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But as exhilarating a win as it was for Berlin, things looked very different from the other side of the field.
"This game was a huge disappointment for all of us involved," said Middletown High coach Eric Marszalek. "Our kids worked very hard, both physically and mentally, and not to win is very disappointing."
The turning point of the extraordinarily even match came in on the first series of the third quarter. With Berlin leading 14-12, Middletown (6-3) received the opening kickoff. On first down, Korey Speller (31 carries, 174 yards) gained four yards.
But Middletown, which had moved the ball on the ground effectively with Speller all day, departed from what it had been doing and threw two long passes, both of which fell incomplete. Speller then hit a poor punt, a kick that traveled only 15 yards, giving Berlin terrific field position at the MHS 35.
Berlin didn’t waste the opportunity.
The Redcoats drove the required 35 yards in eight plays -- including converting a fourth and one at the 26-yard line -- with Bryan Hackett scoring on a five-yard run with 7:57 left in the third. With the two-point conversion pass to Chris Schroder from Jim Connelly, Berlin made it a two-score game.
That was one score too much for Middletown.
"That punt was a very big play," said Marszalek. "As much as anything, that was a key play."
The Blue Dragons did get a late touchdown on a 37-yard pass from Speller to Mike Bradley with nine seconds left. But the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Berlin and the game was over.
The statistics were as close as the final score. Berlin had 315 yards offense; MHS had 313. Berlin had 172 yards on the ground; MHS had 178. Berlin had 143 yards passing; MHS had 135.
The game turned on the opening drive of the third quarter plus, according to Marszalek, Middletown’s inability to defend plays it had practiced against.
"We didn’t execute well on either offense or defense," said Marszalek. "They did things on offense we prepared for -- the reverse, the halfback option pass -- but we didn’t defend those things well."
The Redcoats used the halfback option pass just once, but it was a killer.
With Berlin leading 8-6 in the second quarter, Berlin went to the halfback option on third and four at the Middletown 41-yard line and it caught the Blue Dragons flatfooted. Running back Tom Liberda hit a wide-open Schroder for a 32-yard gain to the nine yard line. Two plays later Liberda scored from 10 yards out to give the Redcoats a 14-6 lead with just 2:50 left in the half.
Middletown zipped down the field, driving 95 yards in five plays to draw within two points on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Speller to Andre Privott, but Marszalek knew the halfback option was a killing play.
"That halfback option is a standard part of their offense, but we didn’t pick it up. We didn’t take advantage of what their defense gave us, either," said Marszalek. "Their secondary gave us routes, but we either didn’t see what they gave us, or we didn’t run our routes right."
Middletown was just 7-for-18 throwing the ball. Included in the misfires was an egregious drop of a pass by Ronnie Brown on what would have been a big gainer late in the third quarter, a drop that was part of a drive that ended without a score.
Berlin didn’t contain Speller, but did a good job of taking wide receiver Bradley out of the game until late.
"We knew we had to control Speller and Bradley," said Capodice. "I thought we did a good job on Bradley."
Capodice thought Berlin did a decent job controlling the ball in the second half, something he thought his team hadn’t done very well in the first half.
"We made some adjustments at halftime," said Capodice. "We had to slow them down and we challenged the offensive line to take control in the second half and I think they did."
Berlin shut out the Dragons in the second half until there was just nine seconds left, and that touchdown didn’t mean anything.
The Redcoats (7-2) got on the board first when Connelly hit Schroder on a 57-yard catch-and-run at 8:19 of the first quarter. The two-point conversion pass from Connelly to Liberda made it 8-0.
Middletown answered with a 13-play, 71-yard drive capped by Speller’s eight-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 1:49 left in the first quarter. In what turned out to be a key play, Todd Hettrich’s kick was blocked.
Berlin took a 14-6 lead on the aforementioned 10-yard run by Liberda, which was answered by Speller’s 30-yard TD pass to Privott. But in another huge play, the conversion run by Speller was stopped at the one-yard line.
The five-yard TD by Hackett in the third turned out to be the game-wrapper. Liberda had 121 yards in 21 carries.
"Liberda is a warrior," said Capodice. "He plays hard for four quarters. I’m just glad he plays for us. My quarterback, Connelly (8-16, 111 yards), is just a sophomore and he’s only going to get better."
Middletown ends its season against Xavier on Andrus Field at Wesleyan University on Thanksgiving at 10 a.m.
