LAKE COUNTY — A year ago today in Lake County high school sports, area volleyball, soccer and football teams were busy competing in non-league action during the opening stages of the 2019-20 sports season.

Until the COVID-19-delayed 2020-21 sports season gets underway, which isn’t expected to occur until Dec. 14 at the earliest, the Lake County Record-Bee will take a look back at the high school happenings of a year ago and the teams and athletes who were making the headlines.

Football

Upper Lake’s defense played well enough but the offense sputtered in a 20-0 season-opening home loss to the Virginia City Muckers, who had inflicted a 50-6 beating on Upper Lake during the 2018 season opener in Nevada.

Upper Lake’s new starting quarterback, Cody Banks, had an up-and-down performance along with the rest of the Cougars’ offense. Banks completed 9 of 23 passes for 108 yards and he added another 37 yards rushing while Richard Guadaycan led the team with 42 yards on the ground.

Virginia City scored on the first play from scrimmage and never looked back. Upper Lake’s offense didn’t threaten at all in the first half and was unable to sustain the couple of opportunities that presented themselves in the second half.

In his high school football debut, Benat Love, a standout for Upper Lake’s soccer teams in previous seasons, caught five passes for 60 yards on offense and also had an interception on defense. Love would be one of the more pleasant surprises for the Cougars as the season unfolded.

Volleyball

With their teammate, Lynzi Milano, playing in her final match of the season because of upcoming chemotherapy treatment, the Lower Lake Trojans turned in one of their best performances of the season, rallying from two sets down to beat the visiting Upper Lake Cougars 21-25, 19-25, 25-20, 27-25, 18-16.

Although both teams struggled in 2019, the Cougars did finish 7-9 in the North Central League II standings after a tough preseason.

Soccer

After Clear Lake’s girls soccer team finished a school-worst 1-18 in 2018, the 2019 Cardinals under new head coach Derick Fiske made plenty of noise, including a 6-0 non-league home victory over defending North Coast Section Division 3 champion Technology of Rohnert Park.

Senior Lexi Tejada’s hat trick, her second in two games, helped lift the Cardinals’ record to 4-1. Keeper Trinity Jardstrom recorded her second straight shutout.