’s 3-yard run with 2:24 left in the third quarter. Valdivia and Saladin provided the final margin of victory with a 5-yard scoring run and extra point, respectively.
Densberger led a Saints rushing attack that generated 346 yards on the ground. The senior quarterback tallied 128 yards on 24 carries. Valdivia added 87 yards on 14 attempts. Edgar Caldera added 81 yards on 15 carries while Miguel Calderon tallied 50 yards on six carries.
Defensively, Densberger added an interception. Gino Trinchero added two tackles for lost yardage while Caldera and Victor Saldana each added one.
Trinchero and Elliot Carson shared a quarterback sack. The Saints defense allowed just 2 of 8 third down conversions and limited the Cougars to 283 yards of total offense.
What it meant: Very little in the short term. The Saints lost their next two games decisively: 35-6 to Middletown and 20-0 to Cloverdale. St. Helena finished the season on a high note in splitting its last two games to NCL I South co-champs St. Vincent (7-3 loss) and Clear Lake (7-0 win).
The next two seasons of the Farrell era brought a 4-6 season in 2009 and 5-5 in 2010 with an, NCL I South title. From 2011-2015, the Saints went on an incredible run in going 56-9 with seven CIF North Coast Section playoff wins.
In 2016, St. Helena went 6-5 but finished with three straight losses by a combined total of 101-51.
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