KELSEYVILLE >> At best, the Mustangs were plodding, while holding the Knights to 46 total yards. “We are what we are,” was the way Bill Foltmer described the Mustangs’ play, which was only their third win against four losses overall and 3-2 in North Central League I play.
What made the 7-0 Middletown win interesting was Kelseyville’s defense, which withstood assault after assault, turning back the Mustangs each and every time until Ty Chorjel churned his way into the end zone from the 1 on a third-and-goal play with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
It was Middletown’s 46th offensive play.
In the first half, Middletown had 30 plays to Kelseyville’s 16 and had two futile trips to the red zone compared to Kelsevyille’s none.
“I’m proud of them,” said Knight first-year coach Erick Larsen. “They played hard tonight I thought they did a pretty good job of mixing up between the five and the four (5-2 and 4-3 defense).”
The loss was the sixth of the overall season for Kelseyville, setting them at 1-7. The Knights are 0-5 in league play.
Although the Mustangs were less than impressive, they compiled 301 yards offensively. Coleman Drew ran for 112 yards on 22 carries while Chorjel had 73 yards on 16 carries.
But indeed they were hard yards at times. Middletown went 0-for-4 on fourth downs against the Kelseyville defense, once on fourth-and-inches.
“Our offensive line had some problems,” said Foltmer. “We were not getting off the ball (when it was snapped). We’re a little bit banged up. It was a pretty tough play tonight.”
Stephen Amos spent almost as much time in Kelseyville’s backfield as the Knights’ running backs. He had 2 ½ of Middletown’s five sacks of Kelseyville quarterback Logan Barrick. Wyatt Jones had another sack and it was his fumble recovery with less than a minute to play that stopped a potential Kelseyville scoring drive at the Middletown 16.
Both teams lost fumbles late in the fourth quarter. Middletown was trying to preserve its lead when Noah Holguin fumbled with 5:51 remaining. The Knights got as close as the 13 after picking up a first down but turned it over two plays later when Barrick lost the handle after taking the snap.
Middletown picked up a key first down to milk the clock, Drew punching forward for two yards on a third-and-one play.
