MIDDLETOWN — Jake Davis is making up for lost time … at just the right time.
The Middletown High School senior fullback, who missed the first half of the season with a broken jaw, plowed through the El Molino High School defense for a season-best 203 yards on Saturday night as the Mustangs ran over the Lions 27-13 in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division IV football playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown.
Davis entered play with 389 yards and three touchdowns, but he gained 203 yards on 18 carries and scored twice to give Middletown a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Davis” 80-yard scamper early in the second quarter, a play during which he shedded a tackle 15 yards down the field to break into the clear, accounted for the game”s first points. On the Mustangs” next possession he capped an all-run, 11-play, 74-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
As the team”s middle linebacker, Davis made a number of impressive stops, including one where he leveled El Molino running back Tommy Krausmann after a short gain. Without missing a beat, Davis reached down to help up Krausmann, who rushed for 85 yards to lead the Lions (7-5).
As a team, the Mustangs gained 390 yards on the ground, including 148 on 26 carries by David Pike, who is now Middletown”s all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,658 yards. He also scored on a 4-yard run with 6:13 left in the third quarter to give Middletown a 27-0 lead. It was Pike”s 33rd rushing touchdown of the season and his 35th TD overall, both school and Lake County records.
Middletown junior quarterback Kyle Brown completed just one pass in the win but he made it count as John-Wesley Davis hauled in a 24-yard touchdown with 29.4 seconds left in the first half to give Middletown a 20-0 halftime cushion.
Brown”s counterpart, El Molino”s Mike Pierson, went 14-for-35 for 143 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Middletown”s semifinal opponent, Healdsburg, beat El Molino 41-27 on Nov. 5 in Healdsburg.
