This past Friday night at Briggs Stadium, Milford hosted Woodbridge in a thrilling football game. While it may have been closer than it needed to be, Milford held on when it mattered most as they defeated the visiting Blue Raiders 35-29. Once again Milford was plagued by key penalties as Woodbridge refused to go away, with their junior quarterback Daulton McCabe putting on a clinic through the air.
While Milford never trailed in the game, Woodbridge never looked as if they were going anywhere. The Bucs would open the game’s scoring on the very first snap of the game as senior Andrew Sivels would take the ball 69 yards to record the first of his four touchdowns of the night and giving Milford an 8-0 advantage, following a successful two-point conversion. Sivels became the focal point of the Blue Raider defense as he has continued his torrid start to the season. The focus was on Sivels as he recorded 291 yards in the game and came up huge when the Bucs needed him most.
“Drew is a very special player, you saw it tonight, he was amazing.” Coach Rod Milstead said.
Following the opening touchdown, it looked as if Woodbridge was going to answer quickly as they drove down the field, deep inside Milford territory. The defense would stand tall however, as they stopped Woodbridge on the first of what would be three goal line stands in the first half.
“We really had a hard time stopping the passing game tonight, but the defense bailed us out, especially in the first half of the game.” Milstead stated.
Following one defensive stop, Milford would start at their own one-yard line. Once again, they turned to Sivels. After getting out of the shadows of their own goal posts, Sivels wasn’t done. He ripped off a massive run of about 70 yards as the Bucs suddenly found themselves deep inside Woodbridge territory. Sivels would cap the drive with a six-yard run by Sivels to the left as Milford extended their advantage to 14-0 with 6:35 remaining before halftime. While Woodbridge would once again move the ball, the Bucs would deny them once again and head into the locker room with the 14-0 lead.
The second half did not start well for Milford as Woodbridge marched straight down the field, halving the Milford advantage 14-7 in just over two minutes as McCabe would connect with Kamryn DeShields on a 17-yard scoring strike. It felt like a whole new game, and it was about to get worse for Milford.
The Bucs would turnover the ball on the ensuing kickoff, setting up Woodbridge deep inside Milford territory. It did not take long for the Blue Raiders to take advantage of their good fortune as McCabe and DeShields would hook up on a 23-yard touchdown pass and just like that it was a tie ballgame with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter.
While neither team was able to score for the rest of the quarter, Milford was driving prior two the start of the fourth quarter. With everyone on the Woodbridge defense zeroed in on Sivels, it would be senior fullback Jordan Lovett who would give Milford back the lead on a 30-yard run right up the middle. A two-point conversion gave Milford a 22-14 lead with 11:04 left in the game.
“While the offense runs through Drew, we have other players that can make plays as well. Jordan is a captain for a reason, he always does what needs to be done, on that play it was all about showing we have other players who can compete.” Milstead said.
Even with the lead, it was clear that Woodbridge was not done. Driving right down the field, aided by some ill-timed Milford penalties, Woodbridge would tie the score at 22-22 on a one yard run by Jayven Chapman and their own successful two point conversion with 7:37 remaining in the game.
Milford would respond on their next possession as Sivels took the ball 65 yards, breaking four tackles along the way as Milford once again took the lead at 29-22 with 6:04 remaining in the game. Considering the way the Woodbridge offense was moving the ball, it was clear that the game was far from over. Once again Woodbridge would move the ball rapidly down the field as McCabe would hit James Jones on a 15-yard pass as the Blue Raiders once again tied the game at 29-29 with 4:40 remaining in the game.
The game headed into overtime with the score tied at 29. Milford got the ball at their own 10 and Sivels ran it to the left untouched for the score. Disaster would strike as Woodbridge blocked the extra point with a rush up the middle. There was no margin for error now as the game fell squarely on the Bucs defense.
Woodbridge moved it to the Milford three yard line on their first two plays, it was then that Milford was finally able to solve the riddle that was McCabe. With good lane discipline, Milford kept the quarterback in the pocket, not allowing him to get out and forcing back-to-back incomplete pass attempts as the Buccaneers held on, moving them to a 3-0 on the season.
“We went up against a very good team tonight and got the stop when we needed it the most. It wasn’t our cleanest game, but it really showed the heart this team has” Milstead said..
Following the game there was no post-game handshake as earlier in the day, Milford was taunted on social media, including a meme of coach Milstead shaking pom-poms and making fun of him. The Milford players who had been mute throughout the game let the visitors know exactly how they felt about all of it following the contest. While only words and actions were exchanged, it was very clear that Milford did not appreciate the pre-game taunting.
“We try and set a very high standard when it comes to social media, we try and show respect to all our opponents. I can honestly say it wasn’t just the players who were upset by what we read before the game, but at the end of the day we were the team that came away with the win. Let them post that.” Milstead concluded.
