Mustangs need win to clinch piece of title By Brian Sumpter -- Record-Bee sports editor Updated: 10/31/2013 10:04:07 PM PDT MIDDLETOWN -- The Middletown Mustangs are closing in on a North Central League I championship and the Clear Lake Cardinals are standing directly in their path tonight when the two teams knock heads at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown. While the Mustangs (5-0 league, 7-1 overall) and Cardinals (3-2, 5-3) are squaring off under the lights tonight, a bit farther north up Highway 29 the Lower Lake Trojans (1-4, 3-5) take on the Kelseyville Knights (1-4, 4-4) at Kelseyville, a game matching two teams coming off big wins a week ago. Rounding out the Lake County lineup of games in week nine are the Upper Lake Cougars (0-4, 0-7), who hit the road Saturday to play the St. Vincent Mustangs in Petaluma, where longtime coach Gary Galloway is looking for career victory No. 200. Clear Lake at Middletown Middletowns success this season isnt much of a secret. The Mustangs possess a balanced run-pass offense, play tough defense and dont give their opponents much help in the form of turnovers or penalties. If we keep doing that, youre going to be successful, Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said of his teams mistake-free play to date. Operating behind a solid offensive line, the Mustangs have playmakers pretty much everywhere you look. Quarterback Josiah Amos is enjoying a fantastic season, having completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,259 yards and 16 touchdowns (with only seven interceptions). He has capable receivers in Anthonie Guzman (35 catches for 468 yards, 4 TDs) and Brad Bologna (280 yards, 7 TDs) and has spread the ball around to receivers, tight ends and running backs alike. Six different Mustangs have more than 100 yards in receiving yardage and five different players have caught at least one touchdown. An equally lethal ground game is led by three-year varsity veteran Austin Benson, who is closing in on 3,000 career rushing yards. He leads the Mustangs with 1,008 yards and 14 TDs. Backfield mate Brad Beckwith is next with 399 yards and six TDs. How do you stop the Mustangs? Teams have tried to take away their running game by jamming the line of scrimmage with extra defenders, but Middletown has foiled the strategy by simply throwing the ball. We know people are going to pack the box and its something we work on all the time. Our second team simulates it in practice and if your second team can do a good job at simulating that, it helps you prepare, Foltmer said. If you try to double-team Guzman, the Mustangs will pound you on the ground or simply throw the ball to someone else. (Brad) Bologna, one of our tight ends, has got the speed of a wide receiver and he can hurt you, Foltmer said. As will Benson. Hes our big-play guy, someone who a lot of the time makes something out of nothing, Foltmer said. Making the offense tick is the cool-headed Amos. A lot of the credit goes to him, Foltmer said. He stands tall in the pocket, sees well in the middle of the field, can run a two-minute drill and throws a good ball. If theres a guy open, hell find him and get him the ball. A win tonight gives Middletown no worse than a share of the league championship. Since they already own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the only team that can catch them -- St. Helena (4-1) -- the Mustangs are sitting pretty as far as the league race is concerned. Lower Lake at Kelseyville The Lower Lake Trojans and Kelseyville Knights notched their first league wins a week ago, each in impressive fashion. Lower Lake shut out Willits 49-0 behind a five-touchdown performance by quarterback/defensive back/return man Isazah King. Kelseyville reeled off 22 unanswered points to beat Clear Lake 36-14 in Bass Bowl IV at Lakeport, where running back Kevin Duty led the way with 226 rushing yards and two scores. Tonights winner moves above the other in the league standings. It starts with their offensive line, Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy said of the Knights 1-2 punch of running backs Duty (1,121 yards, 17 TDs) and Robert McLean (867 yards, 7 TDs). They have two really good backs. Those two and (Austin) Benson of Middletown are the three best running backs in the league. To have two of those guys on one team makes it that much tougher for us. Can the Trojans slow down the Knights running game, something Middletown did in the second half two weeks ago but Clear Lake failed to do last week? Swarm tackling them is something we have to do, Gaddy said. No one-on-one tackles, theyre just too good for that. The Trojans are looking forward to the challenge, according to Gaddy, who said his players are working harder than ever in practice. Were getting toward the end of the season but were playing some of our best football, Gaddy said. Our coaches do a great job of working with the kids and the kids are conducting themselves like champions on an off the field, which is what we want. With the most recent grading period coming to an end, Gaddy said the teams GPA may be higher than it has been in years. To make sure the Trojans are taking care of business off the field, twice-a-week study sessions are mandatory for any player whose GPA dips below 2.5. If that happens, you have to be there, Gaddy said. I also do grade checks. If the kids dont like it I tell them to get their GPA up and they wont have to worry about it. Kelseyville, beginning with its win last week against rival Clear Lake, has the opportunity to finish the season with a winning overall record provided it beats both Lower Lake and winless Willits (0-8) in its final two games, both at home. Upper Lake at St. Vincent The Upper Lake Cougars ended a three-game scoring drought a week ago against Calistoga but were otherwise overwhelmed by the league-leading Wildcats (7-0), who had a 63-0 lead by the end of the first half. St. Vincent, coming off a win against rival Tomales, trails Calistoga by one game in the NCL II standings and will host Calistoga on Nov. 9 in the league finale for both teams. Barring a huge upset by Upper Lake, St. Vincents Galloway will join a short list of Redwood Empire coaches with at least 200 career victories, a list that includes Middletowns Foltmer (217 of his 236 victories have come as Middletowns head coach).
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 05:37:25 +0000
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