Middletown erases 7-6, 14-12 deficits to snap Cloverdale’s seven-game winning streak
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
CLOVERDALE >> The Cloverdale Eagles packed the box most of the night Friday in an attempt to frustrate Middletown High School and its high-powered rushing attack.
While the strategy was often successful, it wasn’t enough, largely because it’s hard to keep junior running back Tyler Galamay out of the end zone for long. Coming off a five-touchdown effort the week before against Lower Lake, Middletown’s all-time rushing touchdowns leader added three more to his total – Nos. 43, 44 and 45 – while leading the Mustangs to a hard-fought 26-12 victory that was a lot closer than that final score suggests Friday night in Cloverdale.
“I’m just so proud of these kids,” Middletown head coach Kurtis Woodard said of another back-and-forth South game, following on the heels of close games with St. Helena (22-21 win) and Stuart Hall (29-28 loss). “Our guys were gassed by the end of the game. They gave it everything they had.”
Galamay scored all four of Middletown’s touchdowns and all 26 of its points in a game that had the Mustangs’ rushing attack in all kinds of disorder in the first half even though Middletown took a 12-7 lead into halftime.
Cloverdale, a winner of seven straight entering play, led 7-6 until Galamay scored on a 31-yard catch-and-run with 37 seconds left in the first half, taking a short pass from quarterback Jamisen Jackson and turning it into a touchdown while managing to stay inbounds along the Cloverdale sideline. Galamay also scored the game’s first points, on a 3-yard run in the first quarter, and the Mustangs were on the verge of adding to that lead after recovering a fumble at the Cloverdale 30-yard-line.
That’s when something happened that even Galamay had a hard time explaining. Middletown (3-1 North, 7-2 overall) was facing a third-and-three from the Cloverdale 23 when Galamay broke through the line for an eight-yard gain and an apparent first down, but as he was being gang tackled by the Eagles (2-1, 7-2), free safety Vann Randolph ripped the ball out of Galamay’s hands and returned it all the way to the Cloverdale 48.
Even Galamay, a sure-handed ballcarrier, isn’t exactly sure what happened on the play.
“Man, I don’t know,” Galamay said. “I had a good hold of it, too. That’s only my third ever (lost) fumble in my life.”
Cloverdale parlayed that turnover into a touchdown early in the second quarter when quarterback Evan Robledo scrambled away from the Middletown pass rush and found teammate Jaxson Randolph for a 27-yard touchdown. Jorge Guerrero’s extra-point kick gave the Eagles their first lead of the night at 7-6.
Middletown’s next possession was the Mustangs’ night in a nutshell. Cloverdale jammed the line, limiting Galamay and Johnny Finney to four runs of three yards or less, but Jackson kept it alive by scrambling for 21 and then nine yards. Facing a first-and-10 from the Cloverdale 31, the Eagles dropped Galamay for no gain before sacking Jackson twice – for losses of four and 13 yards. Facing a fourth-and-27 from the 44, Middletown went for it. Jackson dropped back to pass but again tucked the ball under his arm and raced downfield, gaining 16 yards before the Eagles took over on downs.
The Middletown defense forced a quick punt, one that rolled all the way to the Mustangs’ 11-yard-line. With a little more than three minutes left in the half, Middletown moved the ball 89 yards in nine plays, overcoming two penalties and another sack, before Galamay scored on a pass from Jackson.
Key plays in the drive were 12- and 11-yard runs by Finney, a 17-yard pass to Luce Mace on a first-and-20 play, and another big scramble by Jackson, who rambled 16 yards.
“He had some great scrambles,” Woodard said of his senior quarterback. “When the season opened, we were hoping his legs would provide exactly what they gave us tonight.”
While Galamay ended up leading the Mustangs with 147 yards on 21 carries followed by Finney with 78 yards on 13 carries, Jackson added an important 61 yards on 10 carries.
