Midway rolls over Hobbton

The official start of the 2024 high school football season fell upon us on Friday night, kicking off in fantastic fashion that pit two old rivals squaring up against one another right off the bat. Fans packed Tommy Sloan Stadium at Midway High School on Friday as the Raiders hosted their arch enemy from Newton Grove, the Hobbton Wildcats. The outcome of this one was all Midway as the Raiders took an emphatic 34-0 victory.

Midway had some trouble on the opening snap, avoiding two fumbles to set up on their own 28-yard line. Before they could ever get a play off, an illegal procedure penalty put them with negative equity back at the 22. Then a holding penalty negated a big run, further shoving back the Raiders offense. A second down pass completion from Tanner Williams to Preston Medlin brought the line of scrimmage back to its original spot but a third down incompletion ended the drive and Midway was forced to punt.

Following a not-so-great punt, the Wildcats set up on their own 46-yard line – much better field position than their rivals. They avoided disaster on their first play, a near fumble in the backfield. Just like Midway, Hobbton went three-and-out for negative yards and were forced to punt back to the Raiders. The punt was blocked by Thomas Perez, however, and was returned all the way back by Anthony Graham for the defensive score. Luke McCray kicked the PAT and with 8:04 left in the first quarter, Midway led 7-0.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats set up for their next drive on their own 25-yard line. This time, Hobbton moved forward for positive yards and a fresh set of downs after gambling on fourth-and-one. They stalled after that, though, and this time successfully punted the ball back to the Raiders.

After the punt, and another penalty against Midway, the Raiders had the ball on their own 35-yard line. They also gambled on fourth down, getting the first down but then also getting extra yards thanks to the Wildcats first penalty of the game – a 15-yarder that moved the Raiders down to the Hobbton 33-yard line. They also stalled out there and punted the ball right back.

Starting at their own 10-yard line must have been great motivation for the Wildcats because their first play on this drive went for 19 yards out to their 29-yard line. The Midway defense, though, continued to be problematic for Hobbton as this drive died out and ended in a punt.

At the end of the first quarter, the Raiders were lining back up on offense on their own 32-yard line leading 7-0.

They marched down field all the way to the Hobbton 17-yard line before their drive hit a road block and they attempted a long field goal. The attempt was blocked, though, and after the ball rolled backwards quite a bit, the Wildcats lined up on their own 43-yard line.

After facing a long third down, the Wildcats completed a long pass on a throw from Joe Corbett to Reggie Thompson that was good for a first down. Hobbton, though, was hit with another penalty that allowed them to keep the new set of downs but wiped out the yards they had gained. As a result, the next three plays yielded another punt and the Midway offense was back on the field on their own 28-yard line with 6:06 left in the first half.

Personal foul penalties were starting to accumulate for Hobbton as a face mask pushed the Raiders 15 yards further upfield. A Tanner Williams interception by Deonte Darden, though, turned the ball back over to the Wildcats at the Hobbton 42-yard line.

This Wildcats drive again yielded no fruit and Midway was right back on the field on their own 42-yard line with 4:06 left on the clock. This drive was much more productive for the Raiders as they began to march the other way. Gehemiah Blue and Ke’Mari McNeil came alive for the Midway offense and the product was a 13-yard TD pass from Williams to McNeil for another score. After the PAT by McCray, the Raiders led 14-0 with 1:40 left in the first half.

Hobbton got a nice return on the ensuing kickoff and set up their offense at their own 31-yard line with 1:34 left. Defensively for Midway, though, Perez was giving the Wildcats all sorts of problems, coming up with a sack for an 8-yard loss to shove Hobbton way back with under a minute to go. This eventually led to a punt attempt but the snap sailed over the head of the punter and produced an incomplete pass. Midway took over there at the Hobbton 32-yard line looking to put up more points.

They were successful in their endeavors, working the sidelines and a well-placed timeout to generate a 13-yard TD pass from Williams to Blue. After a successful PAT, the Raiders took a 21-0 lead into the halftime break.

When play resumed, Hobbton received the ball first at their own 20-yard line. This drive ended in complete disaster as McNeil picked off a Corbett pass attempt at the 40-yard line and returned it down to the three yard line. One play later, Blue bulldozed his way through contact and scored another touchdown. With 10:41 left in the third quarter, the Raiders led 28-0.

When Hobbton lined up and tried it again, they were on their own 35-yard line where the drive again went backwards. The Wildcats, though, regrouped and picked up a fresh set of downs. Still, the end result was unchanged. They turned the ball over on downs at the Midway 46 as the Raiders were headed the other way. Initially this Midway drive went in reverse after a succession of penalties put the Raiders in reverse. They overcame the negative yardage, though, and picked up consecutive first downs to keep their drive — and the clock — rolling. Nathue Myles eventually capped the drive off, blasting into open field for a 32-yard touchdown run to jolt the Midway lead even further. The PAT missed this time but with 3:33 left in the third quarter, the Raiders led 34-0.

For their next drive, the Wildcats lined up on their own 16-yard line, desperately looking to making something happen. Unfortunately for them, though, this drive continued the theme of the night and ended on a three and out.

At the end of the third quarter, the Raiders were firmly in control leading 34-0.

They were threatening again to start of the third quarter but they turned it over on a lost fumble and Hobbton took over at their own 34-yard line. After picking up a couple first downs, Wilson Mayo picked off a Corbett pass and set the Raiders back up on offense at midfield with 8:00 left in the game.

The remainder of the game saw the two teams exchange empty possessions and the clock eventually ran out on a 34-0 Midway victory.

In the postgame, an elated Sloan was well-pleased with his team’s defense in the game, crediting defensive coach Jonathan Hall for having his team prepared.

“Coach Hall is the man,” he exclaimed. “He’s the best in the business and we were blessed when we got him. He brought the juice…he brought the dark side defense with him and these boys bought in tonight.”

Sloan did acknowledge that there are still some things the Raiders need to clean up, however.

“We have a couple things we still need to tweak on the defensive side of the ball but overall everything was clicking, man. We were flying around making some plays.”

Sloan also praised one of his players that he felt stood out.

“In the off season we challenged Caleb Hall to step up and make big plays on the defensive side and I thought tonight he answered that call. We told him he had to be the most physical player on the field and in the perimeter areas he was. Just overall hats off to the defense.”

Offensively, Sloan didn’t completely hate the slow start to the game, citing early season rust of nerves just needing to e worked out.

“Early in the season like this it takes it a while to start clicking,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a few times with penalties and turnovers, but biggest thing is staying healthy and getting out of here.”

With the win, Midway is now 1-0 on the season. They will be at home again next week, hosting James Kenan.

For Hobbton, who starts out 0-1, they will also be at home for the first time this season, taking part in the second Nissan of Clinton Game of the Week of the season facing off against Trask.