Middletown one last hurdle for Smyrna, DeMoe

By Andy Walter
Posted 12/6/21

SMYRNA — Technically, Devin DeMoe isn’t a hurdler any more.

High jump is the event in which he competes for the Smyrna High track and field team.

But as he raced toward a Dover …

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Middletown one last hurdle for Smyrna, DeMoe

Posted

SMYRNA — Technically, Devin DeMoe isn’t a hurdler any more.

High jump is the event in which he competes for the Smyrna High track and field team.

But as he raced toward a Dover defender Friday night, DeMoe’s hurdler instincts just came back to him.

“I don’t know, it just happened so quick,” he explained. “In one motion I just did it. I wasn’t planning on doing it obviously.

“I run into people and they’ll say, ‘Oh yeah, you’re the kid that did that.’”

DeMoe actually ended up scoring a touchdown on the highlight-reel play, reaching the end zone on a 57-yard pass from quarterback Cameron Edge.

The only problem was, the TD got wiped out by a penalty. It’s illegal to hurdle a defender in high school football.

The video, though, will probably outlive the memory of the penalty. Besides, it was hardly the only big play that DeMoe turned in during the top-seeded Eagles’ 46-21 victory over the Senators in the DIAA Class 3A state semifinals.

The senior receiver will be one of the Smyrna players that No. 2 Middletown (9-1) has to account for when the Eagles and Cavaliers square off on Saturday in the DIAA Class 3A state finals. The contest is slated for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Delaware Stadium.

DeMoe, who was named first-team All-State in Class 3A on Monday, finished with seven catches for 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the semifinal win.

“He’s a superiorly athletic kid,” said Smyrna coach Mike Judy. “He had a lot of talent (as a freshman). We knew right away when he was coming in he had the potential to be a really good receiver in our offense.

“He was always a tough kid. He was always wanting to block and be physical. That’s something that’s hard to get most receivers to do. He kind of did that naturally. And he’s gotten better and better at catching the ball.”

This fall, DeMoe leads Smyrna with 53 catches for 701 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averages 13,2 yards per reception.

Teammates Yamir and Wayne Knight both have 40 catches. Yamir has a team-high 829 receiving yards and an average of 20.7 yards per catch.

DeMoe said working with the Eagles’ Edge comes pretty naturally to him. While Edge only transferred back to Smyrna this year. the two first started working together when they were in grade school.

“It (the chemistry) has always been strong — even the first day we stepped on the field for camp,” said DeMoe. “Each week it’s grown stronger, I would think. We just know, telepathically almost.”

While Smyrna is playing in a state championship game for the fourth time since 2015, it’s the first time any one of the current Eagles have played for the title.

DeMoe, who attended the 2017 championship game, said it’s exciting to have gotten this far.

“It means a lot, especially this being my last year,” he said. “I’m just really close to everybody. We want to go out strong. I’m just happy to be here at this point.”

Extra points

There have been 12 shutouts out of 25 games played in the three DIAA state tournaments so far. ... Edge was named the Class 3A Offensive Player of the Year while the Eagles had six first-team All-State selections. ... Middletown’s Tomiwa Durojaiye was named Class 3A’s Defensive Player of the Year while teammate Kody Harris-Miller earned top lineman honors.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.

Follow @DSNSports on Twitter.

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