Middletown High School is the home of the Mustangs, but it might as well be the home of the Ducks or the Geese the last month or so, according to longtime Middletown varsity football coach Bill Foltmer, who said the school’s practice field has been adopted by waterfowl of all kinds. He said he’s never seen anything like it in all his years, and Foltmer has been coaching at the school since 1985. Middletown’s teams wouldn’t mind sharing the field except that the ducks and geese leave their calling cards everywhere, perhaps symbolic of how 2020 has unfolded since the COVID-19 pandemic started last March. “New occurrence,” Foltmer said of the waterfowl situation. “It’s actually pretty bad.” Middletown’s teams are currently using the field for twice-a-week, hour-long practices. Once they leave, the ducks and geese move in and fertilize the field from one end to the other. As a group of Canadian geese passed overhead during Tuesday’s practice, Foltmer quipped, “They’re probably wondering what we’re doing on their field.” (Photo by Brian Sumpter)
