The Middletown Knights varsity football team will travel to Clarksburg High School for a first round playoff matchup against the undefeated hometown Coyotes.  

Recently crowned Piedmont Champions, the Knights are set to take on a high scoring Coyotes team looking to improve on a strong 10 – 0 season.

Comparing offenses, Clarksburg clearly has an advantage, scoring fifteen points a game more than the Knights (Coyotes score 35 per game, compared to the Knights scoring 20).

Clarksburg also starts much faster than the Knights, scoring an average of 11.8 points in the first and second quarters, to Middletown’s 1.2 and 5 points, respectively.

Middletown has a stronger fourth quarter scoring average, scoring four points to the Coyotes 1.5. Middletown was shut out by Linganore, while the least amount of points Clarksburg has scored is 12.

Not only have the Coyotes fared better on offense than the Knights, but their defense has been more dominant. They have given up only 60 total points this season, as the Knights have allowed 174. In giving up the 174 points, the Knights shut out their opponent in three separate games, against Tuscarora, Frederick, and Walkersville.

This shows Middletown’s vulnerability to giving up many points at once, giving up at least 20 points four times this season, and at least 42 twice.

One point of interest is that both teams are coming off an away game shutout in their last game. Middletown took down Walkersville High 28 – 0, while Clarksburg beat Watkins Mill 33 – 0.

The story of the game should be how Middletown fares on the road in this contest. The Knights are undefeated on the road (5 – 0) this season. Their three losses all came at home. Middletown’s biggest wins came away from Knights Stadium this season. The shutout of Walkersville was their second on the road.

The Knights shut out Tuscarora 20 – 0 in week two. Week eight, the Knights scored a huge comeback win against conference foe South Hagerstown, coming back from a second half deficit to beat South during their homecoming game.

Clarksburg, while undefeated, scored some of their biggest wins at home, including a 55 – 0 beat down of Poolesville in week five and a week nine trouncing of Lansdowne High, 41 – 6.

Look for the Knights to play aggressively and try to start the game strong on both offense and defense to attempt to knock off the undefeated Coyotes. Game time is 7:00 P.M. at Clarksburg High School. Check MHSRoundtable.com for a post – game summary and recap.