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Eagles fall one game short of state Class 3A final

Middletown beat Conwell-Egan to head to PIAA 3A finale.

Conwell-Egan’s Dajuan Harris (right) can’t hold onto a pass as Middletown's Tre Leach defends in the first quarter of a PIAA Class 3A football semifinal Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, at West Chester Rustin. Conwell-Egan went on to lose, 49-7.
Conwell-Egan’s Dajuan Harris (right) can’t hold onto a pass as Middletown's Tre Leach defends in the first quarter of a PIAA Class 3A football semifinal Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, at West Chester Rustin. Conwell-Egan went on to lose, 49-7.Read moreLOU RABITO / Staff

Typically this season, when a senior running back plays well in a Conwell-Egan football game, the Eagles fly away victorious.

Saturday afternoon at West Chester Rustin, however, Middletown senior Brady Fox frequently filleted the Eagles defense en route to 49-7 victory and a berth in the PIAA Class 3A finale.

"This is great," said Fox, who finished with 174 yards and 4 touchdowns on 25 carries. "We're going to feel great today, but that will all go away Monday when we get ready to play in that state championship."

Next Saturday at noon, the Blue Raiders (14-0) will face District 7's Quaker Valley at Hersheypark Stadium.

Saturday against the Eagles (7-7) they dominated in almost every phase.

Last season, the Blue Raiders lost to District 7's Beaver Falls in the 3A championship.

"They've been here and they knew what it took," said C-E coach Jack Techtmann. "They beat us up up front, handled us physically and they took Patrick [Garwo] away."

Garwo, a senior who rushed for 280 yards and three scores in the quarterfinals, was held to 40 yards on 10 carries.

In fact, the bulk of his yardage came from a 26-yard run in the first quarter and a 16-yard carry on a fake punt in the second.

Middletown finished with 481 yards of total offense, while the Eagles finished with 200.

Quarterback Scott Ash threw for 206 yards and two scores on 9-of-12 passing.

Chris Plummer and Tre Leach added 69 and 67 receiving yards, respectively.

For the Eagles, DaJuan Harris finished with 119 yards on 4 catches and the team's lone touchdown, a 77-yard pass from Alex Goldsby (128 yards, TD on 5-of-19 passing).

The Eagles converted just 2 of their 12 third-down opportunities. Middletown converted 6 of 8. The Blue Raiders also led, 21-0, after the first quarter and, 28-7, at intermission.

Despite the day's struggles, Techtmann was proud of his team's progress.

He said the Eagles 437 points was just 1 shy of the all-time school record set back in 1966.

"I just told them they learned from being here last year," he said. "We have a lot of people back next year. Our seniors had great careers. They won a District last year and one this year. The program continues to take steps forward, in my mind anyway. … I'm proud of our kids."

Box

Middletown           21   7   14   7   – 49
Conwell-Egan         0   7     0   0   –  7

M: Brady Fox 4 run. Donovan Brady kick

M: Lamar Ventura 13 pass from Scott Ash. Brady kick

M: Fox 56 run. Brady kick

M: Chris Plummer 11 pass from Ash. Brady kick

CE: DaJuan Harris 77 pass from Alex Goldsby. Jack Barreras kick

M: Fox 13 run. Brady kick

M: Fox 3 run. Brady kick

M: Chris Joseph 46 run. Brady kick