Middletown South’s 4-seeded high school football team upset the top-seeded hosts, Roxbury Gaels, 23-21 in the North 1 Group 4 sectional semifinals Friday night in Succasunna, New Jersey.
A thrilling fourth quarter saw two lead changes and almost saw a third before Roxbury senior Josh DiPasquale’s 44-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Middletown South’s senior Ryan McCarthy with two seconds left in the game.
This game was tight from the get-go. The Middletown South Eagles scored the first touchdown of the game when quarterback Jack Schneider completed a long pass to Owen Maguire, five minutes into the game.
With 3:43 left in the first quarter, Roxbury had the ball at midfield and were up against a 4th down and 1. But they converted and at 1:26, junior quarterback Frankie Falco ran the ball into the endzone from the five-yard line to tie the game at 7-7.
In the second quarter, Falco was the man of the hour again for the hosts, rushing into the endzone on another short run to give the Gaels their first lead of the game 14-7.
Middletown South responded with Jack DuLumeau’s 25-yard field goal which pulled the Eagles within four points of the lead.
Early in the third quarter, Schneider completed his second touchdown pass of the evening to Cillian Duffy who caught it inside the 10 and found the endzone to give the Eagles a 17-14 lead. The remainder of the third quarter was eaten up by rugged football; neither defense gave up points and the visitors retained a three-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Gaels put together a solid drive, but it ended when Ryan Valentine was stripped after making a great reception and running for 10 yards after the catch. Middletown South’s senior defensive back Ryan Cerminaro ran up behind Valentine and knocked the ball loose, sending it bounding 15 yards before it was recovered by Cerminaro at the Middletown South 34.
The Eagles were in position to extend their lead and inch closer to an upset.
On the ensuing drive, Schneider aired a long pass out down the left sideline but the play was broken up when a Roxbury defensive back collided with the intended receiver. A flag was thrown and defensive pass interference was called. In NJSIAA football, pass interference is not a “spot foul” and instead carries with it a 15-yard penalty. That moved the ball up 15 yards to the Roxbury 37.
The Eagles inched their way downfield but a holding penalty negated a touchdown run and backed them up to Roxbury’s 47. Unable to get the first down, the Eagles punted. Special teamer Sean Gamel managed to track the ball down inside the five and touch it to pin Roxbury deep inside their own territory at their own 4.
With six minutes left, the hosts would have to go 96 yards to score.
Despite facing a 3rd and 8 inside their 5 yard line, Falco and Valentine linked for a clutch 20-plus yard reception. A couple of power runs from sophomore Roy Alvarado and another catch from Valentine and the Gaels had the ball at the Eagles 23 yard line.
With 2:17 left in the game, Falco ran the ball 15 yards into the endzone behind great blocking and the hosts had taken back the lead 21-17.
Thanks to a booming kick into the endzone on the kickoff from senior Josh DiPasquale, the Eagles would set up shop at the 20, but they couldn’t put anything together on the next three plays and quickly faced a 4th and 10.
With a fog persisting over the field, Jack Schneider stepped up and took control of the next drive.
Schneider threw a dime to Duffy who had found a pocket of space in front of the Gaels secondary to keep their imperative drive alive and on the very next play, he completed a 30-yard pass down the sideline to Ryan McCarthy and the tide had turned in favor of the Eagles.
On second and goal, Justin Rosato found a seam around the edge and ran the ball into the endzone to give the Eagles a 23-21 lead. The extra point was blocked by the Gaels, which now meant a field goal could win the game for the hosts.
Starting at their own 25, Roxbury had another steep hill to climb because there was under a minute left.
Eventually, on 3rd and 10, Falco side-armed a 10 yard pass to Liam May, getting the ball up to Eagles 44 with 24 seconds left. Then the Roxbury quarterback linked up with May again for a remarkable catch and the ball was spotted at the 29.
Just 10 seconds remained and after Roxbury failed to gain additional yardage but ran a play that whittled the clock down to two seconds, they turned to their senior kicker, DiPasquale.
DiPasquale lined up, the snap was good and so was the hold but Middletown South’s senior Ryan McCarthy managed to block the kick and the clock ticked to zero.
For the victorious Middletown South Eagles, Schneider threw for a whopping 282 yards and two touchdowns while his counterpart, Falco, rushed for two scores. Additionally, the Eagles senior wide receiver Owen Maguire put up a game-high 111 receiving yards.
The Eagles will stay on the road and head onto their sectional finals for the first time since 2022 where they will face 2-seeded Northern Highlands on Friday.
