MIDDLETOWN – There is no next week for the Middletown Mustangs and head coach Bill Foltmer at least not until this week is in the books.
“It like the old clich?, ”one game at a time,” ”” Foltmer said. “But it”s true.”
So true that Foltmer, his team home tonight at 7 p.m. to face the Salesian Chieftains in the semifinal round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs, doesn”t want to discuss a possible Middletown/Ferndale or Middletown/Justin-Siena matchup the following week in the Division IV championship game.
“I haven”t seen Ferndale or Justin-Siena yet,” Foltmer said. “I haven”t seen them in person or watched any of their game films. If we win this week, I”ll have plenty of time for that next week.”
Foltmer isn”t superstitious, just smart.
“Everything this week is all about Salesian,” Foltmer said. “We can”t afford to look ahead. If we don”t stay focused on them, we may find ourselves collecting uniforms next week instead of playing in a championship game.”
And championship game appearances, though they once seemed an almost-every-year occurrence for the Mustangs (who appeared in three and won all three during a five-year stretch from 1997-2001), aren”t to be taken lightly.
“I”ve tried to tell them that these types of things don”t happen every year, you have to seize the opportunity. They”ve had a good season, but if they beat Salesian, they could have a great season.”
Middletown (10-1) already owns one win over Salesian (8-2) this year, a 49-20 season-opening victory on Sept. 12 at Middletown. Though the Chieftains have improved since then – as have the Mustangs – both teams remain largely the same, accoridng to Foltmer.
“They haven”t changed much,” Foltmer said. “They”ve put in a couple of little tweaks here and there.”
The Chieftains, the alma mater of Cal standout running back Jahvid Best, run a counter that is very effective, according to Foltmer.
“And they have a play-action pass, they run traps inside and tosses to the outside,” Foltmer added. “They have two good receivers, so if you pack everyone in tight, they can still hurt you.”
Salesian coach Chad Nightingale is inclined to take a few more risks, according to Foltmer, who said his counterpart doesn”t always go by the book, especially in short-yardage situations near the goal line.
“He”s not afraid to run a screen pass inside the 5,” Foltmer said. “He”s more of a risk-taker than I am. But he”s done a wonderful job with that program.”
Salesian is coming off a 42-7 win over Fort Bragg in a first-round game last weekend in Richmond. The Timberwolves lost four fumbles in the first half against the Chieftains, but none of those turnovers led to Salesian scores, according to Foltmer.
“Salesian never capitalized on the turnovers. They just stopped Fort Bragg from scoring,” Foltmer said.
The Chieftains mounted long drives on each of their first two possessions to go up 14-0, the halftime score.
“Both of those drives were very impressive,” Foltmer said.
“If you play good defense, force a team to chip it down the field, they”ll usually make some kind of mistake, a penalty, a turnover,” Foltmer said. “But Salesian is very capable of putting together an 80-yard drive and not making those mistakes.”
In their first meeting with the Mustangs on Sept. 12, the Chieftains did make those mistakes, turning the ball over three times to Middletown”s none. One of the turnovers, a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tony Zagajowski, gave the Mustangs a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
“I thought that was the turning point,” Foltmer said.
Middletown led 28-20 at halftime before putting the game away with a 21-0 third quarter.
Foltmer said he doesn”t expect Salesian to deviate from its normal game plan tonight in the semifinals.
“Salesian has had a good season, they”re confident in what they do,” Foltmer said of the Bay Football League champions. “I don”t think they”ll put nine men in the box to stop our running game like Clear Lake did. They”re going to do what they”ve been having success doing all season and we”re going to do what we”ve done all season.”
Early in the week Foltmer said he was picking up good vibrations in practice from his players.
“I feel and I sense the kids want it there have been times when the focus hasn”t been there but when I look into their eyes, I can tell they”re ready,” Foltmer said. “They”re a great group, I”ve just enjoyed them so much.”
So much so that Foltmer would like to keep them around another week or two.
“I think if we play a good football game, we”ll beat them,” Foltmer said. “And then I”ll take a ride up north to watch Ferndale play Justin.”
Playoff notes: Middletown running back Tyler Owen is 63 rushing yards away from reaching 1,000 for the season. He could become the third member of the Mustangs” backfield to hit either 1,000 rushing or passing yards, joining running back Eric Tomko (1,192 rushing) and quarterback Matt Outen (1,071 passing) The Mustangs haven”t played for a section title since beating Cloverdale 21-7 in 2001 at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa. That”s also the last time a Lake County team has appeared in the section finals. Middletown also won in 1999 (17-7 over Kelseyville) and 1997 (6-0 over Cloverdale). Other section winners from Lake County were Clear Lake (13-0 over St. Vincent in 1998), Upper Lake (40-18 over Willits in 1992 and 21-15 over Valley Christian in 1987), and Lower Lake (9-3 over Clear Lake in overtime in 1988) Lake County had at least one team in the section title game during a seven-year stretch from 1986-1992 Middletown”s win over Clear Lake a week ago in the playoffs was actually Foltmer”s 194th career victory, not his 195th, which he could get tonight. Foltmer is 175-72-1 at Middletown and 19-20 in four seasons at Princeton High School, for a combined coaching record of 194-92-1.
