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Football
Milbrook 26, Eldred 15
Eldred homecoming dampened by reversal of fortune
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
ELDRED, NY — The Yellowjackets came out fired
up against Milbrook on September 27 in a game that could have earned
them a commanding 2-0 record in Class D and some control over their
destiny. Riding emotions from their comeback 30-28 win over Chester
last week, Eldred hoped to beat rival Milbrook and head into their
bye week at the top of the heap.
Needless to say, Milbrook did not come to Eldred
prepared to oblige the Yellowjackets’ dreams of Dietz Stadium.
Point of fact, the Tigers came with a proven passing attack, daunting
speed off the ball on both offense and defense and attitudes that
periodically went over the top, earning them a string of eight personal
foul penalties.
Game history between Eldred and Milbrook includes
a 56-7 thrashing of Eldred two years ago and Eldred’s 28-12
homecoming victory last year.
Eldred’s high emotions worked against them,
causing an unprecedented five turnovers during the game. Three of
which Milbrook converted into touchdowns. Milbrook’s enthusiasm
caused officials to frequently throw penalty flags.
Eldred received the ball and immediately found
its running game stuffed by Milbrook’s six-in-the-box defense.
A spectacular Eldred punt rolled all the way down to Milbrook’s
one-yard line, but the Tigers used a combination of running by Mike
Spanola and passing from quarterback Jon Shanks to Mike Kearins
and Eli Rogers to extricate themselves from poor field position
on their way down the field for their first score. With 5:04 left
in the first quarter, Shanks hit Dan Quick on a 12-yard pass for
a touchdown. A point after kick gave Milbrook a 7-0 lead.
Nick McCormick, Eldred’s young quarterback,
began to anticipate the steady Milbrook rush, which caused him to
commit several fumbles on snaps from center.
A second Milbrook touchdown came through a bizarre
turn of events. Milbrook was driving when Spagnola fumbled the ball.
Eldred recovered it in Milbrook territory. On the next play, Vinny
Reilly fumbled the ball and Milbrook recovered on Eldred’s
35-yard line. The Tigers scored a touchdown after Mike Kearins caught
a pass from Quick and broke tackles on his way into the end zone.
The point after kick was good and Milbrook led 14-0.
At halftime, Homecoming Queen Brenda Ferry was
joined by her court of Roberta Wolff, Jen Liebmann and Deanna Rajsz
for a tour around the field in a bright red convertible.
Following in a black pick-up truck were King’s
court members Chris Ryman and Andrew Babula. Homecoming King Vinny
Reilly and Jonathan Counts were absent from the ceremony as they
were busy recovering from the first half of the game and strategizing
a second half comeback.
The third quarter brought a shift in momentum.
Eldred came out on fire and caused Milbrook to go three and out.
After receiving the punt, Eldred marched steadily down the field
on runs by Vinny Reilly and Jonathan Counts and a pass to Kyle Jasper.
They were aided and abetted by Milbrook’s out -of-control
play, which resulted in three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties
yielding huge chunks of yardage. When Nick McCormick scored on a
four-yard keeper, the clock registered 1:41 to go in the third quarter.
Taylor Diguid’s point after kick made it 14-7 and the home
crowd was revved up.
Coach Kean decided to try an onside kick to get
the ball back and capitalize on the shift of emotions. The move
surprised Milbrook but a missed block by an Eldred special teams
player allowed the Tigers to recover the ball. To add insult to
injury, Jeremy DeForge was penalized for a late hit and suddenly
Milbrook had the ball at the Eldred 32. Passing brought Milbrook
within striking distance and Mike Spanola took the ball in from
the eight-yard line to give Milbrook a 20-7 lead. The two-point
conversion attempt was stopped.
On the next drive, on a third and eleven play,
a Nick McCormick pass was intercepted by Eli Rogers who ran east-west-east
and finally north to score on a long touchdown run. With the score
at 26-7, the skies darkened, thunder and lightning ensued and the
game was halted until