Foltmer enters 40th, final season at Middletown
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> The high school football season is here, and the Middletown Mustangs play the first game in the county Friday night when they host a Piner Prospectors squad from Santa Rosa that is looking for a big year in 2024.
It will be a rematch of the 2023 opener between the two teams, a 15-14 Piner victory.
“They return their two All-League receivers and have a couple of their key defensive players back,” said Middletown head coach Bill Foltmer, who enters his 40th and final season at the school. “We’ll have our hands full.”
Middletown, the defending North Central League I co-champion coming off an 8-3 record in 2023, lost several key players to graduation but has a starting lineup that, for the most part, should accord itself well, according to Foltmer.
“The starting group is OK if we stay healthy,” Foltmer said.
And that’s the biggest key for Middletown in 2024.
“We have no depth, none at all,” Foltmer said. “Any injury (at any position) weakens us very much.”
While the Mustangs return several key players, senior tight end/middle linebacker Jacob Pullman, junior quarterback Blake Costlow, junior two-way starter and special teams standout Jon Hawkins, and junior running back/defensive back Trenton Griffith among them, they will also be looking for major contributions from two starting freshmen – fullback/safety Tyler Galamay and tackle/defensive Wyatt Pullman (Jacob’s cousin) among them.
“Both of these kids will be good,” Foltmer said of his freshman.
Of his veterans, Foltmer said Hawkins “is one of the best athletes to come through his program” while Griffith, while not a big running back, “is quick, fast and elusive.”
Costlow is returning for his second year behind center. His improvement in the offseason has been dramatic, according to Foltmer.
“He’s come a long way since last season,” Foltmer said. “He looked good in passing league although he had to run for his life at times, something we’ll have to work on. He’s looked good in practice. He makes us more two dimensional than we’ve been. He’s got receivers to throw the ball to.”
Those receivers include Hawkins and newcomer Hayden Xavier as well as tight end Jacob Pullman, who moves from the offensive line a year ago to tight end this season.
“In our blocking scheme that’s a big position for us,” Foltmer said of tight end.
While the offensive line took hits from graduation, the Mustangs do return JJ Gertz, Nick Guerrero and Kelby Shook, all seniors. Two other positions will be manned by newcomers and remain a work in progress, according to Foltmer.
“Our line has to come along a little bit,” Foltmer said.
While Foltmer, who is stepping down at season’s end, is entering his final year on the sidelines for Middletown, he said Mustangs fans won’t see many if any changes in the way he goes about his business.
“Coaches are creatures of habit,” said Foltmer, who has won 290 games at Middletown and 309 during a career that began at Princeton High School in Colusa County back in the early 1980s. His first season at Middletown was in 1985. He is the Redwood Empire’s all-time wins leader and among the state’s top-10 winningest coaches.
Middletown tunes up for its preseason with non-league games against Piner on Friday and at Piedmont on Friday, Sept. 6. After a bye week on Sept. 13, the Mustangs return home for their league opener Sept. 20 against this year’s favorite, the Kelseyville Knights.
In other season openers this weekend:
In Friday openers, the Kelseyville Knights hit the road to play McKinleyville while Lower Lake travels to Esparto. On Saturday night, Upper Lake travels to San Rafael to take on Terra Linda. Clear Lake has a week-one bye and opens up Sept. 6 against Pierce High School in Arbuckle.
