While celebrating The Milford 12th Man Gridiron Club’s on a steamy night at Briggs Stadium, the Milford Buccaneers beat visiting Indian River by a score of 25-15. Unlike the previous week’s victory over Conrad, Milford was put to the test by penalties and miscues. While it wasn’t pretty, it was a victory over a team that beat them 48-8 last season. More importantly, it was Milford overcoming adversity. Even though they were not at their best, they rose up when it mattered most with senior running back Andrew Sivels recording four touchdowns on the evening.
From the start it became fairly clear that this was going to be a slug fest. Both teams were playing solid defense, but were also loose with the football. The result would be seven turnovers in the first half. Although Milford had early opportunities deep inside IR territory in the first quarter, they were unable to get any points out of them.
“I think we almost came out too hyped up tonight. We had such a great week of practice but for some reason we had a hard time executing. Indian River is a very tough defense, so you have to give them credit for standing tough all night.” Coach Rod Milstead said.
After a scoreless first quarter, Milford would finally hit the board as Sivels ran through a huge hole up the middle for a 69-yard scoring run with 6:26 remaining in the first half. With the score 6-0, things got interesting in a hurry, With about a minute left in the half, Milford punted from deep inside their own territory. The Indian River return man would lose the ball, and Milford gladly gobbled it up at midfield.
With a chance to expand their advantage, Milford went in the wrong direction after a penalty, almost losing the ball, and then coughing it up on the Milford 23-yard line. It would take IR exactly one play to take a 7-6 lead on a 23-yard touchdown pass and successful P.A.T.
“Obviously that is not the way we wanted to end the half. The most important thing was that we kept it together, there was no finger pointing, we just went into the locker room and figured out how to win the second half.” Milstead stated.
After the teams exchanged punts to start the second half, it would be Indian River who would drive into Milford territory halfway through the third quarter. It was there that the Milford defense showed up with a key fourth down stop, giving Milford the ball at their own 39-yard line. Milford drove the ball down the field and Sivels would get his second score of the game up the left side with a 30-yard run up the left side as Milford regained a 12-7 lead following a failed two-point conversion attempt.
While it looked like Milford was about to put a lock on the game, Indian River had other ideas. After the teams once again exchange punts, IR would start on their own 25-yard line. For the first time in the evening however, the visitors would start to move the ball consistently, with big plays coming through the air. Marching straight down the field, taking a 15-12 lead with just 5:30 left in the final quarter.
“I believed that our guys could get the job done. We are built differently than last season, this team refuses to quit.” Milstead said.
It did not take long for Milford to respond as Sivels would score from 55 yards out, breaking tackles along the way as Milford converted the P.A.T., giving Milford a 19-15 lead with 3:20 left in the game.
“Drew had a big game tonight, and our offensive line really got it together when they needed to. I was very proud how we persevered tonight.” Milstead stated.
The Milford defense would put the clamps back on, turning Indian River over on downs. Sivels would score from 25 yards out to conclude the scoring as the Bucs would seal the victory.
Milford will host Woodbridge on Friday evening for a very special night as the football community celebrates the life and legacy of Troy Haynes, who sadly lost his battle with cancer in September of 2019, but who’s legacy lives on in the 4Troy Foundation. Kick-off is set for 7 pm.
