Consider it a rivalry renewed when Salesian and Middletown meet on Saturday night for the North Coast Section Division V title, even if the rivalry has been a bit one-sided over the years.
The two teams played every year from 2006-2016, and in three of those 11 years, double-dipped with an additional meeting in the playoffs. Other than a regular season meeting in 2008, the scoreboard has read in Salesian’s favor each time. Despite their recent dominance in the series, however, the Pride certainly will not overlook the Mustangs, and were not one bit surprised to see them standing as their opponent in the final game.
“It always seems that the teams left standing at this point are the ones with the top veteran coaches who have the experience of getting to these types of games,” said Salesian coach Chad Nightingale. “Good coaching is a common theme, and Middletown is no exception. Bill (Foltmer) has had a ton of success there, and we have a lot of respect for their program.”
Nightingale also referenced the fact that both teams have shed underdog labels to reach this stage. Middletown entered the post-season as the five seed, but beat North Central League opponents Fort Bragg and Kelseyville in the quarterfinals and semifinals after losing to each during the regular season. Meanwhile, Salesian was not expected to do much before the year, but shook off losses in three of their first four games by going 4-1 in the rugged TCAL-Rock, and maturing in the process.
“Both teams are scrappy, and fight to get better each week,” Nightingale said. “We were predicted to go winless in league, and a lot of people thought we would only one game overall this year. But we’ve gotten better and better, and here we are.”
Both teams have talent in the offensive backfield, with Salesian junior Ronald Robertson setting a new single-season record for the Pride with his 40 passing touchdowns so far this season. Kailan Chang is his top target in the passing game, but Salesian’s production in the run game is diverse. Last week, it was Josh Del Sol who carried the load, but Jaylen Williams is the team’s leading rusher for the year.
“We have had four guys carrying the load all year long, and we need to continue getting production from different players,” Nightingale added. “Defensively, we need to be able to slow down their power run game, which sets up their play-action passing game.”
Drake Harbison and Nico Barrio have both been effective for Middletown in the run game, while RH Hess has been accurate in the passing game for the Mustangs. Hess threw for both Middletown scores in last week’s 14-12 semifinal win over Kelseyville. Having played a regular season schedule which included teams such as Moreau Catholic, the Mustangs don’t figure to be overwhelmed with the title game match-up.
“That’s the reason we scheduled some of the teams we did, to get us ready for success at the end of the season and to be ready for that level of competition,” Foltmer said. “We’re familiar with Salesian, and we know that (Coach) Nightingale runs a great program over there. It should be a great game.”
The teams face off Saturday night at Alhambra-Martinez, at 7 pm. Middletown is seeking its first section title since 2001, when it won its third title in five years under Foltmer, also claiming the crown in 1997 and 1999. Salesian, meanwhile, is looking to snag its first championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014, which resulted in a move up to Division IV under the competitive equity by-laws. Now, the Pride are back in Division V and looking to resume their previous success.
