Middletown with a last minute score wins again

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, News

Anthony Franklin | November 12, 2022

The Middletown Cavaliers are the defending Delaware State 3A champs. They are led by HC Zachary Blum and despite having had tons of talent over the years they didn’t win their first state  under Blum until last year. With them being defending champs the pressure was on from the moment the 2022 offseason began. In the opening week playing rival Smyrna they needed a last minute score to escape with a 20-14 win. Yesterday game seemed to be the same as they played another final drive score with them coming out on top.

The Cavaliers were led by Jr. QB Austin Troyer who is currently generating power 5 interest from ACC, and Big 10 programs such as Maryland, Rutgers, North Carolina, Penn State, NC State and Michigan State. Austin in this game early on found his favorite target Sr Wr Noah Kracyla early on a quick slant pass that Noah evaded tacklers and raced 46 yards for the score and a quick 7-0 lead over visiting Hodgson Votech. This game held sentimental value for Hodgson as this was the final game for HC Frank Moffert Jr who after 20 years molding young mens lives is retiring. The Silver Eagles literally played their hearts out in the at times pouring down rain. Their offense was led by Sophomore Jace Hawkins who found success running inside for large chunks of yardage helping the Silver Eagles control the time of possession and ultimately scoring early in the 2nd quarter to bring his team within 7-6.

Middletown offense would sputter while Hodgson decided they’d try their luck through the air and with a slippery surface and the Cavaliers focusing on the run Hodgson was able to slip the TE out a few times to make big catches. Also assisting Sr QB London Bright out in the passing game for Hodgson was Sr WR Joshua Quailes, So WR Brysheem Davis who made a few spectacular catches along the sidelines and Jr Athlete Maki Beach who scored from 2 yards out to give Hodgson a 14-7 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Defensively the Hodgson Silver Eagles decided to best negate the Cavaliers offense was to blitz and get constant pressure on Troyer up the middle. That worked as Middletown had little to no success running the ball and Austin was constantly under duress having to move out the pocket. The two Silver Eagles who caused havoc were Sr DL John Gamble and Sr LB Logan Peck. Austin would find Sr RB Joshua Roberson for a 31 yard screen TD pass to tie the score and it would remain that way at the half.

With roughly 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter Hodgson made a bad decision to field a punt in the pouring rain in which the runner attempted a fair catch but tried advancing the ball at the same time and muffed the punt in which Middletown would recover at their own 16 yard line. They would ultimately cost themselves with penalties and attempted a game winning 37 yard field goal with 2:32 left in the 4th quarter that would initially be good. However Hodgson jumped offsides and the officials blew the play dead after the kick was up so they had to re kick and the re attempt would sail wide left. Hodgson would take over and drive down to the Middletown 2 yard line but self inflicting penalties coupled with 2 sacks by Jr DE Tristian Graham and Fr DT Justin McGill would give the Cavs the ball back deep in their own territory with 1:16 left in the quarter. This is where Austin shined finding Noah Kracylc, Jr Wr Matt Priestley and Sr RB Joshua Roberson for huge first down receptions. With :34 seconds remaining Austin found Priestley down the field in the corner of the end zone for a 31 yard TD catch and the final score of the game giving the Cavs a big senior morning win.

Matt Priestley came up huge with that catch and when asked if there was anything he saw that led him to believe he would and could make a big play there he said “he knew all week and during the game that with that play design it would be open and he communicated with Austin to trust him to make the big play when opportunity arose and that helped it become an easy play to make”. He gave praise to Austin for throwing a great ball in the rain and trusting him in the big moment to make a big play. Matt is one of the two way players who rarely comes off as he plays safety on defense, WR on offense and also plays key roles on special teams. When asked how he mentally prepares and is able to conserve energy for the end of the game when plays have to be made he stated “I prep the body by drink lots of fluids all week in preparation for playing the majority of the game on both sides of the ball to help my team get a win and make plays when needed for my team. Currently his recruiting is wide open and he sports a 3.2 GPA but with another year of eligibility he feels opportunities will arise as he is still learning and growing at both positions to be the best player possible when it’s time for college ball.

Up next for Middletown is the DIAA playoffs where they most likely will be a #4 seed and host a game at home. The top seed is Smyrna who Middletown defeated at home in the season opener and depending on 1st round game results this could be a rematch but in Smyrna so stay tuned as brackets are released Sunday afternoon!!!!

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews