MIDDLETOWN – Remember the old saying, “The buck stops here”? On Oct. 30 at Cavalier Stadium in Middletown, “Buck” hardly stopped, and that was bad news for Salesianum football in a 35-10 loss to the Cavaliers in a rematch of the last two state championship matchups.
Hanif “Buck” Miller ran for two long touchdowns and approximatly 240 yards overall, and the Cavaliers came up with a suffocating defensive performance as they took control in Class 3A District 1 with the win. The Cavaliers now have the inside track to the district championship and a top-two seed in the state tournament, which means two tournament games in their home stadium.
The Sals began the night moving the ball quickly. They started at their own 45-yard line, and on first down, quarterback Brady Nabb scrambled before he hit Jamar Taylor, who got to the Middletown 26. The Sals reached the 10 before the drive fizzled, and Giuliano Villa came out for a 29-yard field goal.
The Sals were driving on their next drive when Cavs defensive back D.J. Davis intercepted a Nabb pass inside the 10-yard line. Middletown quarterback Kyle McCaffery kept the drive going with a clutch completion on third down to Jeremiah Swift, a throw made with a defensive lineman bringing McCaffery down. A few plays later, Miller ran the ball 29 yards to the Salesianum 44, and on the next snap, McCaffery executed a play-action screen to Darien Rutledge, who reached the end zone to put Middletown on top.
The Sals burned more than six minutes off the clock on their next drive, but it resulted in them retaking the lead. Senior E.J. Cotton did much of the work, rushing seven times. Nabb also completed a few passes, but the touchdown went to Jett Healy, who covered the final seven yards after taking a direct snap to finish the 74-yard drive.
That was it for the scoring in the first half, but it didn’t take long for the Cavaliers to get things going in the second. Miller took a handoff on the first play from scrimmage and went up the middle untouched for an 85-yard touchdown that put Middletown on top, 14-10.
That was it for the scoring in the third. The Cavaliers’ defense forced a three and out on one Sals possession, and they recovered a fumble on the other. Middletown’s offense had one other drive in the third, but after six minutes, they turned the ball over on downs.
After Michel Adams forced the fumble late in the third, the Cavs’ offense stumbled a bit, facing a fourth down and five as the fourth quarter opened. McCaffery just escaped a sack attempt by Healy, then found Miller on the right sideline for a first down. Tysir Young wrapped up the drive with a 9-yard scoring run with 10:13 to go.
Middletown got the ball back on downs with 5:28 to go, and they put the game away with another drive that featured Miller. He ran for 15 yards on the first play, then covered the remaining 52 on the next.
Riley Robinson added the final touchdown, returning an interception the length of the field with 1:33 to go.
Middletown (4-4, 3-0) hosts Hodgson on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. Salesianum (6-2, 2-1) is off next week before wrapping up the regular season Nov. 13 at home against William Penn. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
