WALNUT CREEK >> Middletown coach Bill Foltmer correctly predicted the Mustangs would be running into an offensive buzz saw on Saturday afternoon as they hit the road to play the Berean Christian Eagles in Walnut Creek.
Middletown buzzed back until the fourth quarter, falling 49-35 to Berean Christian in non-league varsity football action.
“They had around 500 yards of total offense,” Foltmer said of the Eagles (2-1), “and with all that it was still a close game.”
Middletown (0-2) even held a 14-7 halftime lead, using ball control and time of possession to simply keep Berean Christian’s offense off the field.
“We had a nine-minute (scoring) drive to open the game,” Foltmer said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do in the first half, which was to keep them away from the ball. We ran the ball very well in the first half.”
The Eagles finally got untracked with a 28-13 third quarter that put them in front 35-27.
“Our lack of depth really, really hurt us late in the game,” Foltmer said. “We just got tired.”
Facing Salesian and Berean Christian in back-to-back weeks proved to be every bit the challenge Foltmer expected for his Mustangs, who return home this coming Friday to open their North Central League I schedule against Kelseyville (2-0).
“Those teams were pretty damn tough,” Foltmer said of his first two opponents. “And like I told the kids, we can still do what we want to do if we drop the first two. We open league now and these are the game that count the most.”
Two Berean Christian players gave the Mustangs all kinds of problems on Saturday and they just happen to be the sons of Eagles coach Jame Hodgins — senior wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins and offensive/defensive lineman Isaac Hodgins, a junior.
Isaiah Hodgins, a Division I prospect, caught 10 passes for 187 yards.
“I thought at times we failed keeping track of him on the field,” Foltmer said. “He also caught some passes when I thought we had him covered pretty well.”
Isaac Hodgins was a force as well, only up front for the Eagles.
“We just had a hard time with that kid,” Foltmer said. “He caused a lot of problems for us.”
Middletown’s offense also showed up to the tune of 393 yards of total offense. Ty Chorjel led the Mustangs on the ground with 160 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns and both John Kelley and Gabe Guzman added rushing scores. In the air, Luke Holt’s second game as Middletown’s new quarterback was a lot better than his debut. The junior went 8-for-15 for 168 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
“I was pretty proud of him (Holt),” Foltmer said. “He had a good game and there were a lot of other things I thought we did well, that I’m happy with.”
Two of the turning points in the game, both in the second half, were a Middletown lost fumble that Berean Christian returned for a touchdown, and a fourth-and-one play later in the game that the Mustangs elected not to go for, instead choosing to punt the ball away.
“We shanked the punt and Berean Christian went on to score,” Foltmer said. “Hell, if I would known we were going to shank it, I just would have gone for it.”
The lost fumble and shanked punt “deflated us just a tad,” Foltmer said.
While Middletown won’t likely run into opponent with the team speed of a Salesian or especially a Berean Christian during its NCL I schedule, Foltmer said the Mustangs can’t afford to take any of their league opponents lightly, and certainly not the Knights.
“They just beat St. Helena and they completely destroyed Healdsburg the week before,” Foltmer said. “They almost beat us last year (Middletown won 7-0 at Kelseyville).
“We’ve got to turn this thing around,” Foltmer said.
