Week 5 Delaware HS football roundup: Middletown intercepts Smyrna on final play for win

SMYRNA – With three receivers on the other side and Jacobi Rodgers matched one-on-one against his man, Middletown’s sophomore defensive back thought the ball was coming his way on the final play of the game.

It did.

Rodgers intercepted the pass in the end zone – the Cavaliers’ third pickoff beyond the goal line on Friday night – to ensure Middletown’s 14-12 victory over Smyrna.

“I had a feeling,” Rodgers said. “They put everybody back to the trips side and he was by himself. I just had a feeling it was coming my way.”

The annual Harvest Bowl was a rock ’em, sock ’em defensive battle. Top-ranked Middletown (4-1) won despite being held to 184 total yards – just 67 in the second half. No. 4 Smyrna fell to 1-4.

The Cavaliers went 63 yards in nine plays on their first drive, with Makai Walker running it in from the 5. Tim Yancy answered with a 23-yard TD run for the Eagles, but Middletown stopped the two-point conversion to keep a 7-6 lead after one quarter.

Austin Troyer’s 8-yard scoring strike to B.J. Garrett pushed the Cavaliers’ lead to 14-6 late in the second quarter.

Middletown kept that advantage thanks to two end-zone interceptions by Ronnell Davis, the second coming late in the third quarter.

“I followed the quarterback’s eyes,” Davis said. “He looked back the other the way, and I just picked the ball off.”

Finally, Smyrna got its second touchdown when Kahmaj Kearney punched in a 3-yard run with 1:51 left in the game.

But once again, the Cavaliers stopped the two-point attempt as linebacker Malachi Stewart stood up Kearney 2 yards short of the tying conversion.

“I read the guard, made the play,” Stewart said. “… That’s all it was.”

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The Eagles got the ball back for a final chance from their own 34 with 1:24 to play. Five completions and a big 32-yard scramble by Jacob Tiberi moved Smyrna to the Cavaliers 15 with 1.6 seconds remaining. That’s when Rodgers sealed it.

Appoquinimink 31, Sussex Central 30

MIDDLETOWN - The Jaguars delighted a homecoming crowd, rallying from a 17-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to nip the Golden Knights.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Caccamo, who had replaced injured starter Greg Nielsen just before halftime, zipped a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Griffith on third-and-7 with 1:24 left for the go-ahead points.

That 59-yard drive, which began after a fumble recovery, featured two fourth-and-6 conversions on passes by Caccamo.

Omari Cofield then had a pair of sacks as Appo thwarted Sussex Central on its final drive at midfield.

Ja’den Glover rushed for 249 yards on 23 carries for Appo (3-2). His 10-yard TD run pulled Appo within 30-19 on the first play of the fourth period.

Caccamo then passed 29 yards to Noah Hoff on fourth-and-16 for a touchdown with 5:44 remaining to make it 30-25.

Caccamo completed 10 of 25 passes for 107 yards.

Sussex Central had a pair of 100-yard rushers, with Kevon Moore-Briddell getting 174 on 14 carries and Jajuan Sturgis carrying five times for 134 yards.

The Golden Knights (3-2) led 10-0 after Rodney Escobar-Gonzalez’s 25-yard field goal and Moore-Briddell’s 46-yard TD run on their first two possessions.

Griffith’s interception then set up a 90-yard Appo drive that ended with Nielsen’s 16-yard scoring strike to Griffith on fourth-and-13.

Sussex Central extended its lead to 17-7 before halftime on Benjamin Lee’s 7-yard run, then made it 24-7 when Sturgis’ 94-yard TD run followed an Appo fumble on the first possession of the third period.

Appo responded with a 47-yard scoring drive that was all runs by Glover, the last covering 5 yards to make it 24-13.

Sussex Central quickly extended its lead to 30-13 on a three-play, 64-yard possession featuring Moore-Brindell’s 49-yard scamper and ending with William Abbott’s 8-yard TD dash with 7:39 left in the third quarter.

The Jaguars then forced a fumble and also recovered an onside kick to help fuel their comeback.

Salesianum 34, St. Georges 13

WILMINGTON - B.J. Alleyne rushed for three touchdowns and the Sals’ defense came up with four turnovers to down the Hawks at Abessinio Stadium.

Alleyne scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out with 2:34 left in the second quarter to break a 13-13 tie.

Jayvian Burrell then forced a fumble on a strip sack before Alleyne rushed for a 21-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.

