BOONSBORO, Md. – The Boonsboro football team spent its Friday making molehills into mountains.
The Warriors have always been pretty good at dealing with little things. But this time, they ganged up on Boonsboro.
The combination of the smallest of miscues and indecisions bowled over the Warriors as they fell 18-7 in the season opener against longtime Frederick County nemesis Middletown in the latest edition of the battle between two perennial top-flight playoff programs.
“The little things matter,” said Boonsboro coach Mark Wadel. “If you take care of the little things, they’ll take care of the big things. If you don’t take care of the little things, it’ll become big problems.”
It was the latter for the Warriors.
Middletown took a 6-0 halftime lead before the two teams started firing haymakers. The two teams each scored on their first possessions of the second half before staging a defensive battle with each challenging the other to blink.
That blink came in the form of a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by the Knights’ Connor Herman with 1:03 remaining to ice the game.
“At that point, they knew we had to pass,” Wadel said. “We were having success with some of the runs. But they didn’t have to really worry about the run stuff. Once they knew they could pin their ears back, we were in a little bit of trouble.”
It was the final stamp on a physical rivalry that Boonsboro and Middletown have engaged in over the years. After Friday, the Knights own a 16-2 record over the Warriors since 2005 and have won the last 10 meetings.
The two programs have made marks in the Maryland state playoffs – the Warriors in Class 1A and Knights in 2A – over the years (Middletown is now a member of the Class 2A-1A hybrid bracket). Their past meetings have been barometers for playoff-caliber competition.
Both teams advanced in the 2025 playoffs. Boonsboro lost in the Class 1A semifinals while Middletown won the right to play in the 2A-1A quarterfinals, before forfeiting for using an ineligible player.
This year’s meeting was equally physical, but provided a starting point for the rest of the season.
After playing a scoreless first quarter, Middletown got on the board with 13-play, 90-yard drive that bridged into the second quarter.
The Knights took the ball from their 10 and marched down field methodically. Boonsboro had stopped Middletown in the first three plays of the drive, but the Warriors were flagged for illegal substitution on the punt to give the Knights a first down.
The drive was capped by Gavin Shankle’s three-yard run over right end for the touchdown with 9:51 remaining in the half. The Knights missed the extra point to keep the lead at 6-0.
Boonsboro had two first-half drives that moved to the doormat in front of Middletown’s goal line, but failed on fourth-down plays at the 7 and 4 to turn the ball over on downs. The Warriors used the running ability of quarterback Blake Main to loosen the Knights’ defense until it stiffened near its end zone to end threats.
“Some of the stuff is lack of execution. They were blitzing a couple guys and we have hot routes off of it. Blitz, you throw this ball right now. And just not executing that. Sometimes the receiver wasn’t looking for it. Sometimes maybe Blake wasn’t looking for it. So, it’s not all on him. He had a lot of pressure.
“The conversation I just had with (the team) is the scout team didn’t get us prepared for the physicality and the effort and all the stuff that Middletown does. The guys are doing the best they can, but they can’t emulate what Middletown gives you.”
Middletown scored immediately coming out of the half.
The Knights started the opening drive at the 31 and ripped off gains of 9 and 11 yards, leading to a 49-yard sweep around right end by Shankle for the 12-0 lead with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
Boonsboro countered by running quick-hitting offensive plays, beating Middletown’s defense to the punch. Main hit on three passes and Landon French added a 19-yard run to set up Jadon King’s 5-yard run to the left for the touchdown to move the Warriors to within 12-7 at 7:46 of the third quarter.
The Warriors wasted a golden chance to take the lead starting in the latter stages of the third quarter.
Boonsboro started a drive with 4:00 to go in the third quarter that lasted eight minutes and 16 plays only to come up empty. The Warriors drove from their 22 to the Middletown 3 before losing yardage to the 25 in two plays and a penalty before turning the ball over on downs with 8:03 remaining.
The Warriors’ defense held, giving the offense a last chance with 3:26 remaining at the Boonsboro 27. After an opening 3-yard run by King, Main was under constant pressure for the next seven plays.
Then, on a desperation fourth-and-5 play from the 34, Main was hit while passing, and Herman picked off the pass along the right sideline and returned it 40 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
“I told them it’s a real shame that we got to wait until Game 1 is over to figure out that our scout team’s not giving us enough,” Wadel said. “That’s a good team. They’re going to beat a lot of people by a lot of points.
“And, you know, outside of that pick 6 while falling down right there, that’s a five-point game. I’m proud of the kids for the way they battled. They didn’t give up.”
Proud, but not satisfied.
“You want to win this game, but it’s a good eye opener,” Wadel said. “We never talked one time about a perfect season. You want to win every game that you play, but, you know, what’s the old adage? You win or you learn. And so tonight we have a chance to learn to get better.
“They didn’t get the win like we wanted, but we gave them a heck of a fight.”
