Within minutes of the first quarter, the Rams proved to the Knights that winning this game was going to be no easy feat.

 “After the first few plays, I think it really hit us as a team, that this wasn’t Frederick county football anymore, and all we could do was show them what Middletown football is really capable of,” said Delauter.

  By halftime, the bright lights from the scoreboard, 21-0 cast onto many disappointed fans and players.

 Despite the large point deferential, the Knights had proved throughout the season that they had a knack for pulling off wins that seemed nearly impossible.

 After defeating TJ for the first time in 5 years, and shutting out the undefeated Catoctin, it seemed apparent that this season was going to be different – the Knights were well out their way to game fourteen.

 “During halftime we changed our views of the game, we changed our entire mindset. We realized we’ve been down before and we have come back. The Rams were nothing we couldn’t handle. For the seniors this would be our last game, and we knew we had to go out there and give it our all,” said senior offensive and defensive lineman Mike Tousignant.

 The momentum of the game took an unexpected shift in the last minutes of the third quarter. Senior Sam Michels managed to fake out a defender and rush 19 yards, scoring the first touchdown for the knights of the game. Not even two minutes later, senior Chris Pirrone made an exceptional catch and rushed 32 yards for yet another touch down.

 The crowd was stunned. The team was back and was a force to be reckoned with.

 With only 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the players knew it was now or never. Junior Michael Pritts made a 51 yard throw downfield to fellow junior, Ben Lewis. Lewis dove and seized the ball, only to have it ruled as incomplete pass due to failure to maintain possession.

 Never the type of players to let adversities get the best of them, Pritts gave it another shot by throwing another deep pass to Pirrone, but the play was called back for an illegal formation penalty.

Later, an article in the Gazette newspaper,” Middletown’s comeback not enough” explains quite a different story.

 “On Gray’s (McDonough) third touchdown, the cameras showed fairly convincing views of Gray’s upper body landing out of bounds before his lower body hit the turf. Then on the most heart breaking call of the game, when Pritts went deep to Lewis with 43 seconds left in the game. Initially, it looked like Lewis hauled in the 51-yard pass, setting up a first-and-goal situation on the 6. But the call was that it was incomplete pass. The television broadcast (as well as photographers on the sideline) was able to definitely show that Lewis had possession in air and didn’t actually let go of the ball until after his would-be tacklers landed on him.”

 Unfortunately, in high school football replays are not allowed during games, even in debate cases such as Lewis’s catch.

 By the time the clock struck zero at the end of the fourth quarter, a whirlwind of purple erupted through the field, as the Rams celebrated its close victory. Only backs of orange jerseys could be seen as some players collapsed on the turf in overwhelming emotion.

 “They finished this game. They finished it with everything they had. They put their bodies on the line, they put their egos on the line, and they found ways to get stuff done,” said Coach Lynott in an article by the Frederick News Post. “They were out-manned. That team was bigger, they had some speed, they had all that. And our guys neutralized that with teamwork and passion, and we have a lot to be proud of.”

 While the Rams may have won the title, the team walked off the field, holding back tears knowing they had put their hearts in the game.