ALBANY — In a game Middletown High School varsity football head coach Bill Foltmer said was completely winnable, it was a variety of mistakes made by the young Mustangs that proved to be the difference in a 25-14 season-opening loss to the St. Mary’s Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Albany.
Originally scheduled to take place Friday night in Middletown, the game was rescheduled for Saturday in Albany because of the unhealthy air quality in the Lake County Air Basin, the result of smoke generated from the state’s many active wildfires. Some thought was given to moving the game to Saturday evening in Middletown but it was deemed too risky, according to Foltmer.
“It would have been quite a gamble,” Folmter said. “They were predicting the air to be just as bad. If we try to hold it here Saturday and can’t, then we the lose game (off the schedule).”
Albany was the safer choice and Foltmer said the hard work of his principal, Airic Guerrero, and new athletic director, Bob Cazet, made the last-second venue change a smooth transition.
“It was going to be our first home game in two years and everything was set, then it all changes in a couple of hours. They worked every free second they had to make sure we were just going to have a game,” Foltmer said. “I appreciate that.”
Foltmer added that the day and venue change had absolutely nothing to do with the game’s outcome. Rather, he said his team’s mistakes, including things they had practiced over and over this past week but failed to execute during the game, were the real culprits.
One of those things was a “waggle pass” the Panthers (1-0) scored on from 5 yards out early in the fourth quarter to push ahead 19-14. The pass was a culmination of a 96-yard drive that consumed all 12 minutes of the third quarter and a minute of the fourth.
“Other than kicking off to open the second half, we did not touch the ball in the third quarter,” Foltmer said.
That marathon drive nearly stalled early with St. Mary’s facing a fourth-and-20 from its own 35-yard-line. The Panthers ran a fake punt and gained just enough yardage for the first down.
“They needed 20 yards and they got 20 and a half,” Foltmer said. “That was a real gutsy call.”
It was also a big missed opportunity, according to Foltmer.
“If they don’t make it, we get the ball with a short field. We had a chance to make that play, but our guys were running down the field instead of looking for the fake, even though we practice that. Their guy (punter) just took off with the ball, nothing fancy.”
The touchdown that eventually put the Panthers ahead to stay, a waggle pass, is one the Mustangs had worked on all week in practice.
“We just didn’t do a very good job covering it,” Foltmer added.
After an exchange of punts, Middletown got one last crack on offense. “We got the ball back with five or six minutes left, plenty of time,” Foltmer said.
After picking up a pair of first downs, the Mustangs were facing a fourth-and-one but failed to convert on a running play.
The ball went over on downs to St. Mary’s and running back Kyle Goree eluded a blitz by the Mustangs, working his way to the outside and scoring on a 28-yard run to boost the Panthers’ lead to 25-14.
Goree was not the speedy halfback the Mustangs had prepared for, according to Foltmer. “He was a better inside runner but he still had enough speed to break it once he was in the open. He was more of a power back.”
Middletown took a 14-12 lead into the second half on the strength of a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Luke Hoogendoorn in the first quarter that made it 7-0, and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hoogendoorn to Cole Ketchum in the second quarter that erased a 12-7 St. Mary’s lead. Brody Breeden kicked both extra points for the Mustangs.
St Mary’s closed to 7-6 on a 68-yard Goree run in the first quarter and took its first lead on Paul Wilson’s 10-yard reception in the second quarter. That touchdown was set up by a huge Middletown mistake on the Mustangs’ previous possession.
In an attempt to draw the Panthers offsides on fourth-and-short, Foltmer called a “no play” where the ball is not snapped. If it doesn’t work and the possession clock runs out, the Mustangs draw a delay-of-game penalty and punt the ball.
“Our center snapped it,” Foltmer said.
Hoogendoorn was dropped for a loss and the Panthers took over on downs, inheriting a short field (40 yards) in the process.
“This group is struggling with making a lot of mistakes,” Foltmer said not only of the no-play blunder but also missed blocks and missed blocking assignments. “It’s preseason, so we’re just going to keep trying to get better. Once we start eliminating those mistakes we’ll be competitive for league.”
There were positives as well. Foltmer said the play of his secondary was outstanding.
“We weren’t going to let them get behind us and we did that,” Foltmer said.
Middletown also went the entire game without committing a single penalty.
“St. Mary’s had a lot of penalties,” Foltmer said. “But they also were able to make a lot of big plays. They were able to convert on third down three or four times during that long drive, and they converted a couple of fourth downs.”
Caleb Sternberg’s play on special teams was another bright spot as he had a 50-yard punt return to set up the Mustangs’ first touchdown and a 25-yard punt return to set up the team’s second score.
Ketchum rushed for a team-best 73 yards on 17 carries in his varsity debut. Hoogendoorn was 5-for-9 passing for 45 yards and the touchdown. He also was intercepted once, but Foltmer said it wasn’t his fault.
“The ball was in the receiver’s hands and it popped out,” he said.
Middletown won the junior varsity game 46-6.
Middletown (0-1) draws an even tougher opponent next Friday, according to Foltmer, when it travels to Sacramento to play Bradshaw Christian (1-0), which is coming off a season-opening 30-17 over Linden.
