Streak ends at 43

MIDDLETOWN-- On a cold, rainy night, the fans of the Middletown South football team were held speechless. The Irish flag, which has become a fixture in the student section this year, hung by a thread from its makeshift mast. The Eagles watched on from the sideline as they saw another team celebrate a win for the first time in 3½ years. The Ocean football team won the game 19-14. The teams traded touchdowns in the first and second quarters, going into the half tied at 14. The Eagles started off the second half with a good drive but it stuttered at the Ocean 40-yard line and were forced to punt. The Ocean defense stepped it up to hold the South offense to negative 11 yards in the second half. Ocean drove down the field into kicker Umit Kaygisiz’s range to make the score 17-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The teams traded punts throughout the fourth quarter until a well-placed punt landed the Eagles inside their own 15-yard line. A fumble on a pitch by Pat Campbell, which South recovered, pushed them back to their own 3 yard line. On the next play Campbell rolled out to his left and was hit by two Ocean defenders. After trying to force the ball away a flag was thrown for intentional grounding. Because the penalty occurred in the endzone, Ocean was awarded a safety and a 19-14 lead. The safety kick then rolled out of bounds allowing Ocean to continue to control field position after receiving the ball at South’s 45-yard line. The Ocean offense continued to pound the football up the middle to run the clock down finally ending the game with a kneel down with 20 seconds left. Ocean players stormed the field in celebration while the Eagles could only watch from an unfamiliar prospective. With the win, Ocean clinches the Federal Division crown, which had belonged to South for the last 7 years, because both teams now own the same record but Ocean wins the tie-breaker because of tonight’s win. This was the last regular season home game for Middletown South, with their last regular season game coming on Thanksgiving at Middletown North. The playoffs have not yet been announced.