– Seniors sent out on record breaking night
By: Brett Barnes
“That’s why you play the games. Games aren’t played on paper.” These are common coach-speak quotes for contests that look like easy match-ups. At 0-9 the Northridge Polar Bears looked to be mismatched against a still-hungry M-U football team, coming off a loss at new rival Waynesville the week before, wanting to send its senior class out with memories of senior night and the ringing of that victory bell one last time, and needing a victory to secure playoff football next week.
“Games aren’t played on paper,” but this one could have been. Milton-Union scored at will in the first half and rolled to an easy 57-0 victory.
After two Northridge punts, and a stalled M-U drive, the Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter with an 11 play, 57-yard drive capped by Jake Finfrock’s scoring run of 22-yards. Nick Fields added the PAT, and M-U led 7-0.
A sack ended the next Polar Bear possession, and again Finfrock finished the M-U drive with a touchdown, this time untouched from 11-yards away, and the score stood 14-0 with 11:53 left in the half.
The Polar Bears then mounted their only drive of the game getting all the way down to the Bulldog 30-yard line. However, from the 33-yard line after a run of -3, the snap back to center eluded the quarterback and after a mad scramble, the Bulldog’s Josh Bryan scooped up the pigskin and carried it all the way for an M-U defensive touchdown. The Nick Field’s extra point not only gave the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead, but it also gave
Fields the all-time record for most points scored by a kicker in a season, breaking the record by former kicker Doug Fetters.
That touchdown broke the will of these Polar Bears, and the rest of the evening Northridge would only manage to gain 38-yards.
The Bulldogs continued to play hard and well. Finfrock added another touchdown run of 30-yards at 6:18 of the second quarter, and Clay Minton added a one-yard touchdown at 4:47. Both Field’s extra were true, and the Dogs led 35-0.
The final drive the half lasted just three plays, but changed M-U football history. After an incompletion, Caleb Barnes caught a bubble screen from Cody Hollon down to the Northridge 35, and Finfrock took the next handoff 35-yards for the touchdown. On that play, “Finny” became the all-time single season rusher in the history of this football-rich school, and finished his evening with 194 yards on 15 carries.
The second half played out with JV and freshmen littering the field; however, this glimpse into the Bulldog’s future resulted in two scoring drives for M-U.
Following a fumbled punt, M-U scored on a 2-play drive ending with Chris Boggs’s 10- yard rush with the extra point wide right.
The final M-U drive of the third quarter lasted 11 plays and took almost five minutes off the clock. Key plays were receptions by Ken Stonerock for 7-yards and Trey Eustache for 23-yards. Sam Niswonger finished the drive with a one yard touchdown, and Dalton Sochacki added the PAT making the score 55-0.
The final tally of the night came on a Bulldog safety when the Polar Bears long snap went through the end zone making the final score 57-0.
M-U ends the regular season at 8-2 and has qualified for the state football playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Bulldogs travel to
Waynesville to face the #1 seeded Spartans in a rematch of Week 9. Game time is set for SATURDAY night, November 5 at 7:00.
###
