MIDDLETOWN >> No light towers were needed for illumination at Bill Foltmer Field on Saturday night. Middletown”s Anthonie Guzman set the place aglow, and while he was at it, lit up the Tomales Braves in the first round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs by a score of 49-0.
Guzman called upon all facets of his game — mainly his ball carrying and defensive back skills — in responding to the question of who would lead the Mustangs in their latest postseason campaign.
Poor Tomales. Every time the Mustangs touched the football in their first five possessions — including an interception — they increased their point total.
Middletown owned the game by halftime with a 35-0 lead. Collectively, only 14 offensive plays were involved in all the Mustang first-half scoring.
The Mustangs” Wyatt Hall scored from the 2-yard line after a muffed center snap on a punt went awry for Tomales three minutes into the game. Hall scored again to make it 14-0 by capping a 60-yard drive with a second TD run — this one from six yards out — with 3:20 left in the quarter.
Guzman”s role in it was running an interception back 55 yards for a score to increase Middletown”s lead to 21-0 at the end of the first period. He also returned a punt 60 yards to set up a Connor Armstrong 25-yard TD pass to Cody Chorel just 21 seconds into the second quarter. Four minutes later Guzman struck again, this time on an 18-yard run to make it 35-0.
Along with other first-team players, Guzman gave way to a first wave of Middletown reserves with 5:30 remaining in the first half.
The mental picture that Guzman provided was a 19-yard ramble in Middletown”s drive for its second TD. He shook off two sets of would-be tacklers before reaching Tomales” 37-yard-line where he was finally taken down, two Braves still clinging to his 155-pound frame.
All of this followed a week in which Guzman dashed for three TDs and had 217 yards on 35 totes against Lower Lake
Although Tomales dressed only 17 players, it somehow had a 7-3 record for the season just past and was good enough to qualify for the playoffs. Milddletown, also 7-3 going in, earned the playoff berth opposite the Braves.
“We”ll step up in competition next week,” Foltmer promised of a quarterfinal-round home game this Friday against Steller Prep (8-3) of Oakland. “They”ve got a quarterback. Wait ”tlll you see him. He”s like a 220-pound Isazah King. He”s the real deal.”
Guzman agreed with the suggestion that this year”s Middletown squad has improved as it went along — improvising when it had to convert two linemen — Wyatt Hall and Joey Burns — to running backs and increasing Guzman”s offensive load at wingback.
“We had to adjust our linebackers,” Guzman recalled. “Our linemen are juniors. They”re young, but during the season they”ve improved.
“I like our team,” he added.
Foltmer waxed sentimental for a moment as he discussed Leon Feliciano, the Tomales head coach who coached his last high school game on Saturday night. He”s retiring after 19 years.
“It would have been good to see him go out on a positive note,” Foltmer said. “I didn”t want to lose the game, but he is such a good ambassador for the game. He was a competitor in football and a good friend. We go back a long ways and he”s done a lot for small school football.
“In the past we”ve had some battles,” Foltmer added of his days when both teams competed in the North Central League II. “But they had only six kids (as reserves) tonight and weren”t even able to scrimmage. We had the luxury of JVs (eight of whom suited up for Middletown on Saturday). Tomales doesn”t have a JV team.”
Two Middletown reserves — Cesar Macias and John Kelley — contributed touchdowns in the second half of the Mustang scoring fest.
No sooner had Saturday”s game end when Foltmer turned his attention to the next obstacle in Middletown”s postseason path, Stellar Prep.
“We”ll step it up against the competition next week,” he said. “First off, they”re going to be 10 times bigger than Tomales.”
