“We practice to make it harder than the game, and I feel like that helped,” Middies senior defensive end J.D Singletary said.
“Our defense, we’re very meshed together. We had a lot of new faces over the summer, but we spent a lot of time together, and I think that shows on the field.”
It did during Middletown’s Greater Miami Conference opener against Fairfield.
The Middies bolted to a 19-0 halftime lead and leaned on a relentless defensive effort to hold off the Indians for a 19-2 victory at Barnitz Stadium.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“Our first series was abysmal, but after that we really took some shots and did everything we wanted to do,” Middletown coach Kali Jones said. “I thought the first half was a beautiful half of football. We punted once. Our defense stepped up, and we delivered on some big-time strikes.”
Middletown senior quarterback JoJo Ward helped fuel three first-half scoring drives while the defense shut down a Fairfield offense that struggled to find its rhythm.
Demetrian James scored on a 15-yard run to give Middletown a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter. Then early in the second quarter, Jordan Vann returned a 67-yard punt for a TD to make 13-0.
Ward later connected with Julius Reed on an 11-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone with 7:01 remaining before the half to up Middletown’s lead to 19-0.
Fairfield (0-2, 0-1 GMC) tried to establish its ground game early, and for a few series it worked. But once Middletown (2-0, 1-0 GMC) adjusted, the Indians’ drives fizzled under a combination of pressure and miscues.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“We really struggled offensively to get rhythm,” Fairfield coach Justin Roden said. “We started out being able to run the ball the first couple series and had a good balance, and then it just kind of broke down. Some of it’s coaching, some of it’s quarterbacks, some of it’s offensive line breakdowns. It just wasn’t very fluid.
“They’re good, they’re really physical,” Roden added of Middletown. “We’re missing a guard and had to play a sophomore, and that hurt us. But I give them credit — they’ve got some really good football players.”
The Middies left the door open with mistakes in the second half. Two fumbles and an interception halted drives and prevented Middletown from putting the game completely out of reach.
“We talked about playing a clean, dominant half in the second half,” Jones said. “But we had two lost fumbles and an interception. Those are not winning traits if you want to win championships. We’ve got to clean that up, and fast.”
Fairfield finally got on the board in the fourth quarter after a punt blunder by Middletown resulted in a safety.
“The game wasn’t over at halftime — we wanted to finish,” Singletary said. “We wanted to pitch a shutout. The scoreboard doesn’t show it, but I feel like the defense did a very solid job today.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
For Middletown, the victory underscored growth under Jones’ leadership. In previous years, he noted, the Middies might have crumbled under the weight of their own turnovers. This time, they stood tall.
“In times past, Middletown would fold in a situation like that,” Jones said. “We proved again this week that we can hold down the fort. I think we’ve got a pretty good football team when we take care of the ball.”
Middletown travels to Oak Hills next Friday, while Fairfield will search for its first victory at home against winless Colerain.
“I don’t have any excuses as the coach — I own it,” Roden said. “We were flat to come out, and I’ve got to own that. We definitely did not play very well on offense. But we’ll go back, get back to work, and get it fixed.”
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