-Memorial Stadium West Milton, OH
The Miami East Vikings trudged to their locker room following Milton-Union’s 24-16 victory with sweat, blood, but no tears on their faces. Each player was disappointed in the result but not the effort given by an undermanned, determined football team that just came up short. Coach Max Current had his team ready to do battle, but in the end the Milton-Union Bulldogs were too big, too strong and too deep for this young group of Vikings.
Before a packed, enthusiastic crowd on opening night 2010, M-U took the opening kickoff fifty-nine yards on seven plays, and the drive ended with Nick Fields blasting a forty-two yard field goal giving the Dogs a 3-0 lead just 3:13 into the contest.
Following a touchback on the kickoff, Miami East ran just one play and fumbled with Anthony Staas recovering for the Bulldogs at the East twenty. Four plays later, Adam Martin connected with Jason Antonides on a perfectly timed slant pattern, and the rout was on with the Bulldogs commanding a 10-0 lead after the Field’s extra point.
East showed that there would be no rout on this night answering the Bulldog touchdown with a twelve play drive that ended with a thirty-two yard field goal and a 10-3 score at the end of the first quarter. Momentum had swung the way of the Vikings, and just two plays into the second quarter, Adam Martin was hit and fumbled giving the Vikings great field position at the Milton-Union twenty-two yard line.
With backs against their goal line and a seven point lead, the MU defense played its best football of the night forcing East to turn the ball over on a 4th down and one yard to go. The play came down to a measurement, and the Vikings came up just short. Then after a Nick Fields fifty yard punt, the Bulldogs defense once again forced a turnover on downs after six Miami East plays had taken them to the Bulldog twenty-eight yard line. ME had run ten plays in M-U territory in the second quarter, but MU had held them to no points.
One play later, Jake Finfrock was gone. Finfrock completed a two play, lightning strike of a drive with a seventy-two yard counter run, and following the Field’s extra point the Bulldogs led 17-3. The bad news became worse for the Vikings when Evan Geus intercepted a ME pass giving the Bulldogs the ball at their own twenty-six yard line. Again it looked like the rout was on.
However, the Vikings showed the toughness and the heart that they possessed on this night, by stopping the Dogs on just three plays, and when Senior Brock Smith returned the punt fifty-one yards, East found itself in great field position at the Bulldog nineteen yard line. Three plays later, Colton Bowling hit Smith in the end zone with a perfect pass, and East had cut the lead to 17-10 with just 1:07 left in the second quarter.
MU was not satisfied with a touchdown lead at the half, and on another blitzkrieg of a drive, they went sixty-six yard in just three plays scoring on a perfect Martin to Antonides strike from twenty-three yards away bringing the frenzied second quarter to an end with the halftime score MU 24 East 10.
The third quarter action slowed to a halt and became a battle of field position, punts and penalties. MU was held to just twenty-nine yards in the quarter, with two holding penalties and a punt. Miami East fared slightly better with forty-six yards in the quarter, but they were called for two penalties and had to punt twice.
The MU punt came with 3:01 left in third quarter, and Smith returned it again deep to the MU fourteen yard line. Five plays later, it was Bowling sneaking in from the one, and East had cut the deficit to 24-16 with 11:55 to go in the ballgame.
Great teams can win in many ways. The Bulldogs had struck quickly twice in the first half for points, but the drive that followed was a clinic on ball control and time of possession. The Bulldogs possessed the football for twenty plays (nineteen runs, one pass) and 9:02 seconds came off of the game clock. MU drove from its own ten to the East twenty-one yard line. Nick Fields lined up a game clinching field goal, but Miami East came through and blocked the kick giving them new life with 2:52 left in the contest.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Jake Finfrock continued his huge night on both sides of the ball intercepting a Bowling pass with just 1:09 left in the ballgame. The Bulldogs ran out the clock in victory formation, and the victory bell rang for the first time this season.
MU ended with 324 yards on the night led by Finfrock’s 171 yards rushing on just fourteen carries. Adam Martin finished the evening with fifty-nine yards passing and two touchdowns to Jason Antonides. East had 224 yards total led by Smith’s ninety-five yards rushing and Bowling’s ninety-seven yards passing.
M-U is back in action hosting Oakwood September 3 at 7:30
MU 1-0 ME 0-1
####
