This past week, the Middletown High School football team experienced something they hadn’t since midway through the 2011 season: they had to learn and get better following a defeat.
The Knights lost to the Westminster Owls in crushing fashion Friday night. Middletown took an early 13-0 lead and carried it into the half, but Westminster came out firing in the second half to score 21 unanswered points.
But no matter how disappointed the Knights were about their loss, they had to regain focus and prepare for the task at hand: Winters Mill.
“We watched film on the game Monday,” said Peter Heon, Knights senior. We realized that we didn’t finish everything we did.”
The Falcons have completely overhauled their offense from last year, and look for a fresh start this year.
An overhaul was certainly what seemed to be necessary for the Falcons; as they finished the 2013 season with a 1-9 record. The new season didn’t get off to the best start for Winters Mill on Sept. 5; they were taken down 49-25 by Tuscarora, on their home field.
Last week against Westminster the Knights exploded to an early lead, but weren’t able to carry it far. Questions loomed after the Knights loss; as they lost starting quarterback Will Davis to injury, but Patrick Moore stepped in and ran the Knights offense with poise.
“I’m not worried about [Davis] being out, because Patrick [Moore] is the type of guy you know is going to give everything he has to win,” said Knights senior Nick Forbes. “Winners adjust, and don’t make excuses.”
The Knights will look to get senior Nick Welch heavily involved in the offense against the Falcons. Welch had 24 attempts on the ground for a total of 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Welch exploded for three huge runs in the fourth quarter to get the Knights to within two points, and was almost able to convert an onside kick in the final minutes.
The Knights took down the Falcons 62-1 last season, but as Westminster displayed in the Knights opener, revenge can play a huge factor in games like this. The Falcons will look to feed off that hunger and take down the Knights.
New starting quarterback, Liam Butler, will look to lead the Falcons into hostile territory and pick up the win. The Falcons, much like Westminster, run an up-tempo spread offense that seems to take advantage of the Knights weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball.
Butler will look to use his speed and athleticism to force the issue against a talented, but inexperienced Knights secondary.
“Butler is an athlete,” said Heon. “He’s good at throwing the ball, is a tough runner and will not go out of bounds.”
The Knights, of course, still had a lot to improve on.
“In practice this week, every drill and every scrimmage we made sure that we finished hard,” said Heon.
There is no doubt that the Knights got better this week, but for the first time since October of 2011 the improvement stemmed from a loss.
