- Valley Central at Middletown Highlights
- Joseph Royal postgame interview
The final score says 29-7. For most of the night, it didn’t feel that way.
Middletown spent three quarters in a slugfest with Valley Central, and the Middie Bears carried only a 15-7 lead into halftime. Valley Central’s defense held up and made the offense work for everything. The one exception was a 99-yard touchdown pass in the first half, a play that looks like a flaw in the defense until you hear what happened on the other sideline.
Quarterback Joseph Royal, a steady, veteran starter, said after the game that Coach Strenfel saw that play coming. The coaching staff had a feel for the shot before it happened, and it showed up in the game plan. That’s the kind of detail you can’t see in a box score, and it says a lot about how prepared Middletown was.
The second half was where the gap became real. Valley Central kept competing, but Middletown’s talent started to separate. A few big plays opened up the lead, and what had been a one-possession fight became a comfortable win. A veteran quarterback who doesn’t force things is a good fit for a team that wins by hitting the plays the defense gives it, and Royal is that.
Now the schedule gets serious. Asked about what’s next, Royal didn’t spend much time on the win. For him, it’s all about Newburgh. The Goldbacks are the other big name in Section 9, and next week’s game is for the supremacy of the section.
Middletown handled Valley Central the right way, by grinding through a tough first half and then taking over. Newburgh will be a different kind of test, and Royal clearly knows it.
Watch the highlights and Royal’s full postgame interview above.
