LOWER LAKE — There are four other high school teams besides Middletown in Lake County. Aren”t there?
Lower Lake on Friday night became just one more team to disappear under an avalanche of Mustang points at Gordon Sadler Field. With their 62-8 blowout against the Trojans, the ”Stangs completed a sweep of their county counterparts by a cumulative score of 200-8. The victory concluded a sparkling 9-1 season for the Mustangs, gave them the outright North Central League I North championship at 4-0, allowed them to finish the season on an eight-straight-win high note, and was their 10th straight winning season.
… Which may and may not be significant, because next Friday Middletown ventures into the great unknown in the first round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. Although on Sunday Middletown will most likely be awarded the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament and will be playing at home next weekend against an out-of-county opponent.
… Unless Foltmer draws NCL I South co-champion Clear Lake in the first round, which looms as a distinct possibility. Not that Foltmer wants Clear Lake. He has stated his preference for an opponent the Mustangs haven”t seen, even though Middletown rode roughshod over the Cardinals, 34-0.
“They”re going to be seeded 7 or 8,” said the Mustang coach. “I don”t know if they want to play another county school. I think coach (Clear Lake coach) Milo (Meyer) feels the same way I do. But if it happens it happens. You go there and you get what they give ya.”
What Foltmer appears to feel, as he takes his team into the playoffs for the eighth time in the last decade, is confidence.
“I feel very good about the team going into the playoffs,” he acknowledged. “I”m excited about the playoffs this year. This is a good group of kids. We”ve been successful this year, but they”ve also been a good group of kids to coach. They work hard in practice and they go about it a positive manner. Yeah, I”m anxious to see what they can do in the playoffs.”
What is known is that the Mustangs are armed and dangerous. Friday night against the 1-9 Trojans they ran up 539 yards. But even that doesn”t begin to show their might. If Foltmer hadn”t pulled his main offensive guns — running backs Eric Tomko and Tyler Owen, quarterback Matt Outen and receiver Dylan Galusha by halftime — the Mustangs might have run up 1,000 yards and 100 points. Seriously!
They drove for touchdowns on all six of their first-half possesisons, leading 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 41-8 at intermission. Most impressive was how they did it — scoring on a range of zero (Galusha ran a punt back 53 yards for a score) to seven plays. The annihilation was so complete that backups topped the individual stats. Tomko”s stand-in — sophomore fullback Jake Davis — led all ball carriers with 146 yards on eight carries. Owen”s backup, Trevor Finley, ran for two TDs to match Galusha”s total, although not his performance. In addition his lengthy punt return, Galusha scored on a 46-yard pass play on which he used his superior 6-foot-2 height to snag Outen”s pass at the Trojan 20 over a befuddled Michael Bell, who was totally juked on the play.
Perhaps out of Foltmer design, Owen scored on a 10-yard-run to tie Tomko for the county scoring lead with his 12th TD.
“The last three games came pretty easy for us, but how are we going to respond when all of a sudden we”re in a ballgame. That”s a concern,” Foltmer said, looking toward the playoffs.
“Still offense, defense, running game … we really want to be at this point,” he added. “I”d rather be 10-0, but … “
Said Lower Lake coach Stan Weiper, “They”re very solid. I think their chances are real good, although I haven”t seen some of those other teams out of the area.”
Then he mentioned Ferndale, a nemesis that is always tough and was 9-0 heading into this weekend.
Although it was an otherwise lackluster season for Weiper, he still had one boasting point. His was the only county team to score on the Mustangs, that touchdown coming on a 9-yard pass from Stephen Whitcomb to Ryan Walker in the second quarter.
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