MIDDLETOWN — It”s the North Central League I North vs. the Sonoma County League ? times two ? beginning tonight and continuing through Saturday as the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division IV football playoffs take place throughout the Redwood Empire and Bay Area.
Eight teams are vying for the right to reach the semifinals the weekend of Dec. 3-4. Half of those eight teams are members of two leagues. Middletown (10-1) and Fort Bragg (10-1) of the NCL I North run headlong into Healdsburg (7-3) and El Molino (7-4) of the Sonoma County League.
Middletown, the NCL I North champ, hosts El Molino on Saturday night at 7 p.m., the last of the four quarterfinal-round games to take place this weekend. The only Friday game is No. 1 seed Healdsburg home to take on defending Division IV champion Fort Bragg at 7 p.m. at Recreation Park. Sandwiched between those two games are Saturday afternoon clashes at 1 p.m. No. 3 seed Salesian (8-2) hosts Fortuna (7-4) and No. 2 seed St. Patrick/St. Vincent entertains Ferndale (8-2).
Healdsburg, St. Patrick/St Vincent (Vallejo) and Salesian (Richmond) are all coming off first-round byes.
Semifinal games the weekend of Dec. 3-4 pair the Healdsburg-Fort Bragg and Middletown-El Molino winners and the Salesian-Fortuna and St. Patrick/St. Vincent-Ferndale winners. Since Middletown and Salesian are league champions, they will host semifinal games provided they win in the quarterfinals. If either or both lose, the preference to host goes to the highest surviving seed who is not a league champion.
Middletown missed the playoffs in 2007 but has reached the quarterfinal round each of the past two years with heartbreaking results each time. In 2008, Salesian beat Middletown 22-21 on Steve Castaneda”s 37-yard field goal with 2:59 remaining. Last year, Middletown staged a dramatic comeback, wiping out a 15-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, to force Valley Christian of Dublin into overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns in overtime but whereas Middletown kicked an extra point, Valley Christian went for the two-point conversion and Ryan Toney”s run gave Valley Christian a 30-29 victory.
Both games were decided on the same end of Middletown”s field (where the players enter), which has since been renamed Bill Foltmer Field after the school”s longtime head coach. Both years the Mustangs walked off the field with 10-2 final records, which will be the case again Saturday unless they can beat the Lions to register an 11th straight victory.
Middletown and El Molino shared one common opponent this season, the Kelseyville Knights, who the Lions beat 35-0 in the rain and mud a week ago in a first-round playoff game at El Molino High School in Forestville, the team”s first ever home win in the postseason.
Middletown beat Kelseyville in even more decisive fashion, 56-0, on Oct. 29 in Middletown.
The Knights, with an assist from the weather, were able to ground El Molino”s high-powered passing attack last weekend, but the Lions rolled up close to 400 yards on the ground and also benefited from the equivalent of eight Kelseyville turnovers — five lost fumbles, two interceptions and a blocked punt.
Showers are in the forecast for Saturday, not that there is anything the Lions or the Mustangs can do about it.
“I don”t think the adverse weather is going to affect them,” Foltmer said of the Lions. “They didn”t turn the ball over once against Kelseyville and they played Windsor on a rainy day and I don”t remember them turning over the ball in that one.
“We”ve been pretty good about holding onto the ball, too,” Foltmer said.
El Molino”s biggest weapon on offense is quarterback Mike Pierson, a drop-back passer blessed with a strong arm and a quick release.
Though he”s coming off his worst game of the year after going just 3-for-13 for 54 yards and no touchdowns against Kelseyville, that was an aberration during what has been a stellar senior season (1,608 yards, 16 TDs).
“After watching the Kelseyville game we knew there had to be more to him than that,” Foltmer said.
And after the Middletown coaching staff reviewed game films of El Molino against SCL foes Petaluma and Healdsburg, Foltmer got his answer. “There is. He”s patient, he”s pretty good.”
How good?
“He”s a pocket passer and even if the pocket is closing in around him, his eyeballs are still up the field looking for someone to throw to,” Foltmer added.
The extra day of practice this week has been a blessing for the Mustangs given that the team took Thursday off for Thanksgiving.
“We”ve had a good week in practice,” Foltmer said. “We practice again Friday (today) and have a walkthrough Saturday. That extra day is going to help us.”
On breaking a skid of two straight losses in the quarterfinals, Foltmer said the Mustangs have never been better equipped to do so.
“We were a junior team last year and now we”re a senior team,” Foltmer said. “These kids are a little more focused this year, more hungry ? there”s no talk about basketball. They”re totally focused on going deep into the playoffs.
“When you look at last year (against Valley Christian), if we get into the situation again I”m hoping a senior will step up and stop that two-point conversion,” Foltmer said. “You would expect a senior group to do that, come up with the big plays.”
While El Molino and Healdsburg are among the smallest teams enrollment-wise in the powerful Sonoma County League, they still hold a significant edge over most NCL I North teams in terms of available manpower to call on.
“We”re facing a bigger school that competes in a tough league,” Foltmer said. “We all know what we”re up against. But if there is a team that can compete with the El Molinos and Healdsburgs, it”s this team. I have confidence in my guys.”
Challenges are what the playoffs are all about, according to Foltmer, and the Mustangs have never run away from a fight during his 25-plus years as varsity coach.
“Hopefully we”ll get past this round and get that off our backs,” Foltmer said. “I think it”s going to be a good game. We”re ready.”
