MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – They finally did it: The Middletown Mustangs advanced to the third round of the North Coast Section (NCS) Division IV tournament Saturday night in Middletown, reaching the semifinals with a 27-13 win over the visiting El Molino Lions.
The victory marks a significant milestone for the Mustangs, who’ve suffered close, late-game losses in the second round of the tournament the last two years.
“Hey, that’s off my back,” Head Coach Bill Foltmer said about the prior-year losses.
“El Molino is a good team,” Foltmer went on to say, “so that’s off my back also, as far as: we finally played somebody that’s a decent team and we beat them. So that gives a little credibility to us.”
It was a seesaw battle in the scoreless first quarter, with both teams trying to establish an offensive game and coming up empty, either losing the ball on downs or opting to punt.
It wasn’t until the second quarter, after Middletown’s defense forced the Lions into a three-and-out punt, that Jacob Davis broke open the game by running over players, stiff-arming opponents and weaving 79 yards downfield to put the Mustangs on the scoreboard.
“You know, he’s a guy, in crunch time, that’s going to make a play for you,” Foltmer said about Davis. “I’m glad to see him breaking out right now, and playing the kind of football that he is.”
After a high snap botched the point after attempt, Middletown led 6-0, but the long run seemed to motivate the Mustangs – both offensively and defensively – and they scored twice more before the first half ended.
Both scores came with less than two minutes left on the clock – first on a one-yard handoff from Kyle Brown to Jacob Davis for his second touchdown of the night, and then on a 29-yard pass from Brown to John-Wesley Davis with 29 seconds left in the half.
“Our first drive, we were moving the ball, we got some first downs, and took it all the way down,” Lion’s coach Mike Roan said about his team’s first-half performance. “Then after that, they kind of stuffed us for the rest of the first half.”
The Mustangs went into halftime leading El Molino 20-0, and they also struck first in the second half, driving 62 yards downfield on their opening possession and scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by Middletown’s other running back powerhouse, David Pike.
But the Lions answered Middletown’s drive with a 73-yard drive of their own, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Pierson to wide receiver Joe Douglass.
“We came back, and we found our rhythm a little bit offensively,” Roan said of his Lions, adding, “Yeah, I’d say the second half was a little more competitive than the second quarter.”
And they didn’t stop there. El Molino struck again in the fourth quarter, when Pierson connected with Jordan Nordby with 2:32 left in the game.
But when Middletown’s Jereomy Hoefer blocked the Lions’ extra point attempt, the Lions still trailed 27-13, the final score of the game.
By the end of the night it seemed Middletown’s running game had proved too much for El Molino. David Pike carried the ball 22 times for the Mustangs and posted 151 yards rushing while Jake Davis gained 189 yards on 15 carries.
“We felt good, we felt confident coming into the game, but you know, that’s a heck of a football team out there,” Roan said about the Mustangs after the game.
“We knew they were good,” he added, “but up close and in person, they were as good as advertised, if not better.”
Defensively, Jake Davis led the Middletown squad with nine tackles, while Hoefer and linebacker DJ Brookshire tied for second-most with seven apiece.
Foltmer had high praise for Davis, who sat out five games earlier in the season with a broken jaw.
“He got hurt, and then when he came back, he was maybe a little tentative the first couple of games, but I thought in the last playoff game you saw the real, true Jake Davis – punishing tackles, punishing runs, second efforts and things. I can’t say enough about him today,” Foltmer said.
Roan also praised the Mustang defensive squad.
“I’m really impressed with their defense,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to expect, because – of the team’s we’ve seen on film, obviously, Middletown was just killing them – so I’m very impressed with their defense. We thought we’d be able to block them up a little better in the run game.”
Middletown’s next game is Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in Middletown against the Healdsburg Greyhounds (8-3 overall, 3-3 in league) in the NCS semifinal game.
The Greyhounds are the NCS tournament top seed, and advanced to the semifinals with a 41-20 win over the Ft. Bragg Timberwolves Friday night.
Having faced and lost to both teams this year, Roan sized up next week’s game with this: “Healdsburg’s got a very aggressive, fast defense. The same could be said for Middletown. Both teams want to establish a run around the football, so I’m looking for a great, great high school playoff game next weekend.”
Coach Foltmer put it this way: “It doesn’t get any easier from here. The Healdsburgs and the Salesians and the Ferndales are what’s left – so some very, very good football teams. But it’s nice to be in there with those four football teams.”
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