Markos Lagios ran for four touchdowns and totaled 282 yards in offense to help lead Piedmont High School’s boys football team to a 42-21 win over Middletown at Witter Field on Sept. 6.
The Highlanders are now 1-1 on the year and will host Mt. Eden on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Piedmont dominated statistically, piling up 450 yards of offense to 268 for the Mustangs (1-1). All six Highlanders touchdowns came on the ground, as Tommy Ashton added two. Starting center Liam Leahy returned from an injury and in a related development, the team finished with 262 yards rushing on 36 rushes.
“It was a good game,” Piedmont coach Jordan Seiden said. “We definitely needed that bounce-back against a really good team. The offensive line just showed up. Getting Liam back at center really solidified things. We didn’t have any snap issues. It was a clean operation. It allowed our offense to have a really good game.”
The defense was strong as well, shutting down Middletown, especially in the second half. The Mustangs led 15-14 early in the second quarter, then didn’t score again until the final minutes.
“They played well,” Seiden said of his defense. “They were hitting hard all night. Defensive line played well once we ironed out some things playing against their power and their power plays.”
Middletown opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, going 54 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. Victor Guzman took the ball in from 20 yards out, then ran in the two-point conversion.
Piedmont responded with a 74-yard drive in five plays. Lagios completed two key passes in the drive, hitting Sam Shelby for 37 yards and then Dash Waters Worthen for 30. Ashton took the ball in from the 1-yard line and it was 8-7.
The Mustangs drove down to the Highlanders 9 for a first-and-goal on their next possession but the Piedmont defense stiffened. Middletown quarterback Caleb Sternberg couldn’t connect with Luke Hoogendoorn on fourth down and the Highlanders took over.
They then went 91 yards on four plays to take the lead. Shelby ran for 25 yards on the first play of the possession, then caught a pair of Lagios passes for 34 and 18 yards. Shelby caught eight passes for 120 yards and also rushed for 51 yards on four carries. Lagios scored on a 14-yard run to make it 14-8.
Middletown didn’t wilt, going on an 11-play, 57-yard drive bridging the first and second quarters. Guzman again did the honors, scoring on a four-yard run.
Piedmont then took the lead for good, grinding out a 13-play, 70-yard drive with Lagios again running the ball in, this time from the 2. It was 21-15 at halftime.
The Highlanders got the ball first in the second half and broke the game open. Ashton scored on a two-yard run to make it 28-15. The Mustangs went three-and-out, and Piedmont came right down the field again with Lagios scoring on a 13-yard run.
Middletown put a nice drive together into the fourth quarter, but again was held on fourth down in Piedmont territory. A third down sack by Ashton was a key play in stopping the drive. Lagios put the capper on the win with a 19-yard touchdown run.
Lagios led the Highlanders in rushing. Ashton finished with 12 carries for 80 yards and the two touchdowns. Lagios completed 13 of 15 passes for 188 yards.
Sternberg finished 10 of 21 for 133 yards for Middletown. Guzman rushed for 59 yards on 13 carries.
Cash Elmquist led the Piedmont defense with four solo and six assisted tackles.
“It’s one week at a time,” Seiden said. “We’ve got a young Mt. Eden team coming in this week. I like to focus more on us than the other team in our preparation. We’re always looking to improve in the passing game. We want to be
better at tackling. Be more sound on defense. We want to stay focused on the basics.”