Stuart Hall scores touchdown, two-point conversion in final seconds to beat M’town
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
MIDDLETOWN >> What if?
There were plenty of what ifs to go around Friday night at Bill Foltmer Field where the Middletown Mustangs played a second straight down-to-the wire North Central League I South thriller, only this one didn’t go their way as the Stuart Hall Knights marched 65 yards in three minutes to edge the Mustangs 29-28.
Just like a 22-21 homecoming win over St. Helena a week earlier, this one came down to a conversion following the Knights’ late march to the end zone. Trailing 28-21, Stuart Hall (2-0 South, 6-1 overall), quarterback Napoleon Cabading connected with running back/receiver Titus Hughes on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left to cut Middletown’s lead to 28-27.
Both teams called timeouts before the Knights won it on a two-point conversion pass from Cabading to his favorite target, senior receiver Jake Oenning, who while guarded closely still pulled down a perfectly placed pass in the front corner of the end zone along the Middletown sideline.
“We had our chances to win and just needed to make one more play,” Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard said.
Middletown (1-1, 5-2) overcame early injuries to running back Tyler Galamay (hip flexor) and Colton Karp (hyperextended knee) to come within a couple of yards of beating the Knights, who are the newest member of the NCL I. Both Galamay and Karp came out of the game in the first quarter and did not return, leaving the Mustangs shorthanded on offense, defense and even special teams where Galamay is the holder for kicker Jamisen Jackson.
Despite the blow of losing their top offensive star to injury, the Mustangs rallied from a 21-14 deficit to take a 28-21 lead with 3:44 left in the game as Middletown moved 67 yards on 12 consecutive running plays, capped by a Johnny Finney 3-yard run.
And here’s where the biggest “What if?” of the evening comes in.
After running over the Stuart Hall defense on its march down the field, the Mustangs lined up for another run on the conversion, passing on an extra-point kick try.
“I didn’t go for two because of Galamay (not being able to hold for Jackson), I did it because I believe in that play,” Woodard said.
“It’s crazy,” Woodard said. “We move down the field and handled every snap and handoff cleanly, score a touchdown, then we fumble the ball (on the conversion).”
Just 2 ½ yards away from taking a nine-point lead and effectively ending the game, the ball came loose a moment after Jackson handed it off to Finney, and the play came up short, leaving the Knights with plenty of time and all of their timeouts to go back down the field and win it.
And that’s what happened.
Cabading engineered an all-pass drive that nearly ended on a fourth-and-seven play from the Middletown 31, but he found Oenning, a real pain in the Mustangs’ side all night, for 7 ½ yards and a first down.
“We knew it was going to No. 2 and didn’t cover it,” Woodard said.
The Knights scored on the never next play as Cabading found Hughes alone in the back corner of the end zone or the touchdown, his third score of the night.
Middletown did manage to move the ball into Stuart Hall territory with an 18-yard scramble to the Knights’ 47-yard-line, but with time running out and no timeouts left, nothing short of a miracle was going to save the Mustangs, and it wasn’t forthcoming on this night. Jackson threw two incomplete passes, one that was nearly picked off near the goal line and then was sacked on the final play of the game as he scrambled to avoid the Stuart Hall pass rush.
While a tough loss, especially given the loss of Galamay, who opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, Woodard said he can live with it for one simple reason.
“Knowing everyone gave it their all tonight makes it a little easier,” Woodard said. “The ball didn’t bounce our way that one time (on the conversion).”
There were a couple of other significant “What if?” moments that figured prominently in the outcome, such as:
— What if Middletown had been able to score right before halftime, already leading 14-7? The Mustangs had the ball at the Stuart Hall 3-yard-line with only seconds remaining and no timeouts left. They tried to stop the clock by spiking it at the line of scrimmage, which Jackson did, but Middletown was called for a false start on the play, and the clock started running as soon as the penalty pushed the ball back to the 8-yard-line, and the Mustangs didn’t get to the line quick enough to run a final play.
— What if Middletown’s defense had done a better job on third and fourth down, an area it has struggled with mightily the last two games? Stuart Hall went 6-for-11 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth downs, both of which were critical. Besides Cabading’s pass to Oenning that set up the Knights’ final touchdown, Stuart Hall also scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the Middletown 3 with 3:42 left in the third quarter, Cabading hitting Hughes, to break a 14-14 tie and make it 21-14 in the Knights’ favor.
