Middletown takes control of Delaware's Flight A

With sole possession of first place in the Blue Hen Flight A Conference on the line, the Middletown (Del.) Cavaliers jumped out to an early two-touchdown lead and held on late to defeat a pesky Concord High squad, 25-13, in a game that was even closer than the final score indicated.

With less than 30 seconds to play and trailing 19-13, Concord forced a Middletown punt and then lined up for a final desperation play with just seven seconds remaining. Junior quarterback J.J. Paige dropped back and sent a perfect spiral up the middle of the field for what appeared to be an attempt at a hook-and-ladder type play. But senior linebacker Aaron Clark made sure the pass never reached its intended target, intercepting the pass and scampering 24 yards into the end zone to set off the celebration at Bill Billings Stadium as the scoreboard clock hit zeroes.

"Aaron Clark is the heart of our team and did what we ask big players to do, come up big in a big game," Middletown coach Mark DelPercio said. "Friday night's win was a great team win for our program. The offense came up big when we needed to and the defense also played outstanding and responded when our backs were to the wall."

The pick-six was Clark's second defensive touchdown of the game. The senior captain also scooped up a fumble and ran 12 yards for a score with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter to put Middletown up 13-0.

Freshman wide receiver Chris Godwin opened the scoring for Middletown when he ran 18 yards around end for a touchdown at the 5:17 mark in the first quarter. Junior Jordan Griffin added a 15-yard rushing touchdown with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter to give the Cavs a 19-6 lead.

Concord scored on touchdown runs by Paige (5 yards) and junior C. J. Budd (2).

Middletown's (7-1, 5-0) remaining conference games are against A.I. du Pont (6-2, 3-2) and Brandywine (0-8, 0-5). Concord (6-2, 4-1) finishes its season against Delcastle (1-7, 1- 4 Flight A) and Glasgow (2-6, 1-4 Flight A).

2. Hanover handles Atlee, remains perfect: Hanover (Mechanicsville, Va.), ranked No. 8 in The Associated Press Group AAA state poll, defeated Atlee (Va.) 39-27.

Hanover (8-0, 4-0 Capital) scored less than three minutes into the game on a 2-yard run by Deane Cheatham, who set himself up for the score with a 29-yard reception from quarterback Sam Rogers and a 24-yard run.

Atlee responded on its next drive when Drew Ferguson connected with R.J. Price on a 30-yard touchdown to cap a five-play, 66-yard drive, and give Atlee its only lead of the game, 7-6.

Hanover scored the next 20 points thanks to Rogers, who completed touchdown passes to Tre Facison (31 yards) and Marze Brooks (18), with a 5-yard rushing score of his own sandwiched in between. Cheatham also scored two more rushing touchdowns late in the game, finishing with 159 yards and surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

3. Good Counsel rallies to beat Gonzaga: A botched fake punt turned out to be the key play in Our Lady of Good Counsel's 50-38 come-from-behind win over Gonzaga in a key Washington Catholic Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.

Trailing by 10 and facing fourth-and-6 from the Eagles' 37-yard line, Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) quarterback Zach Dancel appeared to be stuffed at the line on a fake punt. However, Dancel turned and lateraled to senior punter Kyle Hamby who scampered 33 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Wes Brown and turn the momentum back to the Falcons.

"Yeah, we work on that every day," Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy told the Washington Post. "Nah, that's just flat-out luck. Zach, he's just got such an awareness of the field and he does stuff like that. … That was the play of the game, no doubt about it."

Good Counsel (7-2, 5-1) is now tied atop the conference standings with Gonzaga (7-2, 5-1) and DeMatha (7-2, 5-1).

4. Dunbar beats Poly on both sides of the ball: Dunbar (Baltimore) needed just one outstanding play each on special teams and defense to come away with a relatively easy 22-0 win over Poly (Md.) Saturday night.

Travon Garrett ran for a 44-yard touchdown on a fake punt and DeonTay McManus scored on a 75-yard interception return to lead the Poets to the shutout win in the Baltimore City game.

Dunbar (8-1, 6-1 in Baltimore City Division I) limited Poly (6-2, 5-2) to just 131 yards of total offense while compiling 269 yards of its own.

5. Cox High (Va.) loses bid for national-best 18th field hockey state title: Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) doused Cox (Virginia Beach, Va.) High's dream of winning a fifth straight Virginia field hockey title and 18th overall with a 3-1 win in the Eastern Region Tournament.

Princess Anne's Caroline Donnal broke the scoreless tie when she scored on a penalty corner two minutes into the second half. After Catherine Steentofte tied the game with 10 minutes remaining, Brooke Neubauer gave the Cavaliers the lead for good just one minute later and then Farino iced it on a penalty stroke.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* Frank Samluk, senior quarterback, St. Elizabeth (Wilmington, Del.): Threw touchdown passes of 6, 50, 65, 23 and 63 yards to lead the Vikings (6-1) to a 41-7 win over Tatnall.

* Dave Marsh, senior, Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.): Had 44 assists to lead the Dons to the MIAA ‘A' Conference volleyball title with a four set win over Calvert Hall College.

* Cardon Johnson, senior running back, Warwick (Newport News, Va.): Rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders moved into the playoff picture with a 47-28 win over Bethel. Johnson also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark during the game.

* Josh McPhearson, running back, DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.): Returned the game's opening kickoff 85 yards and scored a second time on a 44-yard run from scrimmage to lead the Stags to an easy 41-0 win over Archbishop Carroll.

GAME TO WATCH
* Calvert Hall (Baltimore) (9-1, 3-1, Md.), sitting atop the powerful MIAA ‘A' Conference, travels to face Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) (6-2, Del.) on Friday night at 7. Red Lion Christian starts eighth-grade quarterback David Sills, who committed to Southern Cal last spring and is protected on the offensive line by Auburn-bound Angelo Blackson.

RECRUITING NEWS
* Nick Faust, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from City College (Baltimore), made a verbal commitment to the University of Maryland.

* Greg Lewis, a 6-foot-8 forward from St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), committed to Rutgers University.

THE BUZZ
The Caesar Rodney (Camden, Del.) volleyball team finished its Henlopen Conference schedule without a loss, bringing its four-year conference record to an astounding 40-0. … Gilman (Baltimore) coach Biff Poggi notched his school-record 100th win when the Greyhounds defeated Mount St. Joseph 49-14 Saturday. … Holy Cross girls basketball coach Russell Davis was fired less than two weeks before the start of preseason and replaced by former St. John's girls coach Eddie Simpson. Russell had a 111-43 record during his five-year tenure, making his dismissal even more surprising. The school is not commenting.

 

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and color analyst for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.