It was the tail-end of the 2013 basketball season and the Middletown Knights were about to hit one of the lowest points in program history.
They already had 20 losses chalked up in as many games and were on the verge of another missed opportunity, being in overtime with Williamsport — largely considered their best shot at the eluded first victory.
Just as the first 20 games, another one got away and only added to their historically disastrous year. They had hit their low point.
Their lowest mark in a season before that had been 5-19, and now after their latest loss, it appeared the Knights were destined to head for their first win-less season in the history of the school.
Lauded for their community, and football program that once won three straight state championships from 2012-2014, basketball seemed to be more of a pleasant distraction before spring came around and the school year came to an end.
Knowing that something had to be done, head coach Aaron White and the Knights buried the disastrous 0-22 regular season.
Not figuratively either — they actually buried their season.
“After the (regular) season, we threw a memorial service – a funeral in the locker room,” said White. “It kind of freaked Matt Considine out a little, but we put that season to bed there and approached the playoff game totally different.”
For Middletown, the burial of the regular season was not just the relieving of an emotional burden.
That playoff game White mentioned, a regional quarterfinal game against Catoctin, ended an anomaly as the Knights rolled to a 21-point victory, their first of the year. It would mark what has been an incredible turnaround for the Knights — going from bottom-feeders to a 20-5 state tournament team in the span of three years.
For White, even when the Knights hit rock bottom, he could see the seeds of what is today’s team being planted and groomed. After all, it was Considine who made some of his first career 3-pointers in that playoff game, setting the stakes for the dynamic player that he is today.
“(Matt Considine) was giving me grief (today) that if I had brought him up as a freshman, we would have won at least three games,” White said, who completed his winningest season as a head coach this year. “These kids, when they were there, you could definitely see it.”
And the changes since then just hadn’t happened from a physical standpoint. They also adopted the idea that they could accept and take pride in the winning culture of the program, something that Middletown athletics is known for.
“We’ve just had more of a winning attitude, I guess,” senior guard Clay Smith said, who with Considine form a duo that could rival any team’s best one-two punch. “After that season, we just kind of hit the refresh button and tried to change the culture to more of a winning attitude.”
For Middletown, the program has always been rising since the disastrous 2013 season, but even with the talent the Knights had coming up through their program, winning had never been guaranteed. And, if there was anything that confirmed the previous sentence, it’d be the back-to-back 13-11 seasons the past two years that were ended with back-to-back season ending losses to Oakdale in the sectional semifinal round of the playoffs.
Even at the beginning, and at times during the course of the season, it seemed as if the Knights just weren’t a team that could make a run like this. That wasn’t just a public opinion either.
Sometimes even players like Smith and Considine had doubts.
“To be honest, I never really envisioned our basketball program to make a run like this,” Smith said, who’s Knights head into Friday’s 2A State Semifinal against Queen Anne’s as the first Middletown team to make it to a state semifinal since 1998. “We’ve always been pretty solid but this is just a special year. I don’t think we have the best talent, the best size or anything like that, it’s just a special group of guys and we’ve put together a nice run.”
That has been one of the main points Middletown is proudest of. They also are coming off one of their biggest upsets in program history, downing the reigning 2A state champions, Howard County stalwart Oakland Mills, 59-58.
After their Wednesday practice at Mount St. Mary’s University, Smith, Considine, White, and assistant coach Rocky Pryor discussed in the parking lot how the Knights don’t really pass the eye-test against any team.
Almost every team that they have faced is either taller, more muscular, or a combination of the two and the Knights feel like that has left many people doubting what they can do.
The team play and cohesion that the Knights have had has been a necessity to disprove the eye test.
After the program was decimated by the ugly 2013 season, White says this group of kids has had to come together as a whole in order to block out all of the doubts and negative opinions that had been cast in their direction.
“The kids have put the work in,” White said. “They’ve really worked hard in the summer, had good off-seasons. It takes all 14 guys to do that. That is the story of our team, doing things as a team.”
This season has been nothing short of historical for the Knights, but looking into the future doesn’t necessarily offer a pleasant view.
After this year, they will be losing four of five starters with what next year’s team will look like remaining a mystery.
At this point, White and the rest of his troops aren’t focused on that.
And while the mark of excellent high school programs is continued success, they seem to have taken an understanding that if this year is the only shot they get at a title, they’ll take the opportunity that is coming their way on Friday and Saturday swinging.
“Considering that Middletown (boys) basketball has never won a state championship, it would be a huge accomplishment, not only for the program but for the town,” Smith said. “I would love to have my name down as the first team to win a state championship for boys basketball.”
As they head into the state tournament, Middletown has a unique perspective on what the weekend and a shot at winning a state championship means. It already means that they won’t have to be burying their season to put in the past, like in previous years. It means that Middletown, even if only for a year, has succeeded in bringing the program back to what it used to be.
Make no mistake, Middletown isn’t just glad they’ve got here, though. After having to bury one of their seasons three years ago, Middletown is hoping they can make some history and bury some of their opponents’ seasons on the way to a state championship.
