FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Following a couple of lengthy road trips to open the season, the Midway sprint football team got to play their home opener on Saturday, September 30, when they hosted Bellarmine (Ky.) in the 'Battle for the Bourbon Barrel' at Western Hills High School.
The Eagles took an early 7-3 lead about midway through the first quarter, but the Knights answered, scoring 24 unanswered points on their way to a 27-7 victory, claiming the 'Battle of the Bourbon Barrel' trophy for the third straight meeting.
Bellarmine, who continued their unbeaten start to the season improving to 3-0 overall and 3-0 within the Midwest Sprint Football League, took the opening kickoff and covered 43 yards in 10 plays in a drive that resulted in a Caiden Mellecker 37-yard field goal.
Trailing 3-0, Midway, who dropped to 1-2 overall and 1-2 within the MSFL, answered right back with a 4-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. The third play of the drive saw Keegan Hill (Alexandria, Ky.) connect with Rudy Loomis (Maple Shade, N.J.) who made a spectacular catch for 64 yards.
The next play, Matthew Young (Owenton, Ky) took the handoff and covered the final three yards for his first touchdown of the season that gave Midway a 7-3 lead.
The lead, however, was short lived after Bellarmine's Brenden Reid capped off an 8-play, 45-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to regain a 10-7 lead.
Following a Midway punt, the Knights embarked on the game's longest drive, a 16-play, 88-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. Reid once again capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown to give his team a 17-7 lead at intermission.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, their offensive struggles would continue in the second half as they struggled to get anything going against the Bellarmine defense. The Knights, meanwhile, put together a pair of scoring drives in the third quarter.
The first resulted in a 38-yard field goal by Mellecker, while the second came with just under four minutes left in the third. Luke Worley found Shannon Tonge for an 8-yard touchdown pushing the lead to the final score of 27-7.
Offensively, the Eagles amassed 249 yards of total offense with 219 of those coming through the air. Bellarmine finished with 268 yards overall, including 115 through the air and 153 on the ground.
Keegan Hill had 14 completions for 219 yards, while Matthew Young led the attack on the ground with 56 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. Rudy Loomis and Dameon Miller (Plainfield, Ind.) had five and four receptions for 98 and 78 yards, respectively.
Bellarmine was led by Brenden Reid, who had 21 carries for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Luke Worley completed 12-of-17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Midway's defensive effort was led by Noah Watson (Hendersonville, Tenn.), who finished with 11 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. Peyton Brazier (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) and Luke Guerrero (Santa Maria, Calif.) added nine tackles apiece, while Brazier added 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
The Eagles are now set to return to action on Saturday, October 7, when they travel to Quincy (Ill.). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at QU Stadium.
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