Back and forth they go before Middletown tops Smyrna for 3A title
The drought is over.
Against its neighboring rival, Middletown High harvested another state football title Saturday at Delaware Stadium.
In a back-and-forth tussle, Middletown made sure to score last and downed Smyrna 28-22 in the first DIAA Class 3A title game.
Braden Davis’ 3-yard scoring pass to Zachary Caldwell spelled the difference.
It came on a fourth-and-goal as Davis stood coolly in the pocket as a Smyrna defenders bore down on him before zipping the football to Caldwell, standing open in the end zone.
There was 4:01 left.
“Just trying to find a little bit of time, they kinda switched their outside linebackers and sent a different blitz,” said Davis, who leaves Jan. 1 to start college at the University of South Carolina.
“So I just had to wait for my matchup. I knew my guys would get open. I just had to sit in there and make that throw.”
Down 21-14 at halftime, Smyrna scored on its first series of the second half, traveling 80 yards on nine plays. Wayne Knight scored on an 11-yard sprint then added the 2-point run as Smyrna inched ahead 22-21.
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The Eagles had two possessions after Middletown’s go-ahead TD, the second starting with :33 left at their 29. They reached the Middletown 27 before time expired, setting off a long-awaited celebration on the field and in the stands for Middletown.
Middletown had lost six straight title games, including last year’s 28-19 decision to Sussex Central, since winning its most recent championship in 2012. Those were all in the Division I.
This was the first year the 51th annual DIAA Football Tournament had three divisions, with 3A including the largest schools and most successful programs.
“Seeing that clock hit zero, I almost lost it at that point,” said Kody Harris-Miller, the West Point-bound 3A Lineman of the Year. “I’m glad I got an amazing team behind me. It’s a great way to end my senior year. I couldn’t go out with any better group.”
Middletown has appeared in 19 state championship football games, including the first in 1971. Six were as a Division II member after the small- and large-schools split in 1975, then 11 more after moving up to Division I in 2002 and now the first 3A final. The Cavaliers have won eight state championships.
“It’s just great to come out here as a team, 2021, get this state championship and bring it back to Middletown,” said Davis, who was attending high school in Florida last fall but quarterbacked in Middletown’s 2019 state final loss to Hodgson.
Smyrna won the first state football title in its history when it snared the Division I crown in 2015, then repeated in 2016 and 2017 with wins over Middletown This was its first state final appearance since.
“We are an explosive team and I think it just goes to show you how good a team Middletown is and how good they are up front,” Smyrna coach Mike Judy said. “They had three down linemen who gave us fits and they gave us fits in the first matchup, too.”
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Middletown (10-1) had beaten Smyrna 28-14 in their annual Harvest Bowl regular-season matchup on Sept. 17 at Smyrna. The Eagles finished 10-3.
The game-winning touchdown was the fifth and final lead change.
“It was an edge-of-your-seat kinda game,” Middletown coach Zach Blum said. “ . . . [Davis] had the vision and the patience and the courage to stand in there and take the hit he knew he was gonna take and deliver the football where it needed to go.”
Davis was 15-for-25 passing for 216 yards.
Smyrna got 90 yards on the ground from Wayne Knight and Cameron Edge’s 218 aerial yards.
Smyrna demonstrated its offensive imagination and firepower on the game’s opening series. On the first snap, Cameron Edge passed 46 yards to Devin Demoe on a flea flicker, as he’d handed the ball off and then had it pitched back to him. Six plays later Knight scored from the 1.
But Middletown demonstrated its own explosiveness and ability to cover ground on its second series. An 8-play, 90-yard drive featured Davis’ 51-yard pass to Ty’renne Hynson. Davis carried the final 14 yards for the touchdown on fourth-and-5 and Tyla Walker’s first of four extra-point kicks put Middletown ahead 7-6.
Smyrna answered quickly as wide receiver Yamir Knight took a direct snap and sped around the left side 50 yards for a TD, with Dwayne Ratcliffe’s 2-point run making it 14-7.
Middletown then tied it and scored again to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
A pass-interference call against Smyrna helped key an 8-play, 66-yard series that culminated in Michael Pearson’s 4-yard TD run. Then the Cavaliers covered 70 yards on 12 plays, including Davis’ tackle-breaking 5-yard fourth-and-4 keeper, and regained the lead after Joshua Roberson’s 2-yard run.
“What you remember and what makes this so special,” Blum said, “is just the guys that you do it with. And for us, thinking about all the guys that have come before us and the guys that are gonna come after us, oh my gosh there’s been a laundry list of guys who’ve played their tails off and been a part of this program that haven’t gotten to enjoy this on the field. We’re hoping like heck they got to enjoy it vicariously through us today.”
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Middletown tops Smyrna for DIAA 3A football title behind Braden Davis
