McSHERRYSTOWN -- Delone Catholic had only been shut out at halftime once this season, in a 22-point loss to Bermudian Springs. The Squires failed to mount a comeback.

Friday night, Delone was in the same position, with the same result, this time falling 35-0 to Middletown in the second round of the District 3 Class AA playoffs. The Squires had been the defending District 3 champions.

"Once we had field position, kids started feeling comfortable with what they were doing," Middletown coach Roy O'Neill said. "We saw some things we tried to work out well for us, and they worked out well for us."

The Squires (10-2) trailed 14-0 at the break, and the Blue Raiders were to get the ball first in the second half at J.T. Flaherty Field. So the Squires needed a stop.

It never came. Middletown (10-2) chewed more than five minutes off the clock to start the second half, and Rodney Ramsey scored on an 11-yard run to push the lead to 21-0.

"We thought maybe we could come out and get a stop and get the ball back," Delone Catholic coach Steve Wiles said. "We scored a lot of points this year, so 14 wasn't too much to overcome. They took the kickoff and pounded it right at us."

Ramsey had 16 of his 141 rushing yards on that first drive. He ended the Blue Raiders' second drive of the second half with a 9-yard touchdown before adding a 53-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

That final run put Middletown up 35-0 and started a rolling clock for the final six minutes of the game.

Delone Catholic only had three possessions in the second half and two of them ended on interceptions.

"Our defense stepped up big," Middletown cornerback Mike Lupia said. "Anytime you shut out a team, that's great."

Middletown certainly did its homework leading up to the game. The Blue Raiders' defense bottled up the Squires running game, forcing Delone Catholic to pass more than usual.

"The entire year Dusty was our go-to-guy," Delone Catholic's Jason Brady said. "There

Middletown's Rodney Ramsey, center, battles for a first down during Friday's 35-0 win. Ramsey rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
(Daily Record/Sunday News - Brett Berwager)
wasn't a secret behind that, and they obviously established a good game plan around him."

Delone's Dustin Reed finished with 63 yards, and Thomas Tippett had 75. Noah Landi went 6-for-17 for 46 yards and threw five interceptions.

"I thought they would try to matchup man-to-man on us and load the box," Wiles said. "They didn't. They stayed basic defense and stayed zone."

Mike Lupia grabbed two of the interceptions.

His twin brother, Aaron, quarterbacked the Blue Raiders on offense. He finished 10-for-12 for 74 yards. And it was the short throws that got Middletown rolling in the second quarter.

Middletown ended a long drive late in the second quarter with a 3-yard score from Aaron Lupia to Kory Seiders for a 7-0 lead. Trey McElwee was Lupia's favorite target early, catching five passes for 40 yards, all in the first half.

Then it was the legs of Aaron Lupia that did in the Squires. He ran 14 yards to cap a 49-yard drive with 1:01 left in the first half.

Delone Catholic forced Middletown to punt on its first three possessions and was winning the field-position battle.

Middletown advanced to the Class AA championship to face Lancaster Catholic (11-1), which beat Wyomissing, 45-7, in the other semifinal.

 

Middletown  0  14    7  14 -- 35
Delone Catholic  0    0    0    0 --   0

Second Quarter
   M -- Kory Seiders 3 pass from Aaron Lupia (Nick Napiltonia kick)
   M -- Lupia 12 run (Napiltonia kick)
Third Quarter
   M -- Rodney Ramsey 11 run (Napiltonia kick)
Fourth Quarter
   M -- Ramsey 9 run (Napiltonia kick)
   M -- Ramsey 53 run (Napiltonia kick)
 
-- M -- DC
First downs -- 17 -- 12
Rushes-yards -- 39-249 -- 33-164
Passing -- 10-12-0 -- 6-17-5
Passing yards -- 74 -- 46
Total yards -- 323 -- 210
Punts -- 3-41.0 -- 2-32.5
Fumbles-lost -- 0-0 -- 0-0
Penalties-yards -- 5-55 -- 2-20

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Middletown, Ramsey 17-141, Marcus Hile 9-63, Melse 3-15, Lupia 3-14, Long 6-13,Trey McElwee 1-3; Delone Catholic, Thomas Tippett 13-75, Dustin Reed 14-63, Josh McNutt 3-25, Noah Landi 3-1.
   Passing -- Middletown, Lupia 10-12-0-74; Delone Catholic, Noah Landi 6-17-5-46.
   Receiving -- Middletown, McElwee 5-40, Ramsey 3-27, Seiders 2-7; Delone Catholic, Tippett 2-20, Matthew Haines 1-10, Justin George 1-8, McNutt 1-7, Reed 1-1.