MIDDLETOWN — He is Jake — to his coach, Jacob — Davis. They ought to call him “Mr. Touchdown.” Mr. Touchdown Middletown.
The rhyme works. So does the reason, when you consider that this season Davis has bulled his way to 19 rushing TDs, including three in his final game of the regular season against North Central League I North foe Willits. His next one, which will most certainly come in the playoffs that begin tonight, will put him in an elite class of three Lake County running backs, and the first from Middletown, who have scored 20 or more rushing TDs.
… With yet another season to play.
By all rights, the junior fullback has been the catalyst of the Mustangs” versatile offense in this 9-1 season. Davis is more than that, though. A tenacious tackler, he was selected as All-NCL I North defensive MVP on Monday.
“Jacob Davis is one of, if not the toughest kids I”ve ever coached. He has had a phenomenal season,” says the coach, Bill Foltmer, who, as most people know does not serve up such accolades unstintingly.
“He is a total player,” Foltmer adds of Davis. “He worked hard in the off-season to become bigger and stronger. He went to a couple of football camps on his own and was religious about his weight (room) workouts. During the season he practices hard and takes home and studies DVDs of our opponents.”
Taking his admiration for Davis a notch higher, the Mustang coach asserts, “I would tell young athletes, ?If you want to be good watch what this kid does. He has made himself good.””
It could, in fact, be disputed that Davis is every bit as good as Fort Bragg running back Jake Cimolino and Fort Bragg quarterback Brent Moyer, named the co-MVPs on offense in the NCL I North this season.
“You could make an argument one way or the other,” says Foltmer. “But he didn”t play much against Kelseyville and against Lower Lake had three or four carries, but (uncharacteristically) fumbled twice.”
Unquestionably, Davis could have scored more TDs if he had played the entirety of every game. But he sat out the equivalent of two games when Foltmer retired him from his offense for the second half against Upper Lake, Kelseyville, St. Helena and Lower Lake because of lopsided Mustang leads.
“Who knows what the other coach does when they”re way ahead and got a guy still playing in the fourth quarter?” Foltmer said. “You want to go after records, but if everybody did that the records would be a lot higher.”
Davis, personally, is unconcerned about records.
“Jake (Cimolino) is one of my good friends. I watch how (Cimolino and Moyer) run and I think they deserved the MVP. This is my first year of running the football,” he says, sounding and looking like a choirboy.
Davis emulates his older brother Zack, also an All-League fullback four years ago for Middletown, but he suffered a freak injury during a photo shoot that went awry and prematurely ended his ball carrying. The father of the two says it was Zack”s playing that turned Jake onto football.
“He”s proud of his big brother and wants to follow in his footsteps,” said Jeff Davis. “Zack had more passion than Jake, but now Jake has taken that passion.”
Says Foltmer, “Jake is meaner. He”s a punishing kind of runner. Zack played hard and was a great tackler, but he wasn”t as mean as Jake.”
Jake says his older brother was “smart and knew where the holes were.”
“When I run I want to hit some people,” Jake added.
Another thing Jake Davis has going for him is a talented offense that prohibits keying on him. Foltmer rates Kyle Harmyk as “one of the top quarterbacks in the school”s history,” who spreads the ball around to one of Middletown”s all-time best receiving corps, i.e. wideouts J.W. Davis, Ryan Johnson, Dylan Galusha and Jereomy Hoefer, and tight ends Danny Beckwith and Chris Oatman.
Small, but hardnosed and speedy I-back Max Dixon is a breakaway threat has also taken a lot of heat off Davis.
“It kind of works out perfect, because the weeks they (Davis and Dixon) do well I don”t do so well,” says Harmyk.
“Our balanced offense keeps people honest,” Foltmer asserts. “You can”t have people back there keying on Jake when you got Max. You can”t bring everybody up on the line because Harmyk will put the ball on the money.
“But Jake doesn”t have the season he”s having without a good line,” Foltmer adds, ticking off the names of Tyler Hicks, Marcus Gabaldon, Dylan Finley, Daniel Anderson and Daniel Sallee.
So maybe the name should be applied to the whole Mustang offense. Call them “Messrs. Touchdown.”
