Moses Brown got the cherry on top of their perfect season with a division three title, beating the Middletown Islanders in the super bowl, 13-7. The Quakers got off to a strong start by forcing a Middletown fumble in the first quarter, followed by a well-executed drive headed by junior running back and MVP Myles Craddock. The drive was finished off with junior quarterback Luke Porcaro finding senior receiver Catcher Dobron in the back of the endzone for six. The PAT was knocked through the uprights by jack of all trades receiver and cornerback Henry Ballou, putting the Quakers up 7-0 over the Islanders.
In the second quarter, Middletown was having a productive drive with big catches from both John Wiest and Rj Wiggins to put them in field goal position, but Moses Brown was able to block the field goal, keeping the score 7-0. The Quakers took advantage of the blocked kick, with them moving the ball efficiently by the means of senior Massimo Vilet and Craddock. Craddock eventually broke through to the promised land after a sturdy defensive stand by Middletown’s strong defensive line. The point after was missed after being moved back by a false start penalty, making the score 13-0, Quakers.
After forcing a short Moses Brown punt, Middletown got a couple of breaks with back-to-back pass interference penalties, moving the ball to the three-yard-line, where junior running back Juleun Gilman would punch it in for the touchdown. With the PAT being good, the score became 13-7, Quakers.
Going into the second half, only giving up 82 points on the season, Middletown’s defense was certainly living up to the bill by stuffing Myles Craddock, followed by Juleun Gilman intercepting Porcaro. Moses Brown would match Middletown’s defensive energy, in the form of two consecutive sacks by sophomore Parker Kroll.
Before the game, Middletown Head Coach Matt Kestler spoke on the impact of the Islander’s productive defense.
“We lean on them every week, we’re expecting a big game out of them, and this is the best offensive team we’re going to play too, so we need them to keep doing what they’ve been doing,” said Kestler
Moses Brown and Middletown would continue to exchange possessions well into the fourth quarter, until it looked like the Islanders were putting a drive together. Middletown started to move the ball in chunks with contributions through the air from Wiest and Wiggins, getting the ball down to the Quaker’s red zone. The Quakers’ defense knew when to show up, with a sack by Ayden Tokarz and consistent pressure on Islander’s quarterback Julian Delacruz forcing incompletions and a 4th and 22, where the Islanders turned it over on downs.
Moses Brown proceeded to run the clock until they had to punt, but a personal foul on the Quakers would make things interesting, setting up Middletown on the Quaker’s 27-yard-line. The Quakers defense forced the Islanders into a 4th and 6 with one minute left in the game. The Islanders were in an obvious passing situation and who else, but Craddock would come up with the game-sealing interception.
After the game, Craddock gave all the praise to his team and their overall performance.
“It means a lot with the undefeated season, we came in saying ‘it’s just another game’ but it’s a lot more than that, it’s a super bowl, but it was a team effort, and I am so happy to be a part of this team, and everyone did a great job,” said Craddock
Pregame, Craddock’s Head Coach Vin Ucci echoed his praise for the team
“One thing about these guys is that they’re a complete team, and they’ve done it all year long. Honestly, we want a complete team effort, I know it sounds cliché, but we really just want a full team effort. Everybody on board,” said Ucci
It truly was everyone on board, not only during today’s victory, but during Moses Brown’s whole season. It does in fact take a full team effort to pull off what the Quakers have done this season, and with a lot of key players returning next year, including Craddock, it will be intriguing to see where they land next year.
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