Crusaders football beats Middletown 16-12
Central Valley. They now hold a season record of 8-1.
| 05 Nov 2024 | 01:35
The Crusaders’ defense stopped the Middies in the second half. (
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Nate Coulanges, #5, sprints 38 yards for the winning score last Friday. (
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Head Coach James Sciarra addresses the Crusaders after their 16-12 victory. (
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The Crusaders finished their regular season with an 8-1 record and are ready for the playoffs. (
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On the evening of Nov. 1, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders varsity football team traveled to Middletown to face the Middies in an important league game with lots of playoff implications. The Crusaders came into the game with a 7-1 record after beating Valley Central last week 42-13. The Middies came into Friday’s game with a 3-5 record after beating Pine Bush 35-7.
In the first quarter, after exchange of possessions, the Crusaders drove down to the Middies’ 20-yard line. From there Crusader kicker Matvii Butiuhin nailed a 37-yard field goal and the Crusaders had a 3-0 first quarter lead. Early in the second quarter, Crusader Chadwick Kistler stopped a Middle drive when he recovered a fumble deep in the Crusaders’ end of the field. But the Middies scored on their next possession on a 20-yard touchdown run, but they missed the PAT, putting the score at 6-3 with five minutes left in the half.
The Middies increased their lead to 12-3 when they scored on a 10-yard pass with just :18 left in half. The Middies came out of the half time and got the ball back when they successfully executed an onside kick. But both teams’ defensive units controlled the third quarter, so the Crusaders went into the fourth quarter down 12-3.
With 8:33 left in the game, Crusader quarterback James Rodriguez scored on a four-yard touchdown run and with the PAT the Middies’ lead was cut to 12-10. The Crusaders’ defense got the ball back quickly and set up the offense with a first and 10 on the Middies’ 43 with four minutes to go. From there, a few plays later, Nate Coulanges burst through a small hole in the Middies’ line and sprinted into the end zone from 38 yards out, giving the Crusaders a 16-12 lead with three minutes left in the game.
When the Middies got the ball back, they drove back down the field but were stopped by a diving interception by Tristan Conklin to secure the Crusaders’ victory. The Crusaders’ 16-12 victory brings their record to 8-1 for the season. Their next game will be a semi-final playoff against Pine Bush this Friday at home.