The Thirty Years’ Roar: Middletown North Wins Its First Sectional Title Since 1996

MIDDLETOWN – Middletown North’s senior class had been building to Friday night for three years. 

The Lions’ fans had been waiting for 30 years. 

The orange-and-black is back after top-seeded Middletown North handled third-seeded Chatham 28-7 in the North 2 Group 4 final at Arnie Truex Field for the Lions’ first NJSIAA sectional title since 1996. It’s the fourth title for the Lions (9-1) since the creation of the state playoffs in 1974 and the 15th overall in their illustrious history. 

“It doesn’t feel real right now,” junior WR/DB Anthony Christiani said. “We just won a sectional title. I can’t even describe it.” 

Middletown North lost in the sectional semifinals in 2024 and the Central Jersey Group 4 final last season before polishing off the elusive state title on Friday night. They will now host North 1 Group 4 champion Northern Highlands in the Group 4 semifinals next Friday after the Highlanders beat Middletown South 31-7 on Friday night. 

“Just to kind of get over that hump, it feels really good,” said head coach Steve Bush, who has led the team to three sectional final appearances in his 21 seasons with the Lions. “These kids deserve it. I’m really happy for them, really proud of them for what they’ve done.” 

“Every year we kept building and building,” senior running back Matt Belenko said. “Every year we’ve just kept progressing and getting better. The program is on the rise right now, and it’s a great feeling.” 

Middletown North did it the same way it has been doing it all season – with a balanced effort between the passing game, running game and the defense. All of the Lions’ stars rose to the occasion, as Belenko had 91 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 27 carries, junior quarterback Derek Grasso was 11-for-16 for 171 yards and two touchdowns, Christiani had seven catches for 92 yards and a score, and senior wideout Danny Sigler had three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The offense also had zero turnovers and played largely mistake-free. 

Senior linebacker Kade Little led the defense with two sacks, two tackles for no gain, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and multiple pressures, including one that led to an intentional grounding call. Senior defensive lineman Logan Grenham had a huge tackle for a loss on fourth down at the Middletown North 5-yard line, a hit for no gain and a sack, and Christiani added an interception in the end zone. The defense closed strong, holding Chatham (8-4) to 47 total yards in the second half to deny the Cougars their first state sectional title since 1984. 

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big games,” Little said. 

Middletown North struck first when Grasso unloaded a 40-yard strike to Christiani to the Chatham 7-yard line and then found him again for a seven-yard catch and run for a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter. 

“I knew the backside stuff, they might lose it,” Grasso said about the 40-yard bomb. “I saw him, he put his hand up, and I knew I had to throw it to him.” 

Chatham appeared poised to tie it when the Cougars marched to Middletown North’s 5-yard line in 11 plays, but Grenham dropped senior quarterback Ryan Hogan for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-2 to nuke the drive. 

“They wanted to break us early and try to get us on our heels, but we stand tall as a defense,” Grenham said. “I got back there and got a stop.” 

The Cougars eventually tied the game on a two-yard touchdown run by Hogan with 2:13 left in the half that was set up by a wild scramble on a 29-yard pass from Hogan to junior tight end Milo Semioli on fourth-and-11. 

Middletown North had an immediate answer when Sigler got a step on a defender and Grasso found him perfectly in stride on the first play of the Lions’ ensuing possession. Sigler polished off a 70-yard touchdown catch for a 14-7 advantage that Middletown North took into halftime and would not relinquish. 

“We knew that they like to bite on the play action, so I thought, ‘Let’s take a shot early,’” Grasso said. “I asked Bush to run the play, and we did and it worked.” 

The Lions dominated after the break, forcing a three-and-out to start the third quarter and then marching 53 yards with nine straight running plays, eight of them by Belenko. The senior tailback scored from two yards out for a 21-7 advantage with 5:40 left in the third quarter. He racked up 73 of his 91 yards after the break despite playing at less than 100% after banging up his knee in the semifinals. 

“Coach (Justin) Fumando told me don’t worry about (my knee), hit the hole, don’t overthink it,” Belenko said about his strong second half. “I listened to his advice, and we got the run game going. We knew we had to come out strong. We had to punch them in the mouth to start the second half.” 

“We made some adjustments at halftime,” Bush said. “(Chatham) was running that 3-3 stack (defense) and changed what they were doing, but we were able to get some plays to get the run game going.” 

Meanwhile, the defense was swarming Hogan, who entered the game with 2,423 yards passing and 20 touchdowns along with 583 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Middletown North held him to 13-for-32 passing for 158 yards and two yards rushing, and Christiani intercepted him in the end zone on the final play of the first half. 

“They’re a big RPO team, so what we were worried about was the linebackers walking up and him throwing behind the linebackers, and we did a good job of stopping that,” Little said. “We wanted to suffocate them.” 

Belenko put the finishing touches on the win with a one-yard plunge that capped a 10-play, 44-yard drive for a 28-7 lead with 10:43 left in the game. 

“We came out at halftime and we were just like, ‘We are going to run them over and out-physical them,’” Little said.

“Their body language, they didn’t look like they wanted to be here any more,” Grenham said. 

It was clearly destiny that Middletown North would win a sectional title this season considering it’s a year that ends in six. In their long history, the Lions have won state titles in 1926, 1946, 1986 and 1996, and they reached a sectional final in 2016. 

“It’s unreal,” Grenham said. “I don’t know, it’s got to be lucky or something.” 

It was a full-circle moment for Bush, who was the head coach of Manalapan when Middletown North beat the Braves in the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs in 1996 on its way to the title. His current assistant, Mahaki Burns, was a star for that Lions team and had a scoop and score in the 27-24 win over Manalapan. Now they are all champions in the orange and black. 

“It’s a big deal to do this, and it’s something they can remember for the rest of their lives,” Bush said. 

Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999. 

Email: scottstump25@gmail.com