LAKE COUNTY >> With a handful of exceptions, the Middletown Mustangs have dominated their Lake County opponents for the better part of two decades. That trend continues into 2016 if last week’s 40-8 win over the Kelseyville Knights is any indication.
Middletown (1-0 league, 1-2 overall) had no problem shaking off a couple of tough preseason losses to Salesian and Berean Christian when the Knights came calling at Bill Foltmer Field. The Mustangs only threw the ball twice while piling up 336 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Fast-forward to Week 4 and the Mustangs find themselves paired with another county North Central League I foe, this time the Lower Lake Trojans (1-1, 2-2) at Gordon Sadler Field. Both teams have been successful doing what they do best — in Middletown’s case that’s running the ball, and in Lower Lake’s case passing it — through the early part of the ‘16 campaign.
If those trends hold, fans could be in store for an exciting four quarters of football. Can the Trojans slay the mighty Middletown football dragon, something they haven’t done since 2007? You’ll have your answer in just a few hours.
In other Friday night lights action this week, the Clear Lake Cardinals (1-1, 2-1) call on the Willits Wolveirnes (0-1, 0-3), and the Kelseyville Knights (1-1, 2-1) take a break from their league schedule to host South Fork (0-3) in the annual homecoming game. On Saturday afternoon, the Upper Lake Cougars (1-2) are home to play non-league opponent Branson School of Ross (0-1), which is fielding a football team for the first time.
M’town at Lower Lake
The Mustangs run the ball to set up the pass while the Trojans pass to set up the run. That doesn’t mean Middletown is incapable of passing it or Lower Lake of running it.
Quite the contrary, according to Middletown veteran coach Bill Foltmer.
“I think my quarterback, Luke Holt, and our passing game is very capable,” Foltmer said. “It’s good enough that if you don’t respect it, we can hurt you with it.”
Looking at the Trojans, Foltmer said coach Justin Gaddy’s squad is “fairly balanced” and better at running the ball than it was a year ago.
“I watched the film of their game with Fort Bragg and they were trying to establish the run early on,” Foltmer said.
Fort Bragg built a 28-6 halftime lead but had to hold on to beat Lower Lake 35-27, largely because of the quick-strike capability of the Trojans’ offense, led by quarterback Hokulani Wickard and a cast of speedy receivers that features Marlon Jones, Ethan Watson, Jermaine Watson and Taylor Scott.
“I’m concerned about their ability to score quickly,” Foltmer said. “They’re also running the ball a little bit more this year, so you can’t drag everyone into (pass) coverage.”
On Wickard, Foltmer said, “He’s a good, strong and confident passer and he’s more athletic than people give him credit for. We have a lot of respect for him. If he plays well, they play well as a team.”
Middletown’s offense, led by running backs John Kelley and Ty Chorjel and multipurpose player Robbie Carey, has been cranking out the points, too – 94 in three games.
The Mustangs’ defense also took a big step up last week by limiting Kelseyville to eight points — although the Knights certainly helped limit themselves with costly turnovers.
“Defensively we made some changes that really helped us,” Foltmer said of moving safety Carey to linebacker and linebacker Devin Ross to defensive end.
“Teams like Salesian and Berean Christian will find your weaknesses,” Foltmer said. “They did and we adjusted.”
Gaddy said the Trojans need to do a much better job of getting their defense off the field this week.
“Fort Bragg converted a couple of third-and-longs and they scored a touchdown on another third-down play,” Gaddy said. “We’ve got to force Middletown to punt the ball so we can get our offense back on the field.”
As far as Middletown’s defense goes, Gaddy said the Trojans need to seize on each and every opportunity that presents itself.
“They won’t give you many, so you better be ready to capitalize,” Gaddy said. “We know we can move the ball and Hoke’s made good decisions for the most part with the football. His touchdown-to-interceptions ratio is much better this season.”
Gaddy said he also likes the forward momentum running backs Nick Sani, Charles Powell and Eric Egger have provided in the early going.