— What if Galamay had been able to return? Woodard said the Mustangs will never know. “It’s small-school football and guys are gonna go down,” Woodard said.
There was absolutely no question about Middletown’s ability to stay fully engaged with the Knights and their high-powered passing attack even after Galamay’s injury. Once the Mustangs got over the shock, they relied on workhorse Finney (27 carries for 183 yards, two TDs) and backups such as fullback Ryan Halverson (seven carries for 39 yards, TD) and sophomore Hudson Kelley, up from the junior varsity team because Middletown’s JVs didn’t have a game Friday, to stay in the thick of it.
“Our running backs, Finney and Halverson, did an amazing job,” Woodard said. “And thank God for Hudson Kelley. He came in helped us at defensive back, tight end and wide receiver.”
While the game didn’t end the way the Mustangs wanted it to, it couldn’t have started much better. Stuart Hall won the coin flip, deferred and Middletown received the opening kickoff, which Galamay returned 52 yards. Only a touchdown-saving tackle by Oenning stopped Galamay from going all the way. Starting at the Stuart Hall 38. Galamay scored seven running plays later. When the Knights jumped offsides as Jackson was about to attempt an extra-point kick, Middletown went for two and Finney crashed into the end zone to make it 8-0.
The Mustangs got the ball right back when Jackson recovered his own unintentional onside kick at the Stuart Hall 45.
“No, that wasn’t supposed to be an onside kick,” Woodard laughed.
Galamay had a 1-yard gain on first down and limped off the field at that point. He came back for one play moments later before again heading off the field, and this time he didn’t return. Middletown ended up punting and pinning Stuart Hall deep in its own territory.
“He tried to go, but he couldn’t,” Woodard said.
Stuart Hall responded with an 85-yard scoring drive that was a mix of Cabading passes, three of them third-down completions that sustained the drive, and Dominic Gutierrez runs. Gutierrez ultimately capped the drive with a 1-yard run on third-and-goal. Oenning kicked the extra point to cut Middletown’s lead to 8-7
Middletown picked off Cabading midway through the second quarter – the game’s only turnover – and turned it into six points, marching 72 yards, all of them on the ground, with Halverson scoring on a third-and-two play from the 10-yard-line with 4:55 left in the first half.
Middletown went for two points, and Finney was originally credited with making it into the end zone on a second-effort lunge, but the officials huddled and waved it off, leaving the score at 14-7.
Stuart Hall scored on each of its two possessions in the third quarter to go up 21-14. Hughes ran it in from 20 yards out early in the quarter to pull the Knights into a 14-14 tie, and his 3-yard reception with 3:42 remaining gave Stuart Hall its first lead of the game.
Middletown regained the lead following a 30-yard kickoff return by Jackson, which set the Mustangs up with great field position at the Stuart Hall 35. Runs by Halverson and Finney pushed the ball to the half-yard line where Finney capped it off. Halverson added the conversion run to put Middletown up 22-21.
Cabading finished his night 16-for-24 or 186 yards and the two touchdowns to Hughes. Hughes had 49 yards on four receptions and 29 yards rushing and a TD. Oenning caught seven passes for 91 yards. Rodriguez carried the ball nine times for 34 yards and a TD.
Stuart Hall is now in the driver’s seat in the NCL I South race games remaining at St. Helena (0-1, 4-3) on Oct. 30 and home against Cloverdale (1-0, 6-1) on Nov. 7. Middletown has South games remaining against Lower Lake (away next Friday) and Cloverdale (away Oct. 30).
GAME NOTES: Middletown also was 5-2 with a league loss after its first seven games a year ago when it went on to win the North Coast Section Division 7 championship … The Mustangs weren’t considering a last-second field goal even if they had been in a position to kick one against Stuart Hall in the final seconds. Jackson certainly has the range, but without Galamay to hold, it complicates things. Woodard said there was no way they were going to risk Galamay aggravating his injury in that situation … St. Helena and Stuart Hall were a combined 8-for-8 on fourth-down tries against the Middletown defense the last two weeks … Both Galamay and Karp are considered day-to-day with their injuries, according to Woodard … With two of his top downfield targets out of action in the first quarter, Jackson went 0-for-4 passing.
