Middletown pulls away late to knock off Piedmont 32-17
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MIDDLETOWN >> Kurtis Woodard won his first game as head coach of the Middletown Mustangs on Friday night as his squad turned back a determined effort by the Piedmont Highlanders, scoring the games final 14 points to secure a 32-18 victory in non-league varsity football action at Bill Foltmer Field.
Was Woodard excited? Thrilled?
Yes, on both counts, but not because of the personal milestone. His joy from career win No. 1 was purely the excitement he saw in the eyes of his own players after they nailed down their first win of the season, that following a hard-fought, sun-scorched 22-14 road loss to Berean Christian a week ago.
“I’m happy because we were in a tight game and still able to win by two touchdowns. I’m feeling great because of what the win did for them, not so much for me,” Woodard said.
Playing their first game at near full strength, the Mustangs (1-1) built an 18-3 lead before things got downright scary. Piedmont (0-2) closed to 18-10 right before halftime on a Rehan Mumtaz 4-yard run, then pulled to within 18-17 early in the third quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Lagios to Jack Meyjes.
Their lead down to a single point and with nearly an entire half of football remaining, the Mustangs finally took charge, answering the Piedmont touchdown with a drive of their own, capped by a 22-yard pass from Blake Costlow to running back Trenton Griffth with 7:51 left in the quarter.
Middletown carried that 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter and held it with a heaping helping of ball-control offense.
“We had our line back and we gave them a good dose of Trenton and (Tyler) Galamay,” Woodard said of his top two running backs. “We held the ball nearly the entire quarter and punched it right down the field.”
A long and time-consuming drive ended with Costlow’s 1-yard touchdown run. Galamay added the two-conversion run, the Mustangs’ first successful conversion of the night, for a 32-17 lead.
Both teams moved the ball well all night, Middletown rushing for 295 of its 334 total yards. Piedmont finished with 387 yards, almost evenly split between its ground (194) and passing (193) games.
“It was hard to stop them,” Woodard said. “We had a couple of key stops when we needed them.”
Middletown built a 12-3 lead in the first quarter on the strength of a 6-yard Griffith touchdown run and a 27-yard score by Galamay, sandwiched around a 24-yard field goal by the Highlanders.
“The kids dominated the first quarter,” Woodard said. “We had a solid (scoring) drive in the second quarter, then let off the throttle.”
Jon Hawkins, back in the Middletown lineup after missing week one, scored on a 70-yard run late in the second quarter, a play that Woodard said was specially designed for Piedmont’s defense, allowing Hawkins to take the handoff and use his blazing speed to get outside of the Highlanders’ outside linebacker. Hawkins had a clear path down the field from there.
“It was from some of the old Wing-T stuff we use to run with a wrinkle,” Woodard said of Hawkins’ lone carry of the game. “Hawkins turned it on and he was gone.”
Ahead 18-3 with 2:11 left in the half, Piedmont needed only 50 seconds to answer, scoring on a Mamtaz run that capped a lightning-quick drive.
While the Mustangs had considerable trouble slowing down Piedmont’s offense, the Highlanders were at a complete loss to stop Middletown’s running game, which was ultimately the difference in the game.
“We knew they couldn’t stop us,” Woodard said.
Galamay finished with 103 yards on 11 carries while Griffith finished with 77 yards on 14 carries. Costlow completed three of eight passes for 38 yards, including the 22-yard TD strike to Griffith. Hawkins and Galamay had the other catches.
“Beating Piedmont, a team that dominated us and physically beat us up a year ago (42-21 at Piedmont), let’s just say we had this game circled on our calendar,” Woodard said. “That’s a big win. We added a few tweaks in the playbook that worked out pretty well.”
Middletown opens its North Central League I schedule next Friday in Cloverdale.
JV game
Middletown beat Piedmont 40-0 in the season opener for the Mustangs, who did not have a game last week against Berean Christian.
The Mustangs (1-0) rushed for 440 yards as quarterback Kolton Costlow attempted only one pass – a 19-yard completion. Luke Mace rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, Dre Goins had 103 yards and one TD, Esteban Muniz added 98 yards and a TD, and Colton Karp had 96 yards and two TDs.
Jay Lee caught Costlow’s lone pass attempt.
Middletown had a 33-0 lead at halftime. The Mustangs scored their final points in the third quarter, and the game went to a running clock.
The Mustangs picked off four Piedmont passes, one each by Mace (58-yard return), Goins, Hudson Kelley and Diego Pimentel. Lucas Hernandez led the team with nine total tackles while Mace had eight.