Middletown, Piedmont battle for Division 7 championship Friday night in Napa
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> It’s hard to imagine the Middletown High School football team playing any better than it did against Concord during a 48-8 semifinal win last week in the North Coast Section Division 7 playoffs, but the Mustangs are certainly going to try and top that performance Friday night against Piedmont in the Division 7 championship game.
The NCS final takes place at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, which is located right off of Highway 29. Kickoff is 7 p.m. The championship matches the top two seeds in the original eight-team Division 7 field, No. 1 Middletown (10-2) and the No. 2 Piedmont Highlanders (8-4). Both teams have won six in a row.
If Piedmont sounds familiar to Middletown fans, it’s because the Mustangs beat the Highlanders 32-17 for their first win of the season back on Sept. 5 in Middletown. The teams have two other common opponents this season, Berean Christian and Willits. Both teams beat Willits – Middletown during league play, 22-9, and Piedmont last week in the Division 7 semifinals, 28-10. Piedmont also owns a win over Berean Christian, 45-12, while Middletown lost 22-14 to Berean Christian way back on Aug. 30 on a red-hot Saturday afternoon in Walnut Creek, the Mustangs’ season opener.
Besides winning a section championship, the winner Friday night also advances to the first round of the state playoffs, the NorCal championship game. Only one other team, Clear Lake in 2022, has played in the NorCal playoffs (the Cardinals lost 42-21 to eventual state champion Orland at Orland). If the Mustangs get past Piedmont for a second time this season, they could host that NorCal final the weekend of Dec. 5-6. The NorCal champion meets the SoCal champion in the CIF State finals the weekend of Dec. 12-13 in Southern California at one of three locations.
It’s a safe bet Middletown’s Kurtis Woodard, in his first year as head coach of the Mustangs, doesn’t want his team thinking about the NorCal playoffs until after they’ve scored at least one more point than Piedmont at the conclusion of Friday’s action at Justin-Siena High School, but the possibility is certainly there.
Here’s a look back at Middletown’s win over Concord in Week 13:
Statistics
Rushing – Middletown’s Tyler Galamay rushed for 171 yards on four carries with touchdown runs of 45 and 75 yards against Concord in the Mustangs’ 48-8 semifinal-round win at Bill Foltmer Field. Trenton Griffith added 56 yards and a TD while John Finney had 53 yards and a touchdown.
Passing – Blake Costlow attempted only two passes – one in each of the first two quarters – and completed both for touchdowns. That’s efficiency.
Receiving – Jon Hawkins caught a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter while Hayden Xavier rambled 48 yards for a touchdown right before halftime.
Special teams
May be shortest punt return for a TD ever – After a high snap that got away from the Concord punter led to a rushed punt that rolled along the ground, Middletown’s Hayden Xavier fielded the punt like a grounder and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown to give the Mustangs a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Middletown also attempted an extra-point kick later in the game but missed it, one of the few things that didn’t work out for the Mustangs against Concord.
Defense
Not bigger, but better – Concord had a size advantage up front but was thoroughly outplayed by Middletown, which contained Concord quarterback Juan Gonzalez all night while also plugging up the running lanes.
Picked – Middletown linebacker EJ Rose intercepted a ball that went off the hands of a Concord player and returned it to the Concord 48-yard line with just seconds remaining in the first half. The Mustangs scored moments later on a 48-yard pass from Blake Costlow to Hayden Xavier as time expired in the half.
Two sacks – Tyler Galamay sacked the Concord quarterback twice, once on a fourth-down play. Middletown took over on downs and scored a touchdown while building a 36-0 lead in the first half.
Pass interference – Middletown had a successful two-point conversion pass wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty against Concord. On the second try, the Bears committed defensive pass interference. On the third attempt, Blake Costlow found wide receiver Jon Hawkins alone in the end zone for a 22-0 Middletown lead.
Stingy – Middletown hasn’t allowed an opponent more than eight points during its current six-game winning streak. In fact, the Mustangs have limited their opponents to nine or fewer points eight times in 12 games this season.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – As mentioned above, both Middletown and Piedmont are working on six-game winning streaks, so something has to give Friday night.
11 wins – If Middletown beats Piedmont again Friday night in the Division 7 championship game, the Mustangs will secure their 11th win of the season. The last time the Mustangs did that was 2018 (11-3) when they beat Salesian 28-14 in the section final. Other 11-win-or-better years in Middletown history were 2010 (12-2), 2003 (11-1), 2001 (12-0) and 1991 (11-2). Middletown lost in overtime to Salesian in the 2010 section finals (Middletown also lost to Salesian in the season opener that year), beat Cloverdale in 2001 in the section finals, and lost to Willits in the 1991 section championship game.
49 years ago – Piedmont won its first and only section football championship in the old 2A South classification in 1976.
Good luck charm – Former Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer attended his first game this season last week as the Mustangs demolished Concord. The program he built remains in good hands.
Still waiting – Middletown varsity boys basketball head coach Jake Diehl plays a North Coast Section Foundation game Tuesday night, the Mustangs’ first action of the 2025-26 season, but will be without several of his players who are still playing football. He might not get them back until mid-December.
Still in awe – The block Trenton Griffith threw for teammate Tyler Galamay on his 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Griffith leveled the Concord player and Galamay took it from there. Jon Hawkins also had a nice block downfield to help spring Galamay.
Talk about a showdown – Two-time defending state champion St. Vincent (11-1) hosts undefeated Ferndale (12-0), a 2023 state champion, in the Division 5 championship game Saturday night at Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. St. Vincent lost to Clear Lake 56-55 in the section finals at Rancho Cotate in 2022 and hasn’t lost in postseason action since.
