Mustangs roll past Piner 33-14

Galamay, Griffith rush for more than 100 yards in opener

By Brian Sumpter

MIDDLETOWN >> Coaching his final season opener for the Middletown Mustangs, 40-year head coach Bill Foltmer took great delight in watching the initial step in the inevitable changing of the guard.

Freshman Tyler Galamay, playing his first high school game, rushed for 135 yards on 12 carries, including a touchdown on his second carry of the night, as the Mustangs jumped out to the early lead and never looked back against the Piner Prospectors, winning 33-14 at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown on Friday.

While the 2024 Mustangs are a mix of veterans and youngsters – including two starting freshmen of which Galamay is one – and while the team certainly has some holes that need addressing after their week-one victory, something Foltmer was quick to point out following the game, it was nonetheless a solid start to their season and to the career of Galamay, a small but speedy back who dominated in youth football for the Middletown Colts.

“I wasn’t expecting 33 points,” Foltmer said following the game, especially in light of a 15-14 loss to Piner a year ago in the Mustangs’ season opener. “Piner is a much bigger school, but we had some kids really stand out.”

One of them was Galamay, who gained 26 yards his first carry of the night and the first of his high school career. He scored on a 3-yard run the very next play to give the Mustangs (1-0) a 13-0 lead.

Another standout to be sure was junior Jon Hawkins, who starts on offense and defense while also handling all kicking duties for the Mustangs on special teams. Hawkins’ impact on the game, and the outcome, was immediate as he stepped in front of a Soso Prak pass early in the first quarter, as Piner was driving on its initial series of the game and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to put the Mustangs up 7-0, with Hawkins adding the extra point.

Piner was driving for another score only minutes later when Prak, a speedy and elusive runner who caused the Middletown defense much distress all night, scrambled inside the 5-yard line where he fumbled the ball, which rolled toward and took a nice hop right into the arms of Hayden Xavier, who didn’t break stride while returning it to the Middletown 20.

Middletown’s first possession on offense didn’t last long as running backs Hawkins, Trenton Griffith, another small back with great speed, and Galamay reeled off gains of 38, 13 and 26 yards, respectively. Galamay’s 3-yard touchdown run capped the drive to make it 13-0.

Prak had the Prospectors on the move yet again late in the first quarter, but again couldn’t find the end zone after pushing the ball to the Middletown 15. A run for no gain and two straight incompletions brought up fourth-and-10, and a screen pass from Prak to Jayden Hernandez, one that looked like it might gain the necessary yardage at the start, ended up picking up just five yards as the Mustangs took over on downs.

Middletown covered the 90 yards to the end zone in 11 plays, using a combination of runs by Griffith and Galamay and the first two completions this year by junior quarterback Blake Costlow, including a key 33-yard strike to tight end Jacob Pullman. Griffith’s 5-yard touchdown run included carrying a Piner defender along with him the final four yards. Middletown used a bit of trickery on the extra point, faking the kick as Costlow passed to Griffith for the two points and a 21-0 lead.

While the Mustangs had managed to keep Piner off the scoreboard to this point, their athletically gifted quarterback Prak couldn’t be denied forever, and he led the Prospectors on a 68-yard drive in the final minutes of the half, capping it with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 36.8 seconds to go. Prak accounted for nearly every yard of the drive, going 3-for-4 through the air for 40 yards and running for another 24, including a 17-yard scramble on a third-and-11 play where he broke containment and worked his way free down the sideline.

“Eleven (Prak’s number) is a great athlete,” Foltmer said. “Those teams (with mobile quarterbacks) are the toughest to defense because you can do everything right and then they just break free and break down your defense. I appreciate good talent even when it’s not my own.”

Prak finished the game 18-for-28 passing for 212 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 71 yards. In the process, he completed a handful of passing under incredible duress, throwing off his front foot, his back foot, on the run, including a couple of jump passes, and even while backpedaling trying to avoid the Middletown pass rush, which only got to him twice.

If the late first-half score gave the Prospectors a spark of life as they cut Middletown’s lead to 21-8 following Prak’s conversion run, the momentum didn’t carry over into the second half. And the Mustangs can thank their offense for that.

“One of the keys to the game,” Foltmer said of the 15-play, 83-yard scoring drive the Mustangs went on after taking the second-half kickoff. It was a classic Middletown type of possession, one that Foltmer has witnessed countless times the last four decades, as the Mustangs chewed up nearly seven minutes on the clock while marching down the field. While Middletown tried to mix in a few passes, 78 of the 83 yards came on runs, the only five that didn’t were courtesy of a costly offsides penalty by the Prospectors on a third-and-five play with Middletown still pinned deep in its own territory. The result of the penalty was a first down and the Mustangs didn’t look back. Griffith carried six times for 38 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run on a third-and-three play, and Galamay added 38 yards on five carries.

Ahead 27-8 going to the fourth quarter, Middletown put the game away with 8:19 left as Costlow connected with Hawkins on a 28-yard touchdown pass down the Piner sideline.

Piner scored on a 30-yard Prak touchdown pass with 6:48 remaining, a ball that eluded the grasp of Middletown defensive back Xavier, deflecting off his hands and into those of the Piner receiver right behind him.

Foltmer had nothing but praise for his offense following the game – the Mustangs had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Galamay (12 carries for 135 yards, TD) and Griffith (15 carries for 113 yards, 2 TDs) and move than 300 yards rushing overall – while Costlow finished 3-for-7 for 63 yards that didn’t include a long completion to Hawkins, who appeared to come down with a deep ball on a third-and-long pass early in the second quarter only to have it waved off as incomplete. Fortunately for the Mustangs, a pass interference penalty on the play gave Middletown a key first down and they went on to score to open up a 21-0 lead.

“I thought we played pretty well offensively, but the defense still has a long ways to go,” said Foltmer, who added that the team’s special teams also didn’t fare well (the kickoff coverage was spotty and the Mustangs were only 1-for-4 on extra-point kicks).

While lauding the efforts of Galamay, Griffith, Hawkins, Costlow, Pullman and a patchwork offensive line, he said he couldn’t help but be impressed with freshman Galamay in his first high school game.

“He is a freshman, but he’s not going to play like a freshman,” Foltmer said.

“I thought Hawkins and Pullman did a good job and Blake managed the offense well,” Foltmer added.

The win was the 310^th of Foltmer’s career and his 291^st as Middletown’s head coach (1985 to present).

Middletown hits the road next Friday to play Piedmont (0-1), a 46-14 loser to Salesian in its season debut. The Mustangs have a bye on Sept. 13 before opening league play Sept. 20 at home against Kelseyville (1-0).

Notes: It was a successful Friday night for Lake County teams as Kelseyville and Lower Lake also won, both on the road. Kelseyville worked over McKinleyville 50-18 while Lower Lake snapped a late 22-22 tie to upend Esparto 30-22. Upper Lake is in action Saturday night against Terra Linda in San Rafael. Clear Lake has a bye this weekend and opens its season next Friday in Arbuckle against Pierce (1-0) … Lake County Sports on Facebook now has a new companion website, briansumptersports.com beginning Saturday. Along with featuring many of the stories you will read on Lake County Sports, it includes a directory of pages covering all sorts of topics. Hope you enjoy.