MIDDLETOWN — They could have mailed in the result ? before the game ? on Friday night as the St. Helena Saints came marching into Bill Foltmer Stadium for a first-round North Coast Section Division IV football game against the Middletown Mustangs.
St. Helena might have wished the post office had taken care of the matter after the Mustangs cruised to a 56-0 victory, a game in which the Saints were hard put to make first downs — they made only one in each half — let alone touchdowns. Who can blame them? In two meetings this season, Middletown outscored the Saints 96-7.
By the end of the first quarter on Friday night, Middletown led 28-0 and by the half 49-0, which this season has become a recurrent theme, no matter the opponent. Ten times over. And that just happens to be the number of games the Mustangs (10-1) have won in succession while advancing to the quarterfinals of the Division IV playoffs for a third season in a row after claiming the NCL North I title in as many seasons.
Also repetitive was the performance of touchdown machine David Pike, who for a third straight game scored four touchdowns, this time on runs of 38, 3 and 66 yards from scrimmage plus and an electrifying 80-yard punt return the first time he touched the ball. For those keeping score, Pike, whose performance this season defies description, scored seven TDs against the Saints (5-6), counting the three he rang up in an Oct. 15 in a 40-7 rout in St. Helena.
Now the all-time single-season scoring leader in Lake County history (206 points), Pike also became the county leader for most touchdowns in a season, now at 34 and counting. His three rushing touchdowns on Friday give him 32 this year, another single-season county record. To add to his legend, the seemingly untouchable Pike actually scored the first two times he touched the ball, following his punt return with a 38-yard jaunt on the Mustangs” first play from scrimmage.
Pike had amassed 137 yards rushing on seven carries and, counting the punt return, 217 all-purpose yards by the time Foltmer called him off following a single carry for five yards early in the third quarter, which is another part of the 10-game repetitive theme the Mustangs have used to demolish their opponents. For the year, Pike has 1,510 yards rushing. Fullback Jake Davis, who scored on a punishing 16-yard run, added another 113 yards on five carries Friday night, and reserve running back Nolan Tkachenko added 92 on nine carries in the second half, including a 28-yard TD run in the third quarter to close out the scoring.
In sum, it was unsaintly the way the Mustangs manhandled the NCL South I division-winning Saints, although not unexpected. Throw in a 44-yard Kyle Brown-to-John Wesley Davis scoring strike and offensively, they scored their first four TDs on just six offensive plays.
Meantime, while all this was going on, St. Helena was held to 21 offensive yards in the first half when they had seven three-and-outs the eight times they put the ball in play.
The highlight was Pike”s punt return, in which he reversed field at the 20, traversing from the St. Helena sideline all the way to the Middletown sideline and then simply outrunning the Saints defense. Almost as spectacular was Jake Davis” wrecking-ball run to the Saints” 15 late in the second quarter. Ironically, the Mustangs didn”t score from there, the only time they didn”t on a first-half offensive series. A mix-up on the center snap negated Danny Cardenas” 35-yard field goal attempt. But no matter.
Andres Fernandez picked off a Richard Hoppe pass three plays later and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 42-0. The Mustangs had one more possesion before the end of the half and Pike scored on a 66-yard run with no time remaining.
Although the Mustangs have indeed marched past their last 10 opponents, their next step — the one they”ll take into round two of the playoffs — is a treachorous one. In each of the past two years, they”ve stumbled on that step, losing heartbreakers to first Salesian on a freshman”s field goal in the final seconds in 2008 and to a two-point conversion in ovetime to Valley Christian last year. Both of those losses were at Middletown. They”ll be home again on Nov. 27 to play the winner of tonight”s first-round game bet-ween Kelseyville (7-3) and El Molino (6-4) at Forestville (7 p.m. start).
Notes: Fernandez has returned three of his four interceptions this season for TDs ? St. Helena”s only first down of the first half came on its first possession after receiving the opening kickoff ? The shutout was the seventh of the season for the Mustangs ? Middletown is 5-0 at home since the field was renamed Oct. 1 ? Hoppe was just 1-for-8 passing the ball for minus-three yards.