“The play of our linemen will determine what we do as a team,” Gaddy said in summing up his team’s chances against the Mustangs. “Middletown’s offensive and defensive lines are tough and physical. They are fundamentally sound.”
Lower Lake last beat Middletown 15-13 during the final game of the 2007 regular season at Middletown, the victory giving the Trojans the old NCL I North title. All of the meetings between 2008-13 resulted in Middletown blowout victories. The most recent two games, also won by Middletown, were 21-0 last year at Bill Foltmer Field and 28-13 in 2014 at Gordon Sadler Field.
Clear Lake at Willits
“It’s a winnable game for us,” Clear Lake coach Mark Cory said as the Cardinals prepare to visit Maize Field against the winless Wolverines.
“They try to make it a physical game at the start and then they try to spread you out,” Cory said. “They have some athletes, three or four pretty decent running backs and big kids up front.”
The Cardinals enter play minus running back/cornerback Jake Jackson, who is out for at least the next eight weeks with a broken hand sustained during the Cardinals’ 48-13 win over St. Vincent a week ago.
“It will be running back by committee for him,” Cory said. “Cameron Borg will take his place on defense.”
Clear Lake’s goal tonight, other than beating Willits, is to keep getting better, according to Cory.
“We need to improve, not take a step back. We have some difficult games coming up. The back end of our schedule is pretty tough.”
Clear Lake’s next four games are against Berean Christian, Kelseyville, Middletown and Lower Lake.
South Fork at K’ville
Missed opportunities early on against Middletown made is a long night for coach Erick Larsen’s Knights a week ago. Kelseyville is looking to get back on track beginning tonight against the South Fork Cubs, who barely made it past halftime in a 35-0 loss to Clear Lake on Sept. 2 in Lakeport. The game was called early in the third quarter because the Cubs sustained a handful of injuries and were running out of players.
“We have to improve, we can’t look at a win as improvement alone,” Larsen said. “Playing a team like Middletown exposes your weaknesses and we’ve tried to correct those in practice this week.”
The Knights figure to see a little bit of everything when South Fork is on offense.
“They run multiple sets, so we can’t stay in one defense and react,” Larsen said. “The kids have to be smart and be in the right spot.”
Because South Fork has no junior varsity team this year, Ferndale’s JVs will play Kelseyville in the early game.
Branson at Upper Lake
Branson School of Ross is fielding a football team for the first time and has played just one game so far, a 74-54 shoot-out win over Stuart Hall of San Francisco on Sept. 10. Both teams will be joining the NCL III as full-fledged members next season.
Upper Lake coach Mike Smith, his team fresh off a 60-6 league win over Potter Valley, said the Cougars are hoping to put together their first winning streak of the season while building momentum for the following weekend when they host Tomales in league action.
Weather could be a factor for both teams, but especially Marin County foe Branson, as the mercury is expected to soar into the 90s on Saturday.
“I’m hoping for at least one more hot weekend,” Smith said.
While there isn’t much of a scouting book on Branson, Smith said the Ross team has some talent and team speed.
“Their quarterback is a star baseball player that some of our kids faced and he can throw the ball,” Smith said. “Their main wide receiver is very athletic as well.”
Branson often lines up three receivers and a tight tend, meaning the backfield is empty outside of the quarterback.
Upper Lake’s defense will be looking to apply plenty of heat whenever possible.
“We’ll try to come up with a balance of bringing our two defensive ends while containing him in the pocket,” Smith said. “We might use a 3-5 defense on (obvious) passing downs.”
There is good news for Upper Lake on the injury front.
Chris Fecht and Dre Santos return to the starting lineup after sitting out last week’s win against Potter Valley. Still out is Francisco Gregorio-Flores (neck). Nathan Sneed will also miss the game for personal reasons, according to Smith.
Round Valley plays Upper Lake in the JV game at noon with the Branson-Upper Lake varsity contest to follow.
