MIDDLETOWN — Greencastle-Antrim had everything going its way in the first half of Friday night’s Mid Penn Colonial football scrap at Middletown, leading 28-6 at the half.

But the Blue Devils had to hang on for dear life to secure their first win of the season, 28-26.

Noah Shifflett

“We got a couple of turnovers and we ran the ball effectively in the first half and controlled the game,” G-A coach Devin McCauley said. “But they made some adjustments, and we gave them better field position in the second. We’re just  happy to get out of there with a win.”

Greencastle (1-2, 1-1 MPC) rushed to a 21-6 lead after one quarter. The Blue Raiders (1-2, 0-2 MPC) lost a pair of fumbles in the first half (recovered y Blake Reuter and Wyatt Hall) and the Blue Devils capitalized.

Quarterback Sean Marshall ran for two short touchdowns, and hit receiver Carter McCauley for a pair of scoring throws — one for 14 and one for 13. The only scoring Middletown could manage was a kickoff return for a TD by Luis Roman, but the extra point was blocked by McCauley, which became a factor later.

The G-A offense bogged down or most of the second half.

“We had some penalties and we got behind the sticks,” coach McCauley said, “and didn’t play well offensively. But we did execute when it mattered.”

It mattered because the Blue Raiders scored a touchdown in the third period and another in the fourth with about 9 minutes left. On Greencastle’s next possession, a Middletown back picked off a pass by Marshall and ran it back for a score.

Middletown had to go for two and the tie, but the play was stopped to keep G-A’s small lead.

McCauley said, “Wyatt Hall and Blake Reuter made great open field tackles, or their play would have worked.”

The defense made one more play, as Noah Shifflett intercepted a Middletown pass with just over 4 minutes left. The Blue Devils’ offense then woke up and produced a pair of first downs to use up all of the clock, including a fourth-and-one sneak by Marshall that picked up a first down at the Middletown 10 by the nose of the football.

“That last drive was huge,” McCauley said. “To get those two first downs and run the clock out was great to see.”

Carter McCauley caught 5 balls for 61 yards and two scores and Marshall hit on 9 of 17 for 122 yards. Reuter topped the running backs with 81 yards on 18 carries.

Greencastle-Antrim 28, Middletown 26
Greencastle            21     7     0     0     —     28
Middletown             6     0     7    13    —     26
First Quarter
GA — Sean Marshall 1 run (Andrew Bowers kick)
GA — Carter McCauley 14 pass from Marshall (Bowers kick)
Mid — Luis Roman kickoff return (kick blocked)
GA — McCauley 13 pass from Marshall (Bowers kick)
Second Quarter
GA — Marshall 2 run (Bowers kick)
Third Quarter
Mid — Gavin Paul 3 run (kick good)
Fourth Quarter
Mid — 17 run (kick good)
Mid — Interception return (run failed)
Greencastle Statistics
Rushing — Blake Reuter 18-81, Lars Galinanes 11-53, Marshall 9-33, Asher Whitson 3-10, Noah Shifflett 2-5.
Passing — Marshall 9-17-1-122.
Receiving — McCauley 5-61, Shifflett 2-29, Reuter 2-22.