MILTON – Milton anticipated that Central Columbia would be sending some blitzes its way on Friday night in an effort to stop its running game behind Luis Santos, who ran for 167 yards in Milton’s win over Northwest last week.
To help counteract that, the Black Panthers put together a more pass-heavy game plan.
It worked near flawlessly for the Black Panthers. After entering the game late in the first half last week and throwing for 145 yards, Paxton Humphrey earned the starting nod under center this week and responded as well as could be expected.
The freshman threw for 335 yards on 19-of-31 passing and three touchdowns to lead Milton to a 51-0 win over the Bluejays for the Black Panthers’ second straight win.
“We knew they were going to blitz the A-gap a lot and we found success in getting the ball out quick,” said Milton coach Matthew Wilson. “Kamryn, JaCori and Jhemzuel as receivers, they put us in great positions by running their routes right. If we can get the ball in their hands quickly, they can make things happen, so that was our game plan.”
Milton racked up 520 yards of offense and held Central to just 91 total yards. Kamryn Wilson caught six passes for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while JaCori Brown had both a passing and a receiving touchdown, as he hauled in four passes for 104 and a score and also tossed a six-yard touchdown pass to Wilson in the first quarter. Jhemzuel Feliciano had three catches for 68 yards as well as a rushing touchdown.
“We know most teams are going to blitz to try to put some pressure on us and try to stop our run game, so we figured if we could get the ball out quickly to our skill guys, we could dictate the flow of the game,” said Wilson “And that helps in the run game because they have to loosen up a little.”
The Bluejays managed just three first downs on the night while Milton had 27. The Black Panthers scored on their first three possessions of the game and took some chunks of time off the clock in the process as they took a 21-0 lead at halftime.
Milton’s first scoring drive went 11 plays for 66 yards and was capped by Wilson’s six-yard touchdown grab from JaCori Brown, who lined up in the Wildcat after doing the same on the previous play and being stopped for no gain. This time, Brown took the direct snap and threw a quick pass to Wilson, who hauled it in for the score.
After a three-and-out by Central, Milton took over at its own 46 and proceeded to go five plays for 54 yards, capped by a 22-yard touchdown grab by Schuyler Humphrey from Paxton Humphrey.
“We knew he had a good arm, he’s played in the last few games and he can scramble out of the pocket and make reads on the run, but we have to do a better job of containing on the outside by our defensive ends and blitzers,” said Central coach Ky Seesholtz.
The Bluejays then put together their most promising offensive drive of the night after they began their ensuing drive at their own 19 and gained two of the three first downs on the evening, including one after a 34-yard run by Owen Zanoline. Central got to the Milton 16-yard line, but on a third-and-5 play, Blake Edgar’s pass was picked off by Wilson at the Milton 4-yard line and returned 10 yards.
From there, Milton put together an 11-play, 86-yard drive that took just under four minutes and was capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Brody Locke. Central did come up with a stop just before the half as Milton got the ball inside the Bluejay 10 but the clock ran out on the half and the Black Panthers took a 21-0 lead into the half.
Central did not get a first down in the second half, as the Bluejays managed just nine total yards in the second half. Meanwhile, Milton scored on its first two second half possessions, as Humphrey tossed touchdowns to Brown and Wilson in the third quarter.
Brown snagged a pass on a crossing route and turned it into a 39-yard touchdown reception before Wilson hauled in a nine-yard touchdown pass for his second scoring grab of the night, before Feliciano’s one-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter put the game into the mercy rule.
“Up to this point, we put together a few good weeks where we were able to establish the run and do some things well up front, but tonight we failed to do that,” said Seesholtz. “We just weren’t able to execute up front. Credit to them, they did well on the defensive line and with their linebackers blitzing. These are things we need to improve on next week because Mount Carmel is a good team, probably one of the best we’ll play and we need to be ready to go.”
“We’re on a mission. We need to do well here in the second half of the season to make a push for the 4A playoffs,” said Wilson. “These last few weeks have been preparation for the last three games that are going to be crucial games for us. The last two weeks of practice have been great and that’s showed up on the field.”
Milton 51, Central Columbia 0
Central Columbia (0-7) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Milton (3-4) 14 7 20 10 – 51
First quarter
4:59 – (M) Kamryn Wilson 6-yard pass from JaCori Brown (O’Grady kick), 11-66, 4:25
1:11 – (M) Schuyler Humphrey 22-yard pass from Paxton Humphrey (O’Grady kick), 5-54, 2:45
Second quarter
5:24 – (M) Brody Locke 6-yard run (O’Grady kick), 11-86, 3:52
Third quarter
10:07 – (M) JaCori Brown 39-yard pass from Paxton Humphrey (kick failed), 6-75, 1:53
6:40 – (M) Kamryn Wilson 9-yard pass from Paxton Humphrey (O’Grady kick), 5-34, 1:46
1:13 – (M) Jhemzuel Feliciano 1-yard run (O’Grady kick), 5-54, 1:15
Fourth quarter
4:49 – (M) Gabe Heine 27-yard field goal, 9-49, 6:09
:41 – (M) Carter Letteer 11-yard run (O’Grady kick), 3-35, 1:18
Statistics
CC M
First downs 3 27
Rushes-net yards 26-83 33-165
Passing yardage 8 341
Passing 2-9-0-1 20-32-4-1
Fumbles-lost 3-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 6-42 9-100
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Central Columbia: Owen Zanoline (12-52), Blake Edgar (7-25), Dominic Keller (4-3), Logan Robbins (2-5), Easton Gonder (1-(-2)); Milton: Luis Santos (11-49), Brody Locke (10-53-1), Paxton Humphrey (4-17), Schuyler Humphrey (3-10), Carter Letteer (2-28-1), Brady O’Rourke (1-7), Jhemzuel Feliciano (1-1-1), JaCori Brown (1-0)
PASSING: Central Columbia: Blake Edgar (2-9-8-0-1); Milton: Paxton Humphrey (19-31-335-3-1), JaCori Brown (1-1-6-1-0)
RECEIVING: Central Columbia: Luke Wise (1-6), Owen Zanoline (1-2); Milton: Kamryn Wilson (6-71-2), JaCori Brown (4-104-1), Schuyler Humphrey (4-64-1), Jhemzuel Feliciano (3-68), Brody Locke (2-21), Brady O’Rourke (1-15)