Middletown is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Berlin is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Blue Dragons will host the Redcoats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Middletown will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up 12 points last Friday, then bounced right back against Farmington on Friday. The Blue Dragons put the hurt on the River Hawks with a sharp 32-7 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Blue Dragons just coasted through the last quarter.
The critical scores for Middletown came from Kairese Monroe, Da'Zhor Duggins, Cornelius Moore, and Tariku Zipf.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Middletown proved: they limited Farmington to a paltry 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Monroe for the heroic effort on defense: he. Middletown didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.9.
Middletown's defense didn't let Mason Kiniry, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Juel ocasio, Zion Smallman, and Ali DemirhAn, who each picked up one sack apiece. Middletown received some extra help from Zipf, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Berlin against Edwin O. Smith on Friday as the squad secured a 49-7 victory. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-0.
Berlin found their leader in sophomore Nick Balicki, who rushed for 129 yards and a pair of scores on only seven carries. Those 129 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Balicki. The team also got some help courtesy of Cody Puzio, who threw for 152 yards and two TDs.
Berlin's win bumped their record up to 9-0. As for Middletown, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Middletown has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 174.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Berlin struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 231 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Middletown was taken down by Berlin 46-15 in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Puzio, who rushed for 40 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also threw for 127 yards and one TD on only eight passes. Now that the Blue Dragons know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
