MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown Mustangs took charge throughout much of the 2008 football season, one that came within a 37-yard field goal of seeing them reach the North Coast Section finals.
“Probably one of our best offensive teams,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said of the 10-2 Mustangs” school-record output of 450 points. “We averaged nearly 40 points a game.”
Plenty of offense and a solid defense helped the Mustangs win another North Central League I North crown, blow past Clear Lake in the opening round of the playoffs, and nearly knock off Salesian in the semifinals a week later. But a 37-yard field by junior varsity call-up Steve Castaneda with 2:39 left in the game lifted the Pride to a dramatic 22-21 win at Middletown.
Foltmer, for his efforts in molding yet another Middletown team into a section title contender, is the Lake County Record-Bee”s Coach of the Year for boys” sports during the 2008-09 school year.
“I was real proud of this group,” Foltmer said of his 2008 squad, one that strung together nine straight wins before the loss to Salesian. “It wasn”t just one kid ? we had a lot of key ingredients that helped us get there. I really liked this group.”
Foltmer is 175-73-1 in 24 seasons at Middletown and 194-95-1 overall (he went 19-22 in four seasons at Princeton High School before relocating to Middletown in 1985). He needs six wins in 2009 to join an elite group of Redwood Empire football coaches with at least 200 victories.
Foltmer has taken the Mustangs to four sectional finals, including championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
