The Middletown High School North football team fell victim to Howell High School’s high-powered offense when the Rebels defeated the Lions, 28-26, on Sept. 23.
Middletown North head coach Steve Bush acknowledged Howell’s talent on the offensive side of the ball but felt like his team beat itself down the stretch.
The Lions trailed the Rebels, 21-12, at halftime but came out swinging in the second half.
Connor Robbins was Middletown North’s workhorse, as he led the Lions’ rushing attack with three touchdowns and ran for just under 60 yards.
“We scored almost every time we had the ball [in the second half],” Bush said. “We got stopped on that one series where I felt like we stopped ourselves in the first half. [Howell is] a high-powered offensive team, and we needed to score a little more. We came up short on three extra points that we had a chance on.”
Even though the Lions fall to 1-2 on the season, Bush believes that his defense grew a little bit during the game.
“[There are] a lot of little things we got to get better [at] on our defense,” the coach said. “I thought [we] grew up a little bit in the second half. We still got some things we have to fix, but they are a good offensive team. They have some very talented players.”
The Rebels were led by quarterback and team captain Eddie Morales, who threw four touchdowns and completed 16 of his 18 passes for 230 yards. Howell had many drives extended by Morales’ legs, as the quarterback also led the Rebels’ rushing attack with 55 yards on 10 runs.
Morales considered it a huge win for Howell, which lost its third game of the season last year to the Lions after a 2-0 start.
“To get over that hump and be the great team we want to be, we had to beat this team. We came here and did what we have to do, and now we are 3-0,” Morales said.
Howell’s quarterback said the Rebels are in a great spot after beating what he called one of the hardest teams on their schedule.
Morales threw three of his four touchdown passes to wide receiver Naseim Brantley, who caught eight receptions for 101 yards. Morales called Brantley “more than a brother.”
“We work out together. We do everything together. So when I am scrambling, he knows where he has to be. We work on that. When I am scrambling one way, he knows where to cut. He knows how to find the space,” Morales said.
“[The win] feels really great. We have been working hard all offseason just for this game and just for the whole season,” Brantley said.
Brantley didn’t take any extra satisfaction from his personal hat trick against Middletown North.
“It is a team effort,” he said.
Howell head coach Luke Sinkhorn noted that Morales and Brantley have had that connection for a couple of years.
“I feel great about them in general. They are two great cats. They are awesome players and awesome guys off the field. I feel confident in anything that we are doing with them,” Sinkhorn said.
Howell is 3-0 on the season and looks to continue its winning ways at home against Toms River High School North on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Middletown North will look to get back to .500 on Oct. 6 when they face off against New Brunswick High School at home at 7 p.m.