Alleyne, who rushed for 144 yards on 20 carries, also added a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Aiden Lego had a 54-yard touchdown for the Sals (4-1), while Brady McBride rushed for a 15-yard score.

Terry White led St. Georges (2-3) with 183 rushing yards on 16 carries.

White scored both Hawks touchdowns, the first from 36 yards and the second on an 83-yard rush.

Cape Henlopen 22, Saint Mark’s 17

PIKE CREEK—Maurki James’s fourth-quarter touchdown proved to be the difference in the Vikings’ back-and-forth win over the Spartans.

The Vikings (4-1) trailed 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter when James raced to a 49-yard touchdown run.

Then the Cape defense stopped the Spartans twice on downs in the final two minutes to secure the win.

Saint Mark’s had taken lead on Mateo Bracalenti’s 35-yard field goal with 7:57 left, making it 17-16 and erasing an early 16-0 Spartan deficit.

Hodgson 46, Caesar Rodney 21

CAMDEN – Brysheem Davis scored three touchdowns and Maki Beach punched in two more as the fifth-ranked Silver Eagles (4-1) rolled past the Riders (0-5).

Davis caught a 14-yard TD pass from Xavier Brown and Beach ran for scores of 10 and 14 yards to make it 21-0 in the second quarter.

Caesar Rodney answered with a 12-yard scoring toss from Julius Timmons to Maxwell Viddy, before Hodgson earned three more touchdowns.

Mark Nelson and Brown each scored on 15-yard runs, and Davis returned a punt 81 yards to push the lead to 40-7.

Then Timmons threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Cain, and the Silver Eagles answered with Brown’s 63-yard strike to Davis. CR’s Typeh Bowe-Walker capped the scoring with a 4-yard run.

Archmere 14, Delaware Military Academy 12

WILMINGTON – The Auks (2-3) stopped a potentially tying two-point conversion attempt with 7:15 remaining, then held off the Seahawks (2-3).

Edward Emmens opened the scoring with a 52-yard run for DMA.

Archmere QB Miles Kempski answered with two touchdown passes – 5 yards to Cole Fenice and 35 yards to Gavin Lee.

The Seahawks pulled within 14-12 on Joshua Roy’s 1-yard run, but couldn’t get the two-pointer.

Kempski passed for 87 yards, rushed for 50, intercepted a pass and defense four more passes on defense.

St. Andrew’s 34, First State Military Academy 13

MIDDLETOWN – Frank Nasta passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints (2-3, 2-1 District 1A-2) knocked off the Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2).

FSMA took a 6-0 lead on a 90-yard pass to Phillip Price to Mark Lawrence.

But St. Andrew’s cranked out the next five touchdowns. Ray Quinones caught a 24-yard TD pass from Nasta, then scored on a 24-yard run.

Rashawn Holder-Brown had a 1-yard touchdown plunge, Yasir Felton caught a 76-yard score from Nasta and Spencer Fairbanks scored from the 2.

Javier Floyd got the final Bulldogs TD on a 2-yard run.

Felton caught six passes for 190 yards, while Fairbanks caught four for 82 yards.

Woodbridge 24, Laurel 8

GREENWOOD – Kam’Ren Johnson returned two fumbles for touchdowns in the first quarter to get the Blue Raiders (4-1) off and running to victory over the Bulldogs (2-3).

Johnson’s fumble returns covered 30 and 14 yards and gave Woodbridge a 16-0 lead.

Traci Johnson scored on a 3-yard run for the Blue Raiders in the third quarter. Koby Shockley scored Laurel’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run.

Odessa 48, Conrad 6

ODESSA – JC Alley completed 10 of 12 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks (2-3) dominated the Red Wolves (2-3).

Alley hit Jalen Lingham for scores of 19 and 23 yards in the first quarter.

Then Noah Norment returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown, Isaiah Melton scored on a 7-yard run and Alley fired a 35-yard TD pass to Kasai Truitt for a 33-6 halftime lead.

Melton scored from the 7 again and Norment ran one in from the 29 for Odessa in the second half. Chase Belin rushed for 118 yards for the Ducks. Melton had 62 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving.

Saturday’s games

Howard 50, Wilmington Friends 21

ALAPOCAS – R.J. Matthews passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Wildcats (3-2) broke open a tie game at halftime with 297 total yards in the second half to end the Quakers’ 17-game winning streak.

Matthews passed for 158 yards and ran for 67 more. Syncere Tate ran for 156 of his 168 yards after halftime as Howard finished the game with 495 yards in total offense.

