Middletown defense ‘a special group’

More physical Middies have allowed just 9.2 points per game heading into clash with Anderson.

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By Skip Weaver, Staff Writer Updated 7:02 AM Friday, November 13, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — A combination of speed and power has made the Middletown High School football team’s defense a dominant unit this season.

First-year Fairfield coach Aaron Fitzstephens — whose team lost 41-0 to the Middies — said it all starts up front.

“I was really impressed with their line,” said Fitzstephens, who was an assistant coach in the Greater Miami Conference for eight years before getting the head coaching job at Fairfield. “The biggest difference now is they are physical. They’ve always had athletes, but now they are playing with power.”

The Middies have four shutouts this season and have allowed just 101 points through 11 games (9.2 points allowed per game).

“When people want to know what we’re doing different, I tell them that we just want to play fast,” MHS defensive coordinator Brett Stubbs said. “And that causes teams trouble.

“We’ve got great leaders like Aaron (Lewis), Kyle (Schwarber), Jerry (Gates) and all the seniors,” he continued. “Every week someone shines, and that’s a testament to them as players, not the coaches.”

Senior defensive back Eric Redding turned the compliment back on the coaches.

“Coach Stubbs is the best I’ve ever seen,” Redding said. “We had to prove that we weren’t a typical Middie defense. We heard we weren’t disciplined, but the coaches drilled into our heads not to listen to everyone else. We had to focus on doing what we had to do and to just believe in ourselves and be confident.”

That confidence has shone through in many ways. Lewis led the GMC with nine sacks, and Gates led the league with six interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Middletown has allowed an average of 79 rushing yards per game. The Middies allowed just 64 last week to Moeller, a team that was averaging 250 per game.

The Middies face another run-oriented team — Anderson— Saturday in the Division I regional semifinals. The undefeated Redskins averaged 366 yards per game on the ground in the regular season, and were led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Brandon Bornhauser and Kyle Slater.

“It goes back to summer camp,” Stubbs said of his defense. “I told them if we did drills right the first time, then we’d be done. We could yell and scream all we wanted, but they had to make the decision on how they wanted to play. This has really been a special group.”

Next game

What: Division I regional semifinals
Who: Anderson (11-0) vs. Middletown (10-1)
When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Nippert Stadium, University of Cincinnati
Radio: WPFB-AM (910)
Playoff history: Anderson is 11-8 with a state championship (D-II) in 2007, and Middletown is 4-3.