St. Helena leaves it all out on the field during 22-21 at Bill Foltmer Field
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKE COUNTY >> It’s fourth-and-game from your opponent’s 35-yard-line and you’re trailing 22-15 late in the fourth quarter. What do you do?
Run the hook-and-lateral, of course. St. Helena pulled it off, not only picking up the first down but scoring a touchdown as Julian Earls shed a couple of would-be tacklers down the Middletown sideline on his way to the end zone.
“Genius,” Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard said of the play call.
And that was just part of the drama. Would the Saints go for one point and the tie or try for the lead with a two-point conversion? St. Helena opted to try an extra-point kick that defensive lineman Emmitt Lloyd blocked to save a dramatic 22-21 victory on homecoming Friday at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown. The game also was the North Central League I South opener for both teams.
That’s a lot of drama in a short period, but the entire game was suspenseful and well played by both teams. The same St. Helena team that lost 41-35 to Willits in overtime, a Willits team Middletown manhandled 42-0, held a 15-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Middletown pushed back in front on a Tyler Galamay run. On the ensuing extra-point, kicker Jamisen Jackson took the direct snap from center and passed to Esteban Muniz for the two-point conversion and a 22-15 lead. That play, like so many before it and after it, would be crucial to the final outcome.
It was the most exciting game played by a Lake County team since Clear Lake’s 56-55 win over St. Vincent in the 2022 North Coast Section championship game.
The Mustangs had only four offensive possessions – throwing out a pair of Middletown kneel-downs after getting the ball back following St. Helena’s failed onside kick after the extra-point block. They scored on three. St. Helena held the ball five times and scored three touchdowns. There was a grand total of one punt.
If you missed this one, you missed something. It’s the best example possible that football isn’t played on paper, but on the field, and matchups and coaching matter a bunch. It was a chess game with adjustments and counter-adjustments to the very end.
Following are other highlights and lowlights from Week 6:
Statistics
Rushing – Tyler Galamay of Middletown finished with 113 yards and a touchdown against St. Helena. Backfield mate Johnny Finney added 73 yards on nine carries. Jacob Weldon had 67 yards on 10 carries for Upper Lake in a 20-12 loss at Willits.
Passing – Upper Lake’s Corbyn Woolley completed 10 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.
Receiving – Antario Wyman’s five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown led Upper Lake. Middletown’s Johnny Finney caught two passes for 44 yards against St. Helena. Gage Faalelea had two catches for 55 yards for Upper Lake.
Special teams
PAT block for the win – Emmitt Lloyd’s block of George Filippini’s extra-point kick preserved Middletown’s 22-21 win over St. Helena.
2-for-2 (or 3-for-3) – Middletown’s Jamisen Jackson made both of his extra-point kicks before throwing a conversion pass following the Mustangs’ final touchdown.
Defense
Defenseless receiver – Middletown’s defense appeared to force a turnover on downs during St. Helena’s final touchdown drive as a pass over the middle from Daniel Gonzalez was broken up on a fourth-and-nine play. However, Middletown defensive back Tyler Galamay was penalized 15 yards for hitting a defenseless receiver, and the drive continued. The flag came out a bit late, which irritated the Middletown sideline, not to mention the Middletown fans, even more.
Making them work – While there were a handful of big-yardages plays in the Middletown-St. Helena game, both defenses made the other team work for its points.
Miscellaneous
Streaks – Middletown has won five in a row and Upper Lake has dropped five in a row. Lower Lake has lost three straight.
6-for-6 – St. Helena went for it on fourth down six times and converted all six either by run, pass or penalty.
A day’s work – Middletown quarterback Jamisen Jackson rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown, completed two of three passes for 44 yards, kicked two extra pointsm had a two-point conversion pass, and was in on five tackles on defense.
Fourth-quarter blues – The fourth quarter hasn’t been kind to Kelseyville this season and a 27-19 loss to Cloverdale on Friday in Kelseyville was more of the same as the Eagles outscored the Knights 13-0 down the stretch. In fact, Cloverdale scored 20 unanswered points after falling behind 19-7 in the third quarter.
That’ll leave a mark – Lower Lake dropped a 49-0 decision to Stuart Hall in the North Central League I South opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon in San Francisco.
JV teams – Middletown improved to 5-0 with a 43-6 rout of St. Helena. Upper Lake and Clear Lake are both 4-1-1 after winning this past weekend. The Cougars shut out Willits 38-0 while the Cardinals blanked Lower Lake 8-0.
Having fun – Cloverdale (5-1) has won as many games this season as it did the last three years combined. The Eagles’ final four regular-season contests are all NCL I South games, beginning with a trip to Lower Lake (1-4) this coming Friday. They are home Oct. 23 (St. Helena) and Oct. 30 (Middletown) before finishing up on the road Saturday, Nov. 7 at Stuart Hall. Junior quarterback Evan Robledo has 780 yards passing and 10 touchdowns along with 368 yards rushing and two TDs.
Homecoming – The running of the horses is a Middletown homecoming tradition and easily sets it apart from homecoming festivities at the county’s other schools. One of the best Middletown homecomings? The Mustangs delivered the game ball to midfield by skydiver. Top that.
Week 7 games – Under the lights Friday, Stuart Hall visits Middletown (NCL I South), Cloverdale calls on Lower Lake (NCL I South), and Upper Lake hosts Kelseyville (NCL I North).
NCL I volleyball – The NCL I North volleyball race between Kelseyville (6-0), Fort Bragg (5-1) and Upper Lake (4-2) enters a pivotal week as Fort Bragg hosts Upper Lake on Tuesday and Kelseyville on Thursday.
NCL I girls soccer – Kelseyville (9-0 league, 15-1-1 overall) can consolidate its hold on the league lead this week with wins against Upper Lake (home) and Willits (away). The Knights enter the week with a 1 ½-game lead over Lower Lake (7-1-1) in the standings, both teams with five games remaining.
Keep those things coming – Lake County Sports appreciates all the videos and photographs submitted by parents and other contributors. A big thank you to Ed Oswalt for his great Middletown-St. Helena varsity football photos and Jessica Peterson for her game videos this past weekend.
Parental advisory – All caps doesn’t make me sit up and take notice. It makes me quickly delete.
Kicking some butt – The Mendocino College women’s volleyball team, loaded with Lake County talent, is off to a 3-0 start in Bay Valley Conference play. The Eagles host Solano on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Go out and give them your support.
What do coaches and sports writers have in common? – Someone else can always do the job better.
GoPro – Middletown’s Tyler Galamay needs to wear a GoPro camera during games. The footage would be incredible.
Closing in on record – The aforementioned Tyler Galamay, who has been playing varsity football since his freshman year, is closing in on Middletown’s record for career rushing yards … and he’s only a junior.
PHOTO: By Ed Oswalt.