Andrew McKenzie had a rushing touchdown and passing TD for Friends (4-1) and carried 30 times for 147 yards.

It was 14-14 at halftime. McKenzie ran one in from the 15 and threw to Avery Gaines for a 27-yard score for the Quakers. Matthews scored on a 58-yard run and fired a 35-yard TD to Robert Kelly.

Then Howard scored three of the four touchdowns in a frenzied, 2:15 stretch in the third quarter.

Amir Maddrey’s 8-yard run and Matthews’ 10-yard TD pass to Maddrey pushed the Wildcats ahead 30-14.

Ryan Tattersall hit Jason Hughes with a 65-yard scoring bomb for Friends, but Matthews answered with a 47-yard strike to Jamal Johnson.

Maddrey scored again from the 8 early in the fourth quarter, and Tate capped it with a 5-yard TD run with 4:52 to play.

Dover 28, William Penn 14

NEW CASTLE – The second-ranked Senators (5-0) scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from the Colonials (3-2) at the newly named Bruce Reynolds Field.

Dover lost star running back Jakwon Kilby to an injury on the first drive of the game. Quarterback Nahseem Cosme recorded the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out with 6:57 left in the third quarter.

Cosme set up that touchdown with a 52-yard rush on an option play. He added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaheim Cole in the fourth quarter.

John Parker and Ryan Perkins also scored rushing touchdowns for the Senators.

William Penn (3-2) was led by Joshia Everett who threw a pair of touchdowns, one to Franck Sahou and another to Phillip Exum.

Red Lion Christian 41, Concord 7

BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – Jacque Wilson rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns as the Lions (3-2) earned an easy road win over the Raiders (1-4).

Mekhi Corbin started the Red Lion Christian scoring with a 15-yard run. Then Wilson found the end zone from 2 and 50 yards out.

Shane Caleb’s blocked punt led to the Lions’ next TD. Caleb finished with eight tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Then Evan Budinger, who passed for 160 yards, fired scoring strikes of 42 yards to Nehemiah Myrie and 18 yards to Caleb.

Tower Hill 39, Mount Pleasant 14

PENNY HILL – Michael Waesco passed for five touchdowns and ran for a sixth as the Hillers (4-1) pulled away from the Green Knights (2-3).

Waesco opened the scoring on a 2-yard run, but Mount Pleasant answered with Cameron Wright’s 15-yard pass to Naim Dudley for a 7-6 lead.

It was all Tower Hill from there. Waesco fired scoring strikes of 23 yards to Jamar Taylor, 19 yards to Aiden Pratt and 10 yards to Kevin Coleman for a 26-7 halftime lead.

Then the sophomore found Coleman for two more TDs of 53 and 20 yards.

The Knights’ Marquis Bowman-Robinson capped the scoring on a 65-yard reception from Ny’bree Saunders.

Charter of Wilmington 10, Glasgow 0

WILMINGTON – Roman Paoli threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Ramey, John Foley kicked a 22-yard field goal and the Force (4-1) defense earned its third straight shutout in a win over the Dragons (0-6).

Milford 48, St. Elizabeth 22

WILMINGTON – Charles Shorts led the offensive onslaught with two touchdown runs as the Buccaneers (4-1) outmanned the Vikings (2-3) at Abessinio Stadium.

Shorts opened the scoring with a 39-yard run, and Milford’s Neysen Legros returned an interception for a 30-yard score to make it 12-0.

St. E’s Cole Andrews answered with a 30-yard pass to Gavin Andrews. But Greg Lockett scored from the 19 and Shorts ran it in from the 24 to push the Milford lead to 26-8.

The Vikings scored on another Andrews to Andrews 30-yard pass, only to see DenNare Horsey’s 6-yard run give the Bucs a 34-16 halftime cushion. In the second half, Elijah Lake scored on a 2-yard run and John Hudson threw an 11-yard TD pass to Wilderson Alexandre for Milford. Cole Andrews scored on a 1-yard run for St. E.

Other scores

Dickinson 41, A.I. du Pont 6

Seaford 23, Indian River 6

Lake Forest 28, Sussex Tech 21

Tatnall 54, McKean 20

Polytech 31, Christiana 6

Newark 30, Delcastle 6

Caravel wins over George School (Pa.), forfeit

Brandywine 35, Early College HS@DSU 0

Kevin Tresolini, Tim Mastro and Kevin Phillips contributed to this report.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X (aka Twitter): @BradMyersTNJ

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Week 5 Delaware high school football roundup: Middletown wins thriller