FORT BRAGG >> The Middletown Mustangs might be seeing Fort Bragg fullback Trystin Strickland in their dreams for some time to come. Or maybe it’s their nightmares.
Strickland, all 6-feet-2, 240 pounds of him, ran for three scores and caught another on Friday night as the host Timberwolves clinched a tie for the North Central League I varsity football championship with a 31-16 victory.
Both teams took undefeated league records into the game but it was Timberwolves (7-0, 7-1) who led from start to finish. Middletown (5-1, 5-3) was driving the ball in the third quarter trailing 17-16 before a big sack derailed the Mustangs inside Fort Bragg’s 20-yard line. Middletown eventually turned the ball over on downs. Despite being pinned back at their own 10-yard line following a penalty, Fort Bragg moved 90 yards in only a handful of plays, a long pass down the middle setting up a short Strickland touchdown run to make it 24-16.
“That turned the game around right there,” Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said.
Strickland scored again late in the third quarter as Fort Bragg went up 31-16.
“We couldn’t tackle him,” Foltmer said of Strickland. “He basically took over the game for them. Even when we packed the box and had him stuffed, he still got two or three yards.”
Fort Bragg jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead before Middletown closed to 10-8 on Ty Chorjel’s 1-yard run and a Gabe Guzman conversion run.
Both teams scored once in the second quarter. Strickland caught a 7-yard pass from Lucas Triplett to make it a 17-8 game and Middletown closed to 17-16 on a Chorjel 2-yard run and a Chorjel conversion run.
While Strickland did most of the scoring for the Timberwolves, who have now won 19 straight league games dating back to 2014, the play of quarterback Triplett was no less important, according to Foltmer.
“Triplett did a masterful job of finding the open receiver on some big third-down plays,” Foltmer said.
Middletown’s usually strong rushing game ran into a brick wall that was Fort Bragg’s defensive line and finished with only 84 yards.
“Their D line outplayed our offensive line,” Foltmer said. “Tonight we got outplayed. Hats off to them.”
