MIDDLETOWN >> The Middletown Mustangs can finally add the Ferndale Wildcats to the list of teams they’ve beaten in the postseason.
Middletown and head coach Bill Foltmer checked that box off their list Friday night with a convincing 34-6 victory in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field. Next up for the Mustangs is a semifinal-round home game on Friday, Nov. 24 against the winner of the Kelseyville-Willits contest that takes place Saturday night in Kelseyville. If Kelseyville is that opponent, it will mark the second year in a row those two teams have collided in the playoffs. The Knights upset the Mustangs 14-12 in last year’s quarterfinal round, a game that also took place in Middletown.
“Kelseyville is a good football team,” Foltmer said. “If we end up playing them I’m sure it’s going to be a great game.”
The Mustangs (9-1) will take a nine-game winning streak into next week’s semifinals. They haven’t lost since dropping a 13-7 decision to Hercules in their season opener way back on Sept. 1 in Middletown (a night where the mercury was in triple digits at kickoff).
Middletown certainly owed the Wildcats (5-7) a beating in the playoffs after losing to them in postseason action in 2000, 2004 and 2005, all three times on the road.
“They’ve got some big guys in there and they played us tough,” Foltmer said with an eye toward a 13-0 first half during which both teams squandered pretty good scoring opportunities, largely because of five turnovers – three by the Wildcats and two by the Mustangs.
Ferndale’s most impressive drive was its first of the game after forcing a three-and-out by the Mustangs. The Wildcats were pounding the ball down the field behind a running game that featured a healthy dose of senior running back Wyatt Coppini and junior running back Hunter Barnes. Ferndale moved from its own 36 to the Middletown 10-yard line before coughing up the football on a third-and-four play as middle linebacker Dillon Tingle pounced on a fumble.
Two plays before the first turnover of the game Foltmer burned a timeout to calm down his defense, which was giving up huge chunks of yardage on Coppini’s and Barnes’ runs.
“I told them that we needed to crash down on Coppini, come down on anything inside the tackles to stop him,” Foltmer said. “If they went outside, it was up to our outside linebackers to stop that. But we needed to stop Coppini.”
Middletown’s second possession introduced the Mustang passing game to the Ferndale defense as senior quarterback Luke Holt went to work. His second pass of the game hit wide receiver Trey O’Neill in stride, and O’Neill turned a nice gain into a huge one as he worked his way all the way over to the Ferndale sideline and then cut back across the width of the field to the Middletown sideline where he was finally dragged down from behind, but not before gaining 61 yards to the Ferndale 17.
The drive almost stalled a few plays later but a nine-yard gain by speedy running back Nico Barrio on a fourth-and-three play set up a first-and-goal from the Ferndale 1 where Nash Field burst into the end zone to give Middletown a 6-0 lead.
Middletown got the ball back two plays into the next Ferndale possession on another lost fumble, but the Mustangs couldn’t capitalize despite great field position at the Wildcats’ 36-yard line. Holt was intercepted while trying to hook up with a receiver near the goal line and Ferndale took over at its own 2.
While the Wildcats were able to move the punch ball out to midfield, they turned the ball over for a third straight possession, this time on their first pass attempt of the game as quarterback Landon Gomes threw the ball directly in the arms of Field at the Middletown 45.
The Mustangs had a 13-0 lead five running plays later as Barrio scored on a nine-yard run that was set up the previous play on a beautifully executed bootleg by Holt, who gained 24 yards.
Both teams had an opportunity to score on their final possession of the first half only to come away empty. Middletown’s defense forced a three-and-out following Barrio’s touchdown, but the Mustangs muffed the punt and Ferndale got a new set of downs at the Middletown 33. The Mustangs then came up with a big fourth-down stop, holding Coppini to no gain on a fourth-and-two play from the 25.
Middletown took over with 2:25 remaining but had only one timeout left. Working the ball down the field in hurry-up fashion, Holt completed five passes and he also scrambled 15 yards for a first down to the Ferndale 2-yard line. Field gained one yard on the next play but with no timeouts remaining and the clock winding down under 10 seconds the Mustangs rushed to the line of scrimmage where Holt spiked the ball to stop the clock with one second remaining.
Facing a third-and-goal, the Mustangs tried the bootleg again but Holt and Field collided in the backfield, disrupting the flow of the play, and Holt was grabbed by his facemask and tackled as time expired. The penalty against Ferndale led to one more untimed play but Barrio was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, ending the half.
Did Foltmer consider going for a field goal on that final play of the half given that the kick would have been shorter than an extra-point try?
“Nope, it didn’t enter my mind,” Foltmer said. “We had one yard to go. I’m running the ball. That’s Middletown football.”
However, Foltmer did say as he was leaving the sideline at halftime, “I hope that one doesn’t come back to bite me.”
It didn’t.
Ferndale’s offense was held in check in the second half until the final minutes of the game when it scored on a 23-yard pass from Gomes to wide receiver Jackson Wagner. Middletown already had a 34-0 lead by that point, so the late score amounted to little more than window dressing.
Middletown wasted no time scoring in the third quarter as Holt connected with tight end Devin Ross on a 57-yard touchdown just three plays into the Mustangs’ first possession of the second half. Holt finished with 211 yards on 11-of-17 passing, his second straight 200-yard-plus effort, and the second game in a row the Mustangs have amassed more yards in the air than on the ground (159).
“Teams are always packing the box to stop us,” Foltmer said. “We’ve had a good passing game all year, but we’ve been a bit off some games. I’ve always thought Luke was a capable quarterback.”
Middletown pushed its lead to 27-0 on a Field 1-yard run just 29 seconds into the fourth quarter and to 34-0 on a Jacob Kelly 17-yard run with 6:24 remaining (Kelly is an offensive lineman who wears No. 54).
Barrio led the Mustangs on the ground with 82 yards and O’Neill had a big night with six catches for 124 yards, something that didn’t escape Foltmer’s attention.
“He’s gotten better as the season has gone on,” Foltmer said. “He’s running better routes and catching everything thrown to him.”
Foltmer saved his biggest praise for Middletown’s offensive and defensive linemen, which created the holes for the running backs and gave Holt plenty of time to throw the ball, and also plugged those same holes when Ferndale had the ball.
“They are the heart and soul of this team,” Foltmer said of such veterans as seniors Ross, Colton Hall and Cameron Ketchum, “They are one tough group.”
Game notes: The victory was the 270th of Foltmer’s career, including his 251st at Middletown … The Mustangs outgained the Wildcats 380-213 overall, but just 159-157 on the ground … Coppini, a workhorse for Ferndale all year, finished with 91 yards on 30 carries … While the two teams combined for five turnovers in the first half on a somewhat slippery Middletown field, there were no turnovers in the second half … Middletown’s Hall had the only sack of the game.