MILTON — Staring down a quarterfinal matchup with an undefeated Dartmouth crew, defending Division 3 runner-up Milton utilized expertise and expertise to cruise to a 28-7 victory and a berth within the state semifinals.
“We saw that they had an undefeated record, but we took it with a grain of salt,” senior captain A.J. Cicerone stated. “We knew if we took it to them in the beginning that they wouldn’t be able to hang with us.”
Wildcats head coach Steve Dembowski stated a tough schedule that noticed his crew lose three video games helped the Wildcats put together for troublesome playoff video games.
“They’ve worked hard, they know what it takes,” Dembowski stated. “We’ve had some adversity this year, we played a really difficult schedule. We knew going in that it was going to be a challenge and that’s helped us in the tournament.”
Dartmouth began with the ball and earned a primary down earlier than being pressured to punt. Milton would then drive into Dartmouth territory however would stall out and hand the ball again after a failed fourth down conversion.
The first huge momentum swing got here on the following drive when Dartmouth fumbled after some sturdy runs and the Wildcats took benefit. Quarterback Patrick Miller helped orchestrate a prolonged drive, capping it off with a five-yard cross to sophomore huge receiver Ronan Sammons.
“It’s always a constant read,” Miller stated. “What they give us, that’s what we will do. Early in the game they gave us the pass.”
Dartmouth would then be pressured to punt and working again Nathan Ehui would lead the drive downfield earlier than discovering the tip zone on a 12-yard run to present the Wildcats a 14-0 lead. Milton would get one other probability close to the objective after forcing one other fumble on the following drive, however an interception from Jason Martin held the rating on the half.
Dartmouth would drive one other interception to start out the second half however couldn’t muster any momentum towards the stout Milton protection. Senior working again Luke Hartford would make Dartmouth pay for this quickly as he rattled off two huge runs, the latter of which prolonged the result in 21-0.
“Nathan’s long and explosive and Luke is a jitterbug,” Dembowski stated. “He’s so low to the ground and he hides behind the guys well. I’m proud of those guys, it’s great to win and it’s great to have guys that work hard.”
A Teddy Collins landing would prolong the result in 28-0 earlier than a late Dartmouth landing broke the shutout bid. While the win was big for the Wildcats, Miller stated the job is way from over.
“We can’t let our heads get too big,” Miller stated. “Odds are next week will be a tough one. We just need to stay in check, work hard all week and stay within our bodies.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com