Football Season Preview: Knights look to reverse fortunes

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

MIDDLETOWN-The three cities that make up the Middletown High School community-Middletown, Myersville, and Wolfsville-are not accustomed to losing when it comes to Middletown High School Athletics. All of the Knights teams from the start of the fall sports season to the end of the spring sports season have a pedigree of success.

And, none contain the pedigree and represent the community more than the Middletown Varsity Football team. Since the team’s inception in 1974 the Knights have had almost all winning seasons going 36 consecutive seasons with a winning record and had not finished worse than 4-6 since 1976-77.

Unfortunately, for Middletown two of those 4-6 seasons have come in back-to-back years with the Knights going one game under 500 during the 2014-2015 seasons and the 2015-2016 seasons with those coming on the heels of three consecutive M.P.S.S.A.A. 2A State Championships from 2011-2013.

Obviously, a drop off was going to be expected. For a team to win two state championships let alone three state championships in a row is a feat that at any level of any high school sports is tough to do. And, in the past two years at Middletown, even amongst all the frustration, there has been an acceptance that good things were coming soon down the road.

And, this year is when the good things come to a tee. After, what could be considered a minor rebuilding phase during the past two years, this Middletown team has bulked up and added some new faces and some old faces to help the Knights get back to where they now they belong.

The biggest change off-the-field this season has come in the return of Offensive Coordinator Roy Main, who after taking a year off from Middletown Football has returned to the team in the same role that he had when the Knights won their first three state championships in program history.

“He (Main) helps big time,” said Middletown junior quarterback Matt Evich. “He has so much knowledge of the game and it makes all of us better.”

In his time at Middletown before returning Middletown managed to build an offense centered on a power rushing attack that wore the opponents down and put them under stress the whole game.

More importantly for Main, this team now has refreshed their weapons in order to execute that system. Middletown will have three running backs in the backfield and all three will have the ability to satisfy different running roles for the Knights.

The Knights will use seniors Brandon Jones and Garrett Johnson and junior Kyle Klink to wear down defenses and adjust to the styles the opponents throw at them on defense. Jones roll will be that of a speed back as out of the three Jones has the most speed and the largest ability to cut and find the holes. Johnson is a mix of Klink and Jones running with some speed and some toughness, while Klink will be the power back for Middletown using his ability to power through defenders.

Not only do the Knights have a good selection of options in the backfield but they also have them in the slots as senior Shawn Green will provide an aerial threat for the Knights.

Middletown’s schedule, similar to the majority of the teams in Frederick County, has gotten a bit easier but is still riddled with challenges and trap games including two tough contests in Weeks #2 and 3 against Eastern Tech and Boonsboro, who the Knights both fell to last year.

If the Knights can get over those hurdles and go into Week #4 with a 2-1 or 3-0 record then they’ll at least have a shot to make the playoffs in a 2A West Region that doesn’t have the pedigree as other regions such as 3A West.

Middletown’s schedule is tougher in the back end of the with schools such as the Urbana High School Hawks, Walkersville High School Lions, and the Oakdale High School Bears lurking in the shadows of October but if the Knights can head into the final four games of the season around 3-3 then they could stand a shot of making it into playoffs.

For Middletown, it would be insane to think that there wouldn’t be pressure to succeed, because there have been pressure on Middletown Football teams since the program’s creation in 1974. Middletown, will have the opportunity to handle it and if they do amazing things may come from it.