Middletown rolls to Harvest Bowl win over Smyrna

MIDDLETOWN — Smyrna High won the pregame coin toss, elected to receive the football and then blew downfield for a touchdown Friday night.

The excitement was short-lived, however, as host Middletown dominated from there during a 45-12 victory in the Harvest Bowl.

The Eagles (1-4) led for just over a minute until Cavalier quarterback Derian Cunningham bolted for a 34-yard touchdown, which was followed by the first of Austin Hamm’s seven extra points.

The score began a run of 31 straight points by the Cavaliers (4-1), who got a 27-yard field goal from Hamm, two touchdown rushes by Makai Walker and an 18-yard scoring reception by former Dover standout John Parker.

The large contingent of Smyrna fans who traveled to Cavalier Stadium still had hope as their Eagles stayed within 10-6 at halftime.

That was dashed as Middletown scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the third quarter much to the delight of a spirited student section.

Led by defenders Cameron Lampkin, Neil Rose, Jaden Williams, Malachi Stewart, Darius Pope, Anai Burney-Green and others, the Cavaliers clamped down after Smyrna’s initial success. Camryn Joyner made an interception as well.

Smyrna’s early success came on the ground and in the air, with Phoenix Henriquez catching passes of 12 and 30 yards from quarterback Drew Marks, and Kahmaj Kearney getting a 20-yard rush and then eight-yard touchdown run with 6:18 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles didn’t score again until Marks connected with receiver Eric Dorsey III on an 11-yard touchdown to pull Smyrna within 31-12 with 11:50 remaining in the third quarter. The drive was fueled by an 18-yard reception by Christian Beverly on a third-down play.

Middletown’s Walker followed with his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard run with 7:38 remaining and Antonio Harvey closed the scoring with a one-yard rush in the final 40 seconds of a game that included a slew of penalties on both sides.

In addition to playing Middletown, Smyrna had lost to three other teams with a combined 13-1 record coming into the week.

The Cavaliers entered with a five-game regular season winning streak in the series, excluding their forfeit in 2021.

Since 2016, Smyrna has won three of five against Middletown in state tournament games.

Both teams play home games next Friday — Middletown hosts Hodgson and Smyrna faces Caesar Rodney on its Homecoming night.