After escaping the first half with a 12-7 lead, Middletown watched Cloverdale mount an impressive 14-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to open the second half, consuming 8:32 on the clock. The Middletown defense couldn’t stop Cloverdale’s passing game as Robledo frustrated them time and time again on third down, converting all four on the drive with completions of 18, 21, 10 and six yards, the final one on third-and-goal when he found a wide-open Kingston Cavallo in the end zone for the touchdown and a 14-12 Cloverdale lead following the extra-point kick.
“That quarterback (Robledo) is something, and he’s just a junior,” Woodard said.
Robledo frustrated Middletown with his arm and legs all night long. He was 13-for-27 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, and he added another 95 yards rushing. Fearless is the best description for the Cloverdale signal caller as he tried to hurdle a pair of Middletown defenders at one point, which he was penalized for after taking a hard spill to the turf, but bouncing right back up.
While Cloverdale’s drive put the Eagles back in front, Middletown quickly answered with an 80-yard drive that used up the final 3:28 of the third quarter and nearly the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Keeping the ball on the ground all 11 plays and taking advantage of two Cloverdale penalties amounting to 20 yards, the Mustangs moved back in front 20-14 on a Galamay 1-yard run followed by a Galamay conversion run.
The game then turned decisively in the Mustangs’ favor as Cloverdale fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Finney recovered at the Cloverdale 33. Middletown eventually scored to go up 26-12, but it was anything but easy, which is a good description of their night against the Eagles.
“The fumble on that kickoff return provided us with the momentum we needed,” Woodard said. “That was the key play of the game.”
Although Middletown committed back-to-back five-yard penalties and later a 15-yard penalty, bringing up a second-and-32 from its own 45, Galamay made things right by bursting through the line and slipping a tackle all the while angling toward the Middletown sideline. He turned up the field and simply accelerated away from the pursuit, going 55 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.
“We hadn’t seen a big one like that in a while and it came at the perfect time,” Woodard said.
Galamay’s long run up to that point had been 12 yards as the Eagles did a good job keeping him from breaking a big one, which he did with frequency a year ago while helping the Mustangs win a section championship.
Cloverdale had two more possessions to get back into the game, but the Middletown defense was all too willing to exchange yards for time off the clock, and both ended in turnovers on downs.
Woodard said the South battle was nothing new for the Mustangs given their earlier down-to-the-wire games with St. Helena and Stuart Hall, and just both of those encounters, there was plenty of adversity to be had against Cloverdale.
“We had great games against all three of those teams,” he added.
Middletown finishes up its regular-season schedule next Friday with a NCL I interlock game at Fort Bragg where the emphasis will be on preparing for another postseason run, according to Woodard.
NOTES: Middletown will be rooting for Cloverdale to beat Stuart Hall (3-0, 8-1) next Saturday in San Francisco in the South and regular-season finale for both teams. Stuart Hall mauled St. Helena 55-20 on Friday night in St. Helena, clinching no worse than a tie for the NCL I South title. If Cloverdale wins next week, Middletown, Stuart Hall and Cloverdale will all share the title … Galamay now has nine touchdowns – eight rushing, one receiving – in his last two games. That might not be a school record, but it’s probably not a good idea to beat against it. He’ll likely own most of the school’s rushing records before he graduates … Middletown’s JVs beat Cloverdale 29-0 earlier in the evening to win their third straight NCL I title. They haven’t lost a game since the 2023 season … Among the Cloverdale seniors honored Friday night on senior night was three-year varsity veteran Carson Brown, a fullback/middle linebacker. He’s as good as they come … Cloverdale hadn’t lost a game since falling 8-7 to McKinleyville way back in zero week on Aug. 29. Middletown’s two losses this season – to Pierce (6-3) on zero week and to Stuart Hall — have by a cumulative four points … Regardless of how Cloverdale fares next week against Stuart Hall, the Eagles will be returning to the North Coast Section playoffs for the first time since 2022.
