Mustangs have opportunity to go where no county team has gone before
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> For only the second time in Lake County football history, a team has made it to the state playoffs as the Middletown Mustangs, freshly crowned North Coast Section Division 7 champions following a 37-23 win over Piedmont on Friday night in Napa, prepare to host Northern Section champion Redding Christian in the NorCal Division 7-AA championship game.
That NorCal title game takes place this coming Friday at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown at 7:30 p.m. While Clear Lake had to play on the road in 2022 against Orland in the NorCal championship game, Middletown (11-2) has the luxury of staying at home against an undefeated Redding Christian (13-0) squad that shut out Maxwell 26-0 to win its section title last week.
There are a lot of firsts in the making for the Mustangs, who can become the first Lake County football team to win a CIF State playoff game. If they accomplish that feat, they’ll have the opportunity to win a state championship the weekend of Dec. 12-13 in Southern California. No other county team, not in football or in any other sport, has accomplished that, so history could be unfolding before your very eyes in the coming days.
The Mustangs are hoping for nothing less than a packed Bill Foltmer Field on Middletown, with Mustangs and all other Middletown supporters from around the county and beyond welcome to join the party.
Here’s a look back at Week 14:
Statistics
Rushing – Trenton Griffith rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Middletown backfield mat Tyler Galamay added 138 yards and two TDs in a 37-23 victory over Piedmont in the North Coast Section Division 7 championship game. John Finney added 22 yards as the Mustangs finished with 308 yards of rushing offense.
Passing – Middletown senior quarterback Blake Costlow completed his first four passes and finished 5-for-6 overall for 53 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Piedmont. His first four completions gave the Mustangs first downs, and his final completion was a 7-yard touchdown that staked Middletown to a 30-17 lead.
Receiving – Middletown wide receiver Jon Hawkins caught three passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Hayden Xavier and John Finney had the other receptions.
Special teams
1-for-1 – Middletown attempted an extra-point kick, something the Mustangs have rarely done this season, and Jamisen Jackson booted it through the uprights for his team’s final point of the night. Middletown also converted its first three two-point conversions against Piedont.
Big return – After Piedmont kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut Middletown’s lead to 24-17, Trenton Griffith returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards. A 15-yard facemask penalty against Piedmont on the return pushed the ball to the Piedmont 31-yard line and set up a Middletown touchdown.
Defense
Turn out the lights – Middletown had just taken a 30-17 lead when Jamisen Jackson picked off a pass on Piedmont’s very next play. The interception led to a 20-yard touchdown run by Trenton Griffith that sealed Middletown’s victory and section championship.
Turnover on downs – Piedmont went for a fourth-and-six from the Middletown 41-yard line on the first play of the second quarter, and the Mustangs sacked quarterback Jimmy Lagios for a 4-yard loss. After taking over on downs at their own 45, Middletown scored five plays and a Piedmont facemask penalty later to go up 16-0.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – Middletown takes a seven-game winning streak into its NorCal championship game with Redding Christian this coming Friday. Additionally, Middletown is 7-0 at home this season.
One for the thumb – Middletown’s section victory was the fifth for the school in football. The others came in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2018. The Mustangs are now 5-3 in section championship games (the losses came in 1991, 2010 and 2017).
Bad news for the NCL I – Middletown’s starting offensive line features four sophomores and a junior.
1,000 and 1,000 – Tyler Galamay has 1,268 rushing yards this season while Trenton Griffith has 1,111.
Remember Middletown moms – Breathe between plays.
Egad! – Redding Christian quarterback Wyatt Shaw has completed 188 of 242 passes (78 percent) for 2,887 yards with 52 touchdowns and five interceptions. Junior running back Levi Putnam has rushed for 1,344 yards and 16 TDs. The Shasta Cascade League champions have outscored the competition 583-86 this season.
First one – Middletown first-year head coach Kurtis Woodard is the first Lake County football coach to win a section title in his first season. Whatever else he and the Mustangs win this season also will be firsts.
Where was the soup? – Vince D’Adamo, now a freelancer for the Napa Register but at one-point the top sports guy at the St. Helena Star, walked the sidelines with me Friday night during the Piedmont game. As things turn out, Vince lives a long Blake Costlow completion away from Justin-Siena High School in Napa, which is where Friday’s section championship game took place. Vince and I heard there was going to be free soup for the elderly at the game. Never got it. Actually, Vince is still pretty young. You have to be to haul water bottles around for a living.
Playing in December – This is only the third time in my 41 years of covering Lake County sports that a football team has played into the month of December. Clear Lake lost to Orland in the NorCal championship game Dec. 3, 2022, while Middletown’s section victory over Salesian in 2018 took place on Dec. 8. This year’s Mustangs have the opportunity to take me a little bit further.
Red hot to icy cold – Those hot August practice afternoons for Middletown now a thing of the past. That’s when you know your season is a big success.
Props to Piedmont – The Highlanders fought hard against Middletown, but the Mustangs just had too much for them.
Those complaints have dried up – People complaining to be through email about Middletown football getting too much love. Wonder why?
All-County football team – Lake County Sports will release the All-County football team later this month. The team includes MVPs on offense and defense as well as a Coach of the Year. It won’t be hard picking that last one.
Banner day – Lake County Sports had more views, likes and every other metric used to measure website activity on the Friday overnight into Saturday after Middletown’s win over Piedmont in the section championship game. Almost twice as much as its next best day. The website has only been active since late August of 2023, so it’s still relatively young, but we are on the threshold of 8,000 followers, which is about four times as many subscriptions as my old job has right now.
Remember, it’s just a hobby – That’s what my wife keeps telling me now that I’m retired.
Dynasty in the making? – Considering what the Mustangs have coming back next season and what’s coming up, Middletown appears to be in pretty good shape moving forward.
All-County volleyball – The All-County volleyball team will be released early next week. Fourteen players will be honored. Congrats to all.
When seasons collide – Middletown football has extended the fall sports season into the start of the winter sports basketball tournament season, which begins in earnest Thursday. Middletown varsity boys basketball won’t have a handful of its players Tuesday night at home against Maria Carrillo, its season opener, or for the St. Helena Tournament later in the week. And don’t look now, but the Mustangs’ league opener is Dec. 9 at Cloverdale.
Finally … — Good luck Mustangs on Friday against Redding Christian.
