MIDDLETOWN — And the last fall sports team standing is once again the Middletown Mustangs and their legendary coach, 34-year veteran Bill Foltmer.
Middletown (10-3), the No. 5 seed in the North Coast Section Division V football playoffs, has advanced to the championship game for the second year in a row and will play No. 2 seed and longtime playoff nemesis Salesian (8-4) on Saturday night at Alhambra High School in Martinez. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
Maybe the third time will be the charm for the Mustangs at Alhambra High School, the site of their memorable 28-21 overtime loss to Salesian in 2010 in the Division IV finals, and a not-so-memorable 28-0 loss to St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo a year ago in the Division V championship game.
Middletown has played its best football of the season in this year’s playoffs, beating St. Vincent 48-0, No. 4 seed Fort Bragg 29-22 and No. 1 seed Kelseyville 14-12 to reach another sectional final.
Foltmer, the Redwood Empire’s winningest coach, has a 262-104-1 record at Middletown and a 281-126-1 overall record, which includes three seasons at Princeton High School in Colusa County. He’s on pace to reach 300 wins in either 2020 or 2021, unless retirement beckons before then.
In a season that began with Califorina’s biggest wildfire (the Mendocino Complex Fires) and was delayed for the better part of three weeks because of California’s deadliest wildfire (the Camp Fire), the Mustangs hope to make 2018 even more memorable for an entirely different and much more positive reason. They’ll have their chance in a few days.
Following are some of the highlights and lowlights from Week 13:
Statistics
Rushing — Kelseyville’s Robert Chavez picked up 107 well-earned yards on 22 carries and scored a touchdown in the Knights’ season-ending 14-12 loss to Middletown in the semifinals. Middletown’s Drake Harbison also earned his paycheck with 87 yards on 18 carries. Kelseyville’s Adrian Villalobos added 44 yards on nine carries and a TD.
Passing — Middletown quarterback RH Hess wasn’t prolific with his passing, just deadly efficient. The Kelseyville transfer went 6-for-9 for 81 yards and two touchdowns against the Knights. Kelseyville quarterback Alex Garcia also was off to a good start – 4-for-4 for 28 yards – before a hand injury took away his ability to grip and throw the football early in the first half.
Receiving — Middletown’s Nico Barrio had three catches for 55 yards and a TD. Kelseyville’s Zack Watkins caught three passes for 44 yards.
Special teams
Kicking — Jorge Fonseca’s two successful extra-point kicks made all the difference in the world for Middletown.
Defense
Turnovers — Middletown won that battle, losing only one fumble, to three turnovers for the Knights. Both teams scored a touchdown because of turnovers.
Sack attack — Middletown dropped Garcia three times while the Kelseyville pass rush got to Hess twice.
That’s that — Drake Harbison’s interception of Adrian Villalobos’ desperation pass on the final play of the game sealed the Middletown win.
This and that
Streaks — Middletown takes a four-game winning streak into its title showdown with Salesian. Kelseyville had won 10 straight until losing to the Mustangs.
Playoff streaks — Middletown and Kelseyville have squared off three straight years in the Division V playoffs and Middletown has won the last two meetings, both times in the semifinal round.
Weather forecast — The Saturday forecast for Martinez calls for cold and clear conditions.
That hurts — Rather than play a sectional final in Division III, finalists Eureka and Cardinal Newman decided to flip a coin for a berth in the state playoffs and Eureka won. Cardinal Newman called tails and it was heads.
Long and winding road — Passing league was in July and Middletown is still playing football in December, a credit to its players and coaching staff.
Season starts now — As Kelseyville head coach Erick Larsen was discussing his team’s fine 2018 season after the conclusion of play Saturday night against Middletown, he said the 2019 season for the Knights starts Monday in the weight room.
