Galamay, Griffith both rush for more than 100 yards in first-round playoff victory
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> Time of possession represents different things to different people. To the Middletown Mustangs, it really doesn’t mean much at all.
The 2025 Mustangs are one play away at all times from scoring a touchdown with lightning-like precision, a trademark they demonstrated several times Friday night in a 36-7 win over Archie Williams of San Anselmo in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 7 football playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown.
Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard is so used to seeing the Mustangs’ quick-strike capability this season that it hardly fazes him these days, but make no mistake about it, he’s ever appreciative of his team’s knack for changing the complexion of a game in mere seconds.
“We see stuff on film that we think will work, what can work and what is working, and we just go out there and try and do it,” Woodard said. “It was not the best performance we’ve had, some of those penalties were not Middletown at all, but we came out ready to play overall.”
Middletown’s blazing speed is enough to exploit the smallest of weaknesses by an opponent on defense, either from the exceptional running back tandem of sophomore Tyler Galamay (129 yards, two TDs) or senior Trenton Griffith (122 yards, TD), or wide receivers Jon Hawkins (two catches for 33 yards, TD) and John Finney (38-yard TD catch). Throw in a quarterback in Blake Costlow that is adept and delivering the ball on target, sometimes even between a pair of defenders, and you’ve really got something.
Trailing 24-7 as the second half opened, the Peregrine Falcons (7-4) were probably hoping to get a quick three-and-out on defense, get the ball back, score and make a game of it against the Mustangs (9-2), but on the first play of the half, Galamay took the handoff from Costlow, sprinted through a hole opened up by his line and was gone in an instant, a trio of Archie Williams losing ground to him on his 53-yard trek to the end zone. With just 10 seconds off the clock in the quarter, it was 30-7 and the game was over.
Just like that.
It was much the same at game’s start. Middletown’s defense forced a three-and-out on Archie Williams’ first possession, took over at its own 27 and had an 8-0 lead two plays later. After a 3-yard run by Griffith and an offsides penalty against the Falcons, Griffith broke through the line of scrimmage, angled his way toward the Middletown sideline and raced 55 yards for a touchdown. He also scored on the conversion run for an 8-0 Mustangs lead.
Middletown got the ball back almost immediately on a fumble recovered by Galamay, and had a 16-0 lead a short time later, overcoming a pair of penalties in the process. The Mustangs were facing a third-and-23 from the Archie Williams 38 where Costlow took the snap, stepped up in the pocket to avoid the rush, and hit Finney deep the down field for the touchdown. Galamay added the two-point conversion run.
Archie Williams mounted two drives in a row, finally scoring on the second one, as the score remained unchanged until late in the second quarter. The Falcons overcame a third-and-22 to keep the first drive alive and converted on a fourth-down play as they moved into Middletown territory. They were facing another fourth down – fourth-and-one from the Middletown 30 – when the Mustangs stuffed a run by quarterback Ronan Foley just shy of the first-down marker.
Middletown ended up punting the ball back to Archie Williams and this time the Falcons took a page out of the Mustangs’ playbook, scoring quickly on a 54-yard pass from Foley to Nate Ryan that capped an 89-yard drive that used up little time on the clock to make it 16-7.
“We did a good job of containing him,” Woodard of the mobile Foley, who entered play Friday with more than 1,500 passing yards and 16 TDs as well as a team-best seven rushing touchdowns. “We had to because he is definitely someone who can change a game.”
Along those lines, Woodard said the play on defense by defensive end Emmitt Lloyd and linebackers EJ Rose and Galamay helped hold Foley in check on Middletown’s wet and slippery natural turf, which is a big change from the artificial surface the Falcons played all but one of their games on this season.
It definitely had an effect on Archie Williams too, as the Falcons struggled with their footing and ballhandling at times. Foley was so frustrated at one point late in the game when he slipped and was tackled for a loss that he threw the ball at a Middletown defender after the play, drawing a 15-yard penalty.
While Middletown did lose one fumble late in the game long after it had been decided, the Mustangs proved to be the more sure-footed and sure-handed team despite the slippery conditions.
“Our running game needed to be in this weather,” Woodard said.
Following their touchdown, the Falcons had a chance to get the ball right back as the Mustangs fumbled but recovered the ensuing kickoff return. They then put together a seven-play, 59-yard drive, the key play a 23-yard pass from Costlow that Griffith pulled down while sandwiched between two Archie Williams defenders near the Falcons sideline. Griffith then had three straight runs to move the ball down to the 9-yard line. The Mustangs then scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Costlow to Hawkins, with the same two players hooking up on the conversion pass to make it 24-7.
“We had some adversity and we executed,” Woodard said of a brief moment of terror on the kickoff return following Archie Williams’ first and only score of the game.
After Galamay’s 53-yard touchdown to open the second half, the Mustangs begin to rotate in reserves. Galamay’s 8-yard touchdown run with 1:59 left in the third quarter capped the scoring. Middletown had its entire second time in the game early in the fourth quarter.
While the No. 1-seed Mustangs easily advanced into next Friday’s semifinals at home against No. 5 Concord, a 36-24 winner over No. 4 Vallejo in another first-round game, Woodard said he would like to clean up some of the uncharacteristic penalties the Mustangs accumulated Friday – 10 for 108 yards overall – not that it slowed them down much.
Woodard and his assistant coaches will be breaking down Concord game film the next few days to prepare for the Bears, a Division 5 team that was moved down to Division 7 for the playoffs. The school is nearly three times the size of Middletown in enrollment.
On the other half of the Division 7 bracket Friday, both of the top seeds won. No. 2 Piedmont beat St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo 49-7 while No. 3 Willits shut out Redwood Christian 27-0. Willits travels to Piedmont in the other semifinal next Friday.
The Division 7 championship game is Nov. 28-29, and the section winner advances to the NorCal championship game, part of the state playoffs, on Dec. 5-6. The NorCal winner advances to the state championship game is Dec. 12-13.
