Middletown beats tough Willits squad in homecoming game, wins fourth straight
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> Before you get the idea Middletown breezed to a 22-9 homecoming win over the Willits Wolverines in a North Central League I varsity football game Friday night at Bill Foltmer Field, be clear on thing; there was no breezing in this game … not at any point.
Willits (1-1 league, 3-1 overall), a team loaded with offensive firepower, held the ball every second of the first quarter, the period ending when the Wolverines’ 18-play drive stalled on downs, a fourth-down pass from the Middletown 17-yard line falling incomplete with no time left on the clock.
“We bent but didn’t break on defense,” Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard said of the theme of the game for the Mustangs, who held the ball for just four minutes in the first half but didn’t allow a point. “We told the kids that we’re going to face adversity at certain points this season and that was tonight. This is what you work hard in the summer for, for games just like this.”
Middletown (3-0, 4-1) finally got its hands on the ball as the second quarter opened and the Mustangs wasted no time scoring, moving 83 yards in six plays, the final 39 on a touchdown pass from Blake Costlow to Trenton Griffith, who was able to turn the corner and burst up the Middletown sideline with Willits defenders unable to close the distance.
Willits then used up all but 37 seconds of the remaining time in the second quarter with another long and time-consuming drive, moving from its own 9-yard line to the Middletown 27 – a span of 13 plays – before the 14th play resulted in a fumble that Brody Costlow recovered at the Middletown 21.
Even with hardly any time remaining, Middletown moved the ball all the way to the Willits 16 before the clock ran out.
“It’s too bad we didn’t have a little more time there because I thought we could have scored there,” Woodard said.
A 15-yard run by Tyler Galamay, a 24-yard reverse by Jon Hawkins, and a pair of quick passes from Costlow to Galamay and Hawkins had the Mustangs closing in on the end zone. They used their timeouts wisely but couldn’t beat the clock.
Each team had two possessions in the third quarter. Middletown received the second-half kickoff but had to punt before getting the ball back on a Jamisen Jackson interception that almost turned into a pick-six touchdown, only to have most of his return wiped out by a block-in-the-back penalty well behind the play.
The turnover still gave Middletown great field position at the Willits 30. Eight running plays later, Griffith was able to get outside and turn the corner, angling his way to the goal-line pylon for a 7-yard touchdown with 1:43 remaining in the quarter. Costlow’s conversion pass to a wide-open John Finney had Middletown in good shape at 14-0.
And then, just like that, the game got really interesting.
Although Willits had to punt on its next possession, that kick rolled all the way to the Middletown 4-yard line. The Mustangs could only advance the ball to the 13 before they had to punt themselves, and the Wolverines blocked it. Luckily, punter Hawkins fell on the ball in the end zone before Willits could get to it, resulting in a safety.
Willits returned the ensuing free kick to the Middletown 46-yard line and scored two plays later as quarterback Corey Rockey completed back-to-back passes, first to Isaac Silva for 27 yards, then to a wide-open Rickey Ramirez in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. Damien Reiter’s extra-point kick made it 14-9 with 5:21 remaining – or in football terms, an eternity.
The Wolverines knuckled a short kickoff down the field that Middletown immediately pounced on, taking over at the Middletown 46-yard line. While a running play on first down ended up losing two yards, it was wiped out by a horse collar penalty on the Wolverines. The 15-yard penalty put the ball into Willits territory, but not for long. On a repeat of first down, Galamay burst up the middle on a trap play and immediately cut outside where he was able to use his exceptional speed to turn the corner and blaze a path to the end zone 39 yards distant.
“He made us look great,” Woodard said of Galamay’s big play, which flipped momentum squarely back to the Mustangs and let everyone on the Middletown bench, and Middletown fans in the stands, breathe a huge sigh of relief.
And still the Wolverines had time to make a game of it and did their best to make it happen.
As the clock ticked under four minutes remaining, Rockey led the Wolverines from their own 16 to the Middletown 17 where the drive ended with a John Finney interception in the end zone for a touchback. Two Middletown players were right there but Finney plucked the ball out of the air with teammate Jackson near him.
“Finney (a sophomore) does things where he might make a mistake during the game, but he learns and he comes back with a big play,” Woodard said. “Like tonight.”
Despite the disparity in time of possession for the two teams, Willits only outgained Middletown 271-210 as the Mustangs made the most of their limited possessions. Galamay rushed for a team-best 95 yards while Costlow went 8-for-9 for 79 yards, one TD and no interceptions.
“He kept his composure out there,” Woodard said of Costlow. “And Galamay did a good of keeping us moving forward.”
Middletown’s offense had success spreading out the Wolverines and shifting players around.
“We watched a lot of film, we knew that would work,” Woodard said.
Middletown is tied with Clear Lake and St. Helena atop the league standings, and the Mustangs travel to St. Helena next Friday.
Middletown won the JV game 28-12 to improve to 3-0 in league and 5-0 overall (see related story).
TEAM NOTES: Spending as much time as they did on defense, especially in the first half, the Mustangs piled up the tackles, led by Ryan Halverson with 13, Costlow with 12 and Galamay with 11. Also up there were Hayden Xavier with seven and Finney and Hawkins with six apiece … Middletown has won four straight since losing to Berean Christian nearly a month ago in the season opener for both teams.
