Friday’s game
What: Middletown (0-2) at Reynoldsburg (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
Where: Raider Stadium, 6699 E. Livingston Ave., Reynoldsburg
Last meeting: Middletown won 35-20 in 2014
The Middletown High School football team hasn’t started 0-3 since the 2000 season.
It’s a streak the Middies hope remains intact Friday when they travel to Reynoldsburg.
Middletown also entered last year’s matchup 0-2 and pulled out a 35-20 win at home, but coach Chris Wells said he doesn’t want his players to “hang their hats on that” and expect a victory to be handed to them, especially facing a Raiders squad that is 2-0.
Still, Wells is hoping the Middies remain confident in their abilities. He believes they are better than their 0-2 record . The Middies, who opened with a 53-36 loss to Lima Senior, were down 24-6 against Hilliard Bradley last week and scored 15 unanswered points in a rally effort that just fell short in a 24-21 loss.
“Anytime you win, you get some confidence, and confidence goes a long way in athletics,” Wells said. “I want our guys to see they should be confident. The only thing that held us back last week was mistakes. If we made less mental mistakes, we could have won that game. I think we gained some confidence coming back (in the second half) last week, but we just have to avoid those mistakes early and play a complete game.”
Reynoldsburg will be another challenge for Middletown. The Raiders are 2-0 for the first time since 2001 after beating Columbus St. Charles 37-22 last week. Reynoldsburg plays a spread offense with some two-back, shotgun formation mixed in, and Wells said the Raiders look “pretty balanced between the run and pass.”
In its opener, Reynoldsburg finished with 437 yards, including 276 rushing, as Nigel Chatman rushed for two touchdowns, Cameron Young rushed for 218 yards and one score, and Amos Paasewe rushed for 65 yards and one score.
Then against St. Charles, the Raiders finished with 333 yards as quarterback Nathan Barko was 17 of 30 for 173 yards, Tyler Frederick rushed for 83 yards and one touchdown, and Young rushed for 49 yards and three scores.
“They have nice guys in the skill positions,” Wells said. “No. 84 (Martee Morse) is their favorite target. Their running backs are good players, their quarterback is all, right, so they are a team with potential to make a big play. We have to be ready for our best.”
Offensively, Middletown is still finding its way after relying perhaps too heavily on running back/defensive back Vincent Calhoun in the opener, to the point where he was cramping throughout the second half.
Calhoun, who had 121 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in that game, was limited on offense last week, while he remained in on special teams and defense. Blake Marshall and Conner Patterson shared time at quarterback last week, and Marquise Petty led the Wing-T offense with 76 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Reynoldsburg coach Buddy White said he is most concerned about Middletown’s aggressiveness.
“Their play overwhelmed us last year, so we have to match their intensity,” White said. “They are a great team. We understand their style. They are very aggressive and they have some great athletes.
“We were 0-2 last year, so it’s a whole different mind-set. The kids are very focused and ready to play. We played hard last year, but they played harder and they won, and now we understand it’s going to come down to how hard we play.”
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