Milford fell to Laurel on Saturday (Photo courtesy of 302 Sports)
LAUREL — In a penalty-filled game, Milford proved to be a welcome guest for Homecoming, falling 34-6 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
It was evident from the opening kickoff that Milford was in over their heads. Starting at their own 20 for the game’s opening possession, Laurel’s ground game overwhelmed Milford. Play after play, Laurel’s offensive line pushed the Milford defensive front back as they marched down the field. The drive culminated in a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior Koby Shockley to fellow senior Kei’shaun Copes. With the extra point, Laurel had a 7-0 lead with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter.
“We knew going in that their line was very solid, and they proved it all day long. There isn’t a whole lot you can do when you are outmanned like we were today.” Milford coach Jed Bell said.
When the Milford offense took the field, Buccaneers normal starting quarterback, junior Cayden Jarett, was not on the field. It turned out he had been injured late in Thursday’s practice, forcing sophomore Rahlier Rankin into the starting role. Having just one day to prepare was a tall order, especially with a defense as formidable as Laurel’s.
“We tried to get him as ready as we could on Friday, but it was always going to be a big ask against a team as good as this,” Bell said.
Following an exchange of punts, Laurel increased its advantage to 14-0 as the ground game continued to overpower Milford. Another sustained drive would be capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Laurel sophomore Jeremiah Mizzelle-Hopkins.
Things would go from bad to worse for Milford as junior Gregory Lockett suffered a serious injury, taking him out of the game.
“When you lose someone like Greg, you can’t just plug someone in and get the kind of production he provides us,” Bell said.
Laurel continued to dominate, taking a 21-0 lead into the locker room. A quick look at the halftime yardage told the story. Milford compiled just 27 yards in the opening half, simply not enough to keep up with Laurel.
In the second half, Milford switched to a spread offense, with mixed results. While able to move the ball at times, they were just not as consistent as they would like to be. Rankin passed for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception. One item of note was the impressive arm strength he demonstrated.
“Rankin is a very good football player. We have played almost exclusively the entire season and opening it up like we did gave us something we can build on. The one thing I can say about our effort is, nobody quit today, everyone gave their all and played with a lot of heart,” Bell concluded.
Milford is now 4-3 and will travel to Sussex Tech this Friday for a 7 pm start.
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