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Dhana Deleston ran for 194 yards and two touchdowns, Joe Hartigan added two more scores, and quarterback Dan Belli threw a TD pass to Bryan Williston for another.
"With as many skill players as they have -- Deleston, Williston, Hartigan -- that’s probably the best combination of skill players this league has seen since Berlin when Humphrey was a sophomore," Marszalek said.
Like any good coach, Baccaro didn’t want his team to take Middletown lightly.
"We knew they have great speed," he said. "Our plan was to keep them off the field. Keep the ball moving and score points, and we do a pretty good job of that. We knew (Shamar) Carr and (Jashone) Cunningham could score from any point on the field at any time, and if they did to not get down."
East Catholic (8-0) didn’t let that happen. It bottled up Cunningham (11 carries, 25 yards) and didn’t allow Carr to complete a pass with an effective defense.
On Middletown’s first play, Hartigan stepped in front of a Carr pass in the right flat and scampered 26 yards with the interception for a quick 7-0 lead.
Middletown tried to reverse the momentum with its second snap. Carr ran 77 yards from a shotgun formation, but he was stopped just short of a score by a tackle by Belli at the one yard line. On a third-and-goal play, tri-captain Akwan Shabazz made an interception to thwart the momentum reversal.
Four plays later Deleston went 72 yards down the left sideline to make it 13-0 and the rout was on.
Two plays do not make a game in a 40-0 rout, but the Hartigan pilfer and the Belli tackle set the tone for the day.
"I guess you could say those plays changed the game, but I like to think our guys are pretty good," Bacarro said. "I think we’ve got a real good group of athletes that are playing hard ..Our line handled things well, the backs ran hard and the defense shut them out. So as a coach you can’t ask anything more than that against a very good Middletown team."
East made it 21-0 just before the half ended when Deleston capped a seven-play, 41-yard drive with a one-yard plunge.
Middletown didn’t mount a challenge in the second half. In four possessions it not only didn’t make a first down, the net yardage was zero.
East added three scores before it was over, and didn’t make any friends with a 25-yard fake punt that set up its fifth touchdown and an onside kickoff recovery with 40-point lead.
Middletown hosts St. Paul next Saturday at 1:30.
