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The Dragons (3-1, 3-1 Nutmeg) had a second-and-1 on their own 48 when Jordan took the snap and moved to his right. But the Rocky Hill line blew out of the blocks and surrounded him. He got the ball to his fleet halfback and all that lay between Moran (26 carries, 166 yards, 3 TDs) and the end zone was wet grass.
"I saw daylight," Moran said. "There was one man to beat. I cut it inside, he went inside, I took it outside. Touchdown."
Middletown coach Eric Marzalek was all smiles after absorbing the dejection of last week's stunning loss to St. Paul/Goodwin Tech.
"With (Jordan) being as talented as he is, we tell him to hold it as long as he can," the first-year coach said. "He held it a little longer than we'd like him to but we try to take that option to the second level -- the level of the linebackers -- as often as we can."
The Dragons ran the play again on the two-point conversion try but the pitch glanced off Moran's hands. Middletown held the slimmest of leads and Hill (1-3, 1-3 Nutmeg) still had 6:33 to battle back.
On first-and-10 from their own 47, the Terriers coughed up their third fumble of the game. The Hill defense yielded one first down but got the ball back on its own 18 with 2:07 to go. Quarterback Eric Fritz tried desperately to get a pass in the hands of playmaker Jeff Courneen but the Dragons' defense was all over him.
Jordan and Christopher Collins turned in brilliant work in the secondary and the Terriers went four and out.
"We made too many mistakes," Rocky Hill coach Dave Coyne said. "The kids have nothing to hang their heads about because they played a great football game. We were going blow for blow with them."
For Rocky Hill, which led by two touchdowns in the first quarter, the victory would have been a landmark. The Terriers are only in their third season of varsity competition and first of playing a full-blown Nutmeg League schedule. A win over a program with Middletown's tradition would have sent a message.
"It would have been sweet. Real nice. But we just have to keep searching for that second win," Coyne said. "We've lost to three good football teams (Berlin, Farmington and Middletown) but when you lose to a good team it doesn't feel any better."
T.J. Green, who gained 121 yards on nine carries, raced 70 yards for Rocky Hill's second touchdown of the first quarter. He also scored in the second quarter on an 8-yard run. Brent Towle rambled 51 yards on the game's third play from scrimmage to give Hill a 6-0 lead.
Adam Todaro's 2-yard run with 2:33 to go in the third quarter gave the Terriers a 25-20 lead. He was also a key performer on defense, making several plays behind the line of scrimmage from his linebacker slot.
Lineman Chaz Rhinehart and Adam Szeps also turned in solid work on the defensive end.
