VALLEJO — Opportunity came knocking for Middletown”s Mustangs on Friday night, but nobody was home. Consequently, the Mustangs were on the short end of a 21-7 outcome against fourth-seeded St. Patrick/St. Vincent in the opening round of the North Coast Section Class A football playoffs at Vallejo.
The loss resulted in an early exit once again for fifth-seeded Middletown (9-2) and ended a nine-game winning streak.
Quarterback Max Schultz led the Bruins (9-2), throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.
It was a tough loss for the Mustangs because it was a game they easily could have won. But the verdict slipped right through their fingers in the form of dropped and overthrown passes, fumbles and failure to capitalize on excellent scoring opportunities.
In short, when the Mustangs got into the red zone they weren”t ready.
“We did not capitalize on our opportunities,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer acknowledged.
“We had wide receivers open, whether the ball was dropped or whether we didn t get it there. I thought that was the key to the game.”
Middletown converted only one of six scoring chances when they were within the Bruins 15-yard line.
The Mustangs” touchdown, scored by county scoring champion Ryan Peterson from two inches, his 15th day of the year, was too little too late. There was only 1:48 remaining in the game.
And the lone M”town score resulted from a fortunate turn of events. A moment earlier, Bruins defensive back Daniel Wyatt had intercepted a Jake Strickler pass intended for Brandon Breedon at the Bruin 5-yard line, but Breedon jarred the ball loose from Wyatt and Jackie Crachiola recovered for Middletown.
Otherwise, Middletown”s scoring opportunities ended with an interception at the 15, on downs at the 14, a lost fumble at the 5, and back-to-back dropped passes from the 6.
What the Mustangs did defensively to shut down St. Patrick/St. Vincent”s vaunted running game was another matter impressive even in the face of a loss.
“Our gameplan was good. They averaged 44 points a game. We held them to 21,” said Foltmer. “Our interior (line) guys played as good as they have all year. The score might not show it, but any yardage they made tackle to tackle was tough.”
Jason Garcia, who had rambled to 1,316 yards and 15 TDs coming into the game was stopped cold, gaining only 18 yards on 15 carries. Garcia”s running mate, Javon Carrington, who had 1,094 and 11 TDs, fared only slightly better with 39 yards on eight carries.
The problem was that Middletown could not put together an effective offense to take advantage. Quarterback Strickler completed only of 5 of 20 for 101 yards and was intercepted twice. The Mustangs” ground game could not pick up the slack. Conversely, the Bruins used their passing game to offset the lack of a running game.
St. Patrick/St. Vincent went ahead to stay on a fourth-and-14 Schultz to Wyatt 14-yard pass with 9:24 left in the first half. It was a bitter pill for the Mustangs because Noel Martin had sacked Schultz twice inside the 20-yard line just before the TD.
Schultz connected again from 14 yards to Robbie Souza, capping a 55-yard drive three minutes into the second half. Schultz then scored the final Bruins” TD on a quarterback sneak on the 12th play of a 57-yard march with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
There was no trace of discipline in Foltmer”s reaction. He liked this team and said so from the beginning.
“I felt we played pretty good. I”ve got nothing negative to say. It”s been a good season and the kids played a tough game tonight.”
