He just ran.
And his 95-yard interception return for a touchdown — a blind, breathless sprint through a wall of gray — ended up being the play that sealed Middletown’s 31–0 Division I regional quarterfinal win over Lebanon.
This week, the Middies (10-2) carry that momentum into a regional semifinal matchup against Springfield (8-4). But the run everyone is still talking about belongs to Bryant.
Bryant remembers the beginning of the play. After that, everything is a blur.
Literally.
“Yeah, so, they got a big play, right?” Bryant recalled. “We stopped them three times. It’s 4th down and, well, like, go. Coach ran a blitz play — boom, play starts. The D-lineman ran the wrong gap, so I had to hit a whole other gap. So we just improvised.”
Then chaos.
“Boom,” Bryant continued. “Chris Hyde knocked it out. J.D. Singletary tried grabbing it. All I remember is taking off.”
Bryant snagged the ball after it hit off Singletary and later disappeared into the haze.
“No, I couldn’t see the end zone,” Bryant laughed. “Once I got to the 30, I heard somebody growling in my ear. It was one of our linemen. He was walking me down.
“When I got to the 30 I was tired. I was just wishing it was it.”
Bryant shrugged, smiling, “Just run as fast as you can. Don’t let nobody catch you.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Even his own coach, Kali Jones, couldn’t track him.
“I didn’t even see him after he got to the 40,” Jones said. “It was just fog. He posted the clip later — I got home and I’m like, you cannot see him on that.”
Jones said he only caught glimpses of the play even from the sideline.
“I saw it at the start because it went off somebody else first,” Jones said. “And then he got it. But after that? Fog. I knew he was running but I had no idea where he was.”
Still, the coach knew exactly what the moment meant.
“That was the nail,” Jones said. “One of those haymakers — those heavy blows. They were knocking on the door. They had momentum after our self-inflicted stuff, the penalties, the facemask, the 30-yard swing. And they’re right there. And then C.J. closes the door.”
If that moment was Bryant’s highlight of the season, Jones said it was also fitting.
“He’s just been a machine,” Jones said. ”He erases mistakes. He erases any deficiencies — not that we have many in our front seven — but he has such a knack for tracking the ball.
“Everybody doesn’t have that. He’s small in stature, but he maximizes his abilities. He fills gaps, takes on linemen, makes big plays, play after play.”
Bryant’s numbers back it up — 106 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, three interceptions and countless impact plays.
“He’s been enormous for us,” Jones said. “He’s getting traction with colleges, too. He’s got two D-II offers right now, a few FCS schools showing interest. It’s coming for him.”
The fog only made the moment — and the night — more surreal for Bryant.
“What was it like playing in that fog?” he repeated. “First time. It was like mysterious. I couldn’t see the color of the jersey. We just had to play ball. And it worked.”
His touchdown put Middletown up 24–0. In that moment, he knew.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “The game was ours.”
Bryant said the season hasn’t always been smooth, but it’s been successful.
“It’s been chill, you know,” he said. “Little rocky season — losing to (Lakota) West, losing to Hamilton — but I feel like we brought it all together. We straightened up.”
So what’s the focus for the Middies now?
“Just ourselves,” Bryant said. “We beat ourselves sometimes. So right now it’s about us.”
Though it’s Springfield that awaits.
Springfield, a perennial state contender with explosive athletes everywhere, will stress every layer of the Middies’ front seven.
Jones called it a perfect test.
“We’ve had quite a few goal-line stands,” the coach said. “We rally, we play physical, we trust each other. C.J. is a big part of that.”
And Bryant? He’s ready to run through fog again — if he has to.
“Just play ball,” he said. “Run fast. Make the play.”
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