LAKE COUNTY — It”s week 10 of the high school football season and that means many players donning pads this week will be running up and down the basketball court or working out on the wrestling mat come this time next week.
The Middletown Mustangs (6-0 league, 8-1 overall) and coach Bill Foltmer have no such worries. Middletown is headed to the North Coast Section Division V playoffs, most likely as the No. 1 seed, and a win tonight over the Lower Lake Trojans (1-5, 3-6) at Gordon Sadler Field will only bolster the Mustangs” postseason credentials. Middletown has already clinched a share of the title and a win or tie tonight against the Trojans will secure an undisputed championship for Middletown, its first since 2010.
In other regulars-season finales tonight, the Kelseyville Knights (2-4, 5-4) host the winless Willits Wolverines (0-6, 0-9), needing a tie or win to wrap up the school”s first winning record since 2010; the Clear Lake Cardinals (3-3, 5-4) host Fort Bragg (3-3, 4-5) and, like Kelseyville, need a tie or win to secure a winning record this season; and the Upper Lake Cougars (0-5, 0-8) close things out at Tomales (2-3, 5-4) in NCL II action.
Middletown at Lower Lake
While the Mustangs haven”t won a league title since 2010, the same year they just missed capturing the school”s fourth sectional football championship, they are no strangers to bringing home pennants. In his 29th season at the school, Foltmer, one of the Redwood Empire”s all-time leaders in coaching victories, is poised to secure his 15 undisputed league championship and 18th league title overall.
Still, with the chance to extend their season into mid-December just as long as they keep on winning in the playoffs that follow tonight”s game, hanging another pennant in the rafters probably isn”t going to be enough to satisfy Foltmer or the Mustangs. They have bigger aspirations, including winning that fourth section championship that barely eluded them three years ago in an overtime loss to Salesian.
“When the season starts out that”s always one of your goals,” Foltmer said of winning a league championship. “But as time goes along you kind of take a look at what else the team is capable of achieving. There are higher expectations for this group.”
Vaulting into the playoffs with a solid victory over the Trojans is what Foltmer is looking for tonight.
“We would like to have a good, crisp game going into the playoffs,” Foltmer said.
Middletown”s approach through the first nine weeks of the 2013 season has been a simple one — play your game and do it with as few mistakes as possible.
“Just do what you”ve been doing,” Foltmer said. “It”s worked well so far, so we must be doing something right.”
Dodging the injury bug, with a couple of minor exceptions, is another factor that has favored the Mustangs this season.
“You have to have talent, but you also have to be a little bit lucky,” Foltmer said of the major ingredients necessary for a great season as opposed to a good one. “Keeping your kids on the field is something you have to do if you want to be successful.”
While winning league and section championships is all about team success, there is plenty of individual glory to go around on the Middletown roster. Senior running back Austin Benson, a three-year varsity veteran, has a few more weeks remaining to add to his impressive career statistics. He topped 3,000 career rushing yards a week ago with a school-record, 256-yard performance against Clear Lake, a game in which he ran for four touchdowns, the 36th, 37th, 38th and 39th rushing TDs of his career. This season he”s rushed for at least 126 yards in each of the eight games he”s played in.
Lower Lake closes out its first season under new coach Justin Gaddy, who has been pleased with his team”s progress throughout the year, and not just on the playing field.
“You always want more,” Gaddy said, “but if you look at the whole picture of what we”ve accomplished, especially in the classroom, you can see they (players) have really bought into the concept of being a program.”
A dozen Lower Lake varsity players posted GPAs of 3.0 or higher during the most recent grading period, according to Gaddy.
“That”s excellent,” he said.
On the field, win, lose or draw tonight against the league-leading Mustangs, the Trojans will finish with more victories than they had in the 2011-12 seasons combined, which certainly is a first step for the first-year coach.
“My seniors are special,” Gaddy said.
Taking on the playoff-bound Mustangs is Lower Lake”s final assignment in 2013, a difficult one at best, according to Gaddy.
“Middletown is just a fantastic team offensively, defensively and on special teams. It”s a reflection of their coaches,” Gaddy said.
While there are many outstanding elements to Middletown”s team makeup this season, Gaddy said the offensive line is what impresses him the most.
“They know what the guy on their left and on their right is doing. They trust in each other and it shows,” Gaddy said.
Fans of both teams are also in for a special treat. A visitor, but certainly no stranger to Lake County, will be introduced between the junior varsity and varsity games.
Fort Bragg at Clear Lake
It”s been a rough go for the Cardinals the last three weeks. After opening league play 3-0, they”ve fallen back to .500 following losses to St. Helena, Kelseyville and Middletown. They meet a Fort Bragg team tonight that has struggled this season. Counted on by many to contend for the league title, the Timberwolves haven”t come close, including a 42-27 loss to Cloverdale a week ago at Timberwolf Stadium.
Both teams have a chance to finish with a winning league record tonight at Don Owens Stadium.
“If we can win this game and Cloverdale loses at St. Helena, we”ll end up in third place,” Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said. “It would be nice to go out with a win.”
There won”t be any postseason for Clear Lake even if the Cardinals defeat the Timberwolves, according to Meyer, who said the team won”t apply for an at-large berth in the Division V playoffs.
Willits at Kelseyville
The Knights certainly have the right opponent to end the season against as the Wolverines haven”t come close to winning a game in 2013. Kelseyville is gunning for a third straight win following solid victories against Lower Lake and Clear Lake.
Kelseyville running back Kevin Duty is locked in a tight race with Middletown”s Benson for the Lake County rushing title. Entering play, Duty has 1,276 yards to Benson”s 1,264.
Upper Lake at Tomales
The Upper Lake Cougars play only their second game under the lights this season when they head to Marin County to take on the Braves.
For the first time in a couple of years, the Cougars are probably happy that the winter sports season is just about here. The 2013 football campaign has been a long and bumpy ride for Upper Lake coaches, players and fans alike.
