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"Running the opening kickoff back and following that up with the punt return set the tone for the game," said Middletown coach Eric Marszalek. "I was very pleased with how hard we played today. I and the other coaches are very proud of the effort we showed today."
Middletown, however, played two different halves. The Blue Dragons had a 20-9 lead at the half, despite RHAM’s running 33 plays from scrimmage to Middletown’s 11. Led by Ben Schadtle’s 119 yards on the ground in the opening half, the Sachems were very much in the game at intermission.
But the second half was another story. Middletown ran 34 plays in the second half to RHAM’s 22 and ran off to a 47-9 lead before the Sachems picked up two late, meaningless scores.
"We didn’t make any real adjustments at halftime," said Marszalek. "In the first half they converted a couple of thirds-and-long and we scored quickly, so that meant we didn’t control the ball very much. We did a better job of stopping them in the second half."
RHAM hurt itself in the second half, too, by turning the ball over four times, three times on fumbles and the other an interception by Ishmail James. RHAM had five turnovers on the day.
After a first half in which the visitors piled up 203 yards offense to Middletown’s 51, they managed to get only 40 yards in the second half until they picked up a bunch of yards in the last four minutes when MHS was playing the subs.
RHAM got back in the game in the first quarter when, down 13-0, Schadtle ran 39 yards for a touchdown with 4:23 left. But Speller, who had four touchdowns, answered with a 35-yard run of his own 29 seconds later to give MHS a 20-7 lead.
RHAM got two points on a safety when the snap to quarterback Antiwone Speller sailed over his head and through the end zone at the 9:12 mark of the second quarter.
Middletown put the game away in the third scoring twice. The Dragons recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and five plays later Speller scored on a four-yard run. Later in the quarter, Schadtle fumbled on Middletown’s nine-yard line, killing a RHAM scoring opportunity.
After the turnover, Middletown (4-1) drove 91 yards in eight plays with Speller scoring from two yards out. The big play in the drive was a 43-yard completion from Carr to Privott. Todd Hettrich added the point and Middletown was home free at 33-9.
The Dragons scored twice in the fourth, the first on a 40-yard pass from Carr to Privott with 7:54 to play and the next on a one-yard run by Devin Dukes. RHAM got a 55-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Ware to Kalil Lane with 3:24 left and another score with 47 seconds left on a pass from John Gonsalvez to Schadtle.
Middletown finished with 284 yards, 201 on the ground. Speller picked up 157 yards in 25 carries. RHAM wound up with 344 yards, 185 yards on the ground. Schadtle finished with 133 yards, just 14 in the second half.
Carr, who didn’t throw a pass in the first half, was 2-for-5 for 83 yards.
Middletown is home Saturday in its annual Homecoming game with Rocky Hill at 1:30 p.m. Both teams are 4-1.
