Middletown (Frederick County) vs. Frederick Douglass (Prince George’s County)

Zach Welch (Photo: Middletown Football)

Maryland Class 2A State Championship

December 3, 2011

M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

Winner: Middletown

Score: 43-6

Game Notes:

  • Middletown wins their first state title in school history, after losing in last year’s championship game.
  • Middletown’s Zach Welch scored three touchdowns and ran for 172 yards, along with kicking a field goal and four extra points.
  • Ben Lewis, a Syracuse commit, accumulated 144 total yards (56 rush, 88 receiving) and scored two touchdowns for Middletown.
  • Douglass wide receiver Paul Harris accumulated 132 total yards (48 receiving, 84 return).
  • Middletown led 16-6 at halftime, and scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to win 43-6.
  • Middletown put up 435 total yards, 335 of which were rushing yards.
**Correction: In the “Live Updates” post for this game, I gave credit for Ben Lewis’ 28-yard touchdown reception to Zach Welch. The mistake has been corrected, and this recap includes accurate statistics.**

Individual Statistics

Statistics

Passing

Team Player Comp-Att Yards TD INT
Middletown Michael Pritts 5-12 100 1
Douglass Taitor Reynolds 9-23 118 1 2

 

Rushing

Team Player Carries Yards TD 2 Pt. Avg
Middletown Zach Welch 24 172 3 7.2
Middletown Michael Pritts 8 62 1 7.75
Middletown Ben Lewis 3 56 1 18.6
Douglass Emmanuel Smith 6 49 8.2
Douglass Josef Hinnant 14 42 3.0
Middletown Jess Powell 9 37 4.1
Douglass Taitor Reynolds 7 13 1.9
Middletown Bennett Proctor 1 3 3.0
Douglass Paul Harris 1 3 3.0
Middletown Matt Machak 1 3
Middletown Weston Barrett 1 -1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving

Team Player Catches Yards TD 2 Pt. Avg
Douglass Paul Harris 5 50 10.0
Middletown Ben Lewis 4 88 1 22.0
Middletown Nick Rabat 1 12 12.0
Douglass Christian Wilson 1 13 13.0
Douglass Emmanuel Smith 2 37 18.5

 Return

Team Player Returns Yards TD Avg
Douglass Paul Harris 4 84 21.0
Middletown Zach Welch 1 14 14.0
Middletown Bradley Rinehart 1 1 1.0

Kicking

Team Player FG/FGA XP/XPA Touchbacks
Middletown Zach Welch 1/2 4/6 2

  

 Scoring

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Douglass 0 6 0 0 6
Middletown 7 9 20 7 43

M- Welch 1 run (Welch kick)

M- Lewis 28 pass from Pritts (Kick failed)

M- Welch 27 field goal

D- Smith 29 pass from Reynolds (Run failed)

M- Lewis 53 run (Kick failed)

M-Welch 3 run (Welch kick)

M- Welch 1 run (Welch kick)

M- Pritts 1 run (Welch kick)

 

Closing Thoughts

Middletown is one of the most cohesive units in the state, and their performance tonight showed that. With no true star on the roster (Ben Lewis is the top prospect; committed to Syracuse), the Knights are very deep and versatile, and play very team-oriented football. The offensive and defensive lines were exceptional, and sophomore left tackle Justin Falcinelli played an unbelievable game.

Douglass simply didn’t have the size or depth to compete with Middletown, but put up a good fight in the first half, only trailing by 10 (16-6) going into halftime. Middletown always looked like the dominant team, and came out in the second half focused and motivated.