Middletown North's Wild Second-Half Rally Runs Out of Time

Photo above: Lions defense, led by DE Matt Dombrowski #51, held Freehold scoreless after the Colonials scored on their first possesion of the second half.

FREEHOLD – Saturday’s game between Middletown North and Freehold had all the earmarks of a sure-fire rout three minutes into the third quarter with the Colonials leading the Lions 26-0 in a Class A North game at Freehold.

However, after Freehold (2-1) took their opening second half possession 52 yards in six plays for a touchdown for what looked like an insurmountable 26-point lead, suddenly – if not amazingly – the game turned into a nail biter as Middletown North scored 20 unanswered points and had the ball with a chance to win it when they ran out of time in a 26-20 loss.

“I’m still figuring out this team a little bit and I don’t know why we came out so slow,” Lion head coach Steve Bush said. “They (Freehold) came out ready to play and executed well and we didn’t; just one play might’ve made the difference. But I was proud of the way the guys fought back. They didn’t pack it in, didn’t give up, they fought all the way to the end and it shows some heart on this team.”

Things could not have gone worse for the Lions – ranked No.9 in the Asbury Park Press top 10 poll - in the first half as they were thoroughly out played on both sides of the ball and had to deal with the loss of its starting quarterback with 7:28 remaining in the first half.

After driving from their own 45-yard line, the Lions (2-1) had a third-and-goal from the one-yard line on their first possession of the second quarter down only 12-0 at that point. Lions junior quarterback Donald Glenn tried to score on a keeper up the middle on third down but was stripped of the ball, injuring his arm, with the Colonials Jake Curry recovering on the one-yard line.

Glenn left the game but did return to action on the Lions first possession of the second half to lead the Lion comeback.

Middletown North forced a Freehold three-and-out making the Colonials punt from their own end zone. Freehold shanked the punt out of bounds and Lions took over at the Colonial 16-yard line with a golden opportunity to pull within a touchdown.

Three plays netted one yard and on fourth-and-9 from the 15, Nick Eccelston and Markee Gill combined to sack Glenn all the way back at the 24-yard line.

Freehold took over and proceeded to drive 76 yards in nine plays with Curry scoring from the two-yard line with 37.1 seconds left in the half giving the Colonials an 18-0 halftime lead. A Curry to Asante Worthy pass play for 17 yards was the big gainer in the drive.

The Colonials received the opening kickoff and on second-and-11 from the Middletown North 49-yard line, Worthy appeared to be stopped for a loss but reversed fields and bolted up the left sideline for a 43-yard pickup. Four plays later on fourth-and-inches, Curry appeared to be stuffed for no gain on a keeper up the middle but the referee signaled touchdown and Freehold led 26-0 after Gill took a pitch around right end for the two-point conversion.

Curry (21 carries for 177 yards) scored on identical counter plays up the middle in the first half for TD runs of 28 and 19 yards giving the Colonials an early 12-0 lead.

“Asante is a very patient runner,” Freehold head coach Dave Ellis said. “He can burst when he has too and he has great vision as well.”

Down by 26 and things looking bleak for the Lions they turned the ball over on downs on their next possession before Curry fumbled a low snap with junior linebacker Brock Zenker recovering for the Lions all the way back at the 35. On the next play, Glenn hit Brendan Kube over the middle at the Freehold 35 before he broke it to the outside and raced 65 yards for the score.

Three plays later, Lions defensive end Matt Dombrowski – who was all over the field all day making plays – forced a Curry fumble and recovered setting up the Lions at the 14-yard line. Four plays later, Demetrius Redway scored from the three and it was suddenly 26-14 with 1.5 seconds left in the third.

The two teams traded punts twice with under five minutes to play before the Colonials had a first-and-10 from the Lions 36 when sophomore defensive end Austin Dewise took the ball away from Worthy giving Middletown North a first down at their own 36.

Two Glenn to Kube pass completion netted 37 yards and a Glenn to Redway screen for 23 yards set up a first-and-goal from the four. Glenn then found Kube in the far corner of the end zone on a fade for a touchdown and the Lions had pulled to within 26-20 with 4:06 to play.

Freehold drove to the Lion 34 but on fourth-and-16 elected to punt giving the Lions one last chance with under a minute to play and 80 yards to go. Four Glenn to Kube passes for a combined for 69 yards setting up a first down at the 22-yard line with 4.7 seconds remaining, but a last-ditch pass into the end zone fell incomplete and the game was over.

“I’m happy we won the game but when you’re up on a team like that you’ve got to keep going,” Ellis said. “Middletown North is a good football team, a playoff team and I knew they weren’t going to give up and it all the way down to the wire.”

Glenn finished 18-of-33 with two touchdowns and one interception for 274 yards while Kube ended his day with 13 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions played without standout All-Shore running back/linebacker Chad Freshnok, who according to Busch, will be out a number of games with an undisclosed injury.

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