ST. HELENA >> Jahaiver Otero ran for all three of St. Helena”s touchdowns as the Saints overcame a 13-7 deficit in the third quarter to beat the Middletown Mustangs 20-13 in a collision of undefeated North Central League I leaders on Friday night in St. Helena.
St. Helena (3-0 league, 6-0) is now the only undefeated team in the NCL I standings. Middletown (2-1, 4-2), Cloverdale and Fort Bragg are a game back through Friday”s action.
“We didn”t play well enough to win it,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said. “We turned the ball over three times and our containment broke down a few times.”
While Otero scored on runs of 3, 2 and 1 yards, the final touchdown coming early in the fourth quarter to snap a 13-all tie, he gained only 37 yards against Middletown”s defense.
“The key for them was their quarterback (Jack) Preston,” Foltmer said.
“He broke containment a few times and scrambled for some big yards,” Foltmer said. “I thought he played a great game.”
After St. Helena went 7-0 on the first of Otero”s TD runs in the first quarter, Middletown tied it on Wyatt Hall”s 2-yard run in the second quarter. It remained a 7-7 game until the third quarter when Anthonie Guzman scored on a 4-yard run to give the Mustangs a 13-7 lead.
St. Helena pulled even at 13 on Otero”s second TD run late in the third quarter.
Middletown was driving for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, chipping away at the St. Helena defense for four, five and six yards at a time, according to Foltmer, until losing a fumble inside Saints territory.
St. Helena then mounted its own drive capped by Otero”s 1-yard run with just more than nine mintues remaining.
Middletown had to punt the ball on its next drive. St. Helena fumbled the ball at the Middletown 30 a few minutes later. The Mustangs gained nine yards on a first-down run before the Saints sealed the victory by picking off a Connor Armstrong pass.
“The ball went right through a receiver”s hands, it really wasn”t his fault,” Foltmer said of Armstrong, who went 6-for-9 for 122 yards.
“It was a good game,” Foltmer said. “St. Helena played better than we did, that”s the bottom line.”
