|
|
(Tom) Canty. But we didn’t play as hard as we’re capable in the first half."
Was the halftime speech a bit of fire and brimstone?
"Well, we challenged our kids to play every down hard," said Marszalek. "And no matter how things turned out, I told them I could live with it as long as we played hard. In the second half, I thought we did."
Middletown won the game on three plays. An 80-yard run by Jashone Cunningham in the first quarter gave the Blue Dragons a 7-0 lead. A 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Martavis Isaac on the first play of the fourth quarter broke the tie. And the third was a 35-yard pass reception by Cunningham from quarterback Shamar Carr to the Avon 9-yard line that set up the final touchdown.
Other than that, the Middletown offense stumbled and its defense didn’t turn in a clipping on the refrigerator door performance either.
Avon (1-5) pushed the Middletown defense around in the first half, piling up 154 yards, 107 from running back Tom Canty. A Middletown fumble -- the Dragons gave it away three times, twice on fumbles and once on an interception -- by Cunningham late in the first half gave the Falcons the ball on the Avon 44.
The Falcons drove down the field and Canty stuck it in the end zone on a one-yard plunge with 34 seconds showing on the clock.
With Chris Prudomme’s kick, the game was tied 7-7 at the break.
Avon came out and after stopping Middletown, took over at its own nine-yard line and drove to the Middletown 15. But Avon shot itself in the foot when tight end Max Martinez fumbled a 10-yard pass that would have given the Falcons a first down.
"The game was a tale of two halves," said Avon coach Brett Quinion. "We came out with a lot of emotion and I thought we executed very well. We ran the ball well against them and I thought we passed effectively, too. But in the second half, Lord knows how many balls we dropped. That slant was open all day and that fumble killed us."
MHS drove from the Avon 15 to its own 27 following Martinez’ fumble. But on Avon’s first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Tony Casorio, under pressure, threw a popup into the middle of field that begged to be picked off. Isaac obliged at the 35 and ran it in to give Middletown a lead it didn’t give back.
A 24-yard punt to the 50 yard line set up the Blue Dragons’ final score. The big play in the drive was a 35-yard catch by Cunningham at the nine.
Three plays later Carr scored from the two.
Avon turned the ball over three times on interception, including one in the end zone by Adrian Clemons that killed the Falcons’ opening drive. Avon had 260 yards offense, most of that in the first half.
Middletown wound up with 316 yards offense, 236 on the ground and 80 in the air. Carr, after a poor first half, was 6-for-10 for 65 yards in the second half. Canty led all rushers with 146 yards in 23 carries and Cunningham led Middletown with 130 yards in 13 tries.
Middletown is at Northwest Catholic in West Hartford Saturday at 2 p.m.
