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Middletown head football coach Kevin Lynott paused for a count, took a deep breath, and summed it up to his team as best he could.

"Guys," he said, "We just ... hung in there."

More than anything, resolve made the difference in the fourth-seeded Knights' 14-7, double-overtime victory at Rockville in the 2A West Region semifinal Friday. It certainly wasn't pretty; on three separate occasions, they failed to score inside the 10-yard line, including a costly turnover in the first extra session.

"But these kids just didn't quit," Lynott said. "I could tell early on it was going to be like this, just a hell of a football game. That was a really good football team. That Gongbay kid is really good."

Indeed, Rockville's "Gongbay kid" — first name, Crusoe — was the difference until the waning stages. After a scoreless first half, Montgomery County's leading rusher took the second-half kickoff up the middle, untouched for 100 yards and the No. 1 Rams' only score.

They led for another quarter and change until making one fatal mistake. Gongbay and quarterback Chris Brown fumbled a handoff exchange, and Knights linebacker Koby Cavanaugh recovered at the Rockville 45-yard line. Six plays later, Middletown (7-4 overall, 2-1 Monocacy Valley Piedmont Blue Conference) quarterback Sam Glushakow scrambled 2 yards for a game-tying, fourth-down bootleg.

Just short of midfield with 2 minutes left in regulation, his third-down pass was picked off by Rockville (8-2, 2-0 Montgomery 2A) linebacker Robbie Parker. The Rams failed to capitalize and failed to score in the first overtime when kicker Diego Opazo missed a 27-yard field goal.

That gave Middletown a golden opportunity, needing just a field goal for the win. But on third down, Glushakow was again picked off, this time by defensive lineman Rainer Tandaju.

But he quickly redeemed himself. On "a play we ran right before that, twice," Glushakow found tight end Will Lyons for an 8-yard score in the second overtime. With Rockville needing a touchdown to force a third overtime, linebacker Matt Burns picked off Brown's fourth-down pass to seal the deal.

It denied the Rams their first postseason win since the state tournament was redesigned in 1974.

"You know, it was a remarkable season," said Rockville head coach Kevin Bernot. "These guys played great all year, and it's tough on them right now, but this is why football is awesome. ... Because it sucks to lose."