MILTON – Picking up the other team’s turnovers while not turning the ball over yourself is a formula for success on the football field, especially if that turnover margin is plus-five in an individual contest.
That’s what the turnover margin was for Milton on Friday as the Black Panthers hosted a winless Central Columbia team. Combine that turnover margin with a single player that stood out on the field in Montgomery Fisher, and it all led to a shutout victory for Milton, 55-0 over the Bluejays.
“When you can create turnovers and not have turnovers on your side, that’s a recipe for good football and you’re usually going to win games,” said Milton coach Matt Wilson. “We had a great week of practice, we went a little bit up tempo trying to take advantage of some mismatches we saw on film. We have the skill guys, it’s just a matter of getting them the ball and them making a play outside of Monty.”
Some of those guys made plays on Friday, but it was primarily Fisher making plays as Central simply had no answer for him. Fisher tallied 323 yards of total offense as he ran for 238 and threw for another 85 while accounting for seven total touchdowns – running for five and throwing for another pair. The Black Panthers scored on their first five possessions, taking advantage of three straight Central turnovers.
“He is explosive. When we knew we were going to be down a quarterback because of an injury and then one quit, my thought process was you put your best player at quarterback and put the ball in his hands,” said Wilson. “We’re going to force teams to stop him. Some teams can, some teams have a hard time stopping him. He took advantage of some open lanes today and he has the speed to take it to the house.”
“He was our main focus, he’s a great athlete and he makes their team succeed,” said Seesholtz. “If you give him a lane, he’s going to break tackles and take it to the house. He’s tough and physical and we just weren’t able to eliminate him and he excelled on the big plays.”
In an omen of what was to come, Milton took the opening kickoff and needed just five plays to go 65 yards, with Fisher scoring on a 27-yard run. Fisher racked up 58 rushing yards and an 11-yard pass on that drive.
Following a Central punt, the Black Panthers took over at their own 36, and two plays later, Fisher sprung around a hole on the right side of the line to go 61 yards for his second score of the night.
The Bluejays then turned it over on their next three drives, losing a pair of fumbles and throwing an interception. Each time, Milton took over deep in Central territory and took advantage. A five-play, 35-yard drive ended with Fisher taking a quarterback draw right up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown.
Following an interception and getting the ball at the Central 14, Fisher hit JaCori Brown on a receiver screen for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Milton then got another pick and took over at the Central 39, and on the third play from scrimmage of that drive, Fisher went down the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown run, putting the Black Panthers up 34-0 prior to the end of the first quarter.
Fisher added a 40-yard touchdown run just before halftime with :42 left in the first half, ensuring the game would have a running clock for the second half.
The Bluejays committed their fourth turnover of the game by losing another fumble on the second play from scrimmage after receiving the second half kickoff and getting a 50-yard return by Dominic Keller. Fisher then capped a six-play, 50-yard drive by hitting Jensen Souder for an eight-yard touchdown pass to make it 48-0 midway through the third quarter.
Milton then took advantage of Central’s fifth and final turnover of the evening late in the fourth quarter, as they got the ball at the Central 33 and Brady O’Rourke capped the night with a 24-yard touchdown run.
For the Bluejays, Keller, who is seeing first team reps as a 14-year-old freshman, ran for 32 yards on nine carries and also added 144 kickoff return yards on five returns.
“I tell Dominic every week that there’s not a lot of freshmen that are 14 years old and get to play every single snap on a Friday night, and we just tell him to keep going,” said Seesholtz. “He’s tough and physical. He’s learning and reps and time is only going to make him a special player.
“There’s a lot of inexperience, a few times we’re just not doing the basics well and it’s a learning curve for everyone. We put in a new scheme over the summer but we’re still trying to figure out our identity. But that’ll come. No matter the score, we’re going to play hard until the very end. I’m still proud of these guys. They don’t quit, they show a lot of effort, and good things will come.”
Milton 55, Central Columbia 0
Central Columbia (0-7) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Milton (2-5) 34 7 7 7 – 55
First quarter
10:12 – (M) Montgomery Fisher 27-yard run (Williams kick), 5-65, 1:48
8:00 – (M) Montgomery Fisher 61-yard run (Williams kick), 2-64, :44
4:31 – (M) Montgomery Fisher 12-yard run (Williams kick), 5-35, 2:06
3:27 – (M) JaCori Brown 14-yard pass from Montgomery Fisher (Williams kick), 1-14, :07
:16 – (M) Montgomery Fisher 25-yard run (kick failed), 3-39, 1:07
Second quarter
:42 – (M) Montgomery Fisher 40-yard run (Snyder kick), 3-52, 1:31
Third quarter
5:37 – (M) Jensen Souder 8-yard pass from Montgomery Fisher (Snyder kick), 6-50, 5:13
Fourth quarter
1:05 – (M) Brady O’Rourke 24-yard run (Snyder kick), 3-33, 1:55
Statistics
CC M
First downs 4 22
Rushes-net yards 29-50 35-332
Passing yardage 12 126
Passing 3-10–0-2 9-12-2-0
Fumbles-lost 5-3 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-53 11-95
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Central Columbia: Dominic Keller (9-32), Logan Miller (6-(-2)), Demir Wood (4-23), Ethan Miller (4-6), Aiden Mahamadou (3-7), Josiah Hosler (3-(-16)); Milton: Montgomery Fisher (16-238-5), Brody Locke (9-43), Brady O’Rourke (5-31-1), JaCori Brown (3-1), Jaeden Canelo (2-19),
PASSING: Central Columbia: Josiah Hosler (3-10-12-0-2); Milton: Montgomery Fisher (6-9-85-2-0), JaCori Brown (3-3-41-0-0)
RECEIVING: Central Columbia: Gavin Larson (2-11), Connor Litchfield (1-1); Milton: Jensen Souder (3-19-1), Cole Rhodes (2-46), Brady Wolfe (2-21), Brody Locke (1-26), JaCori Brown (1-14-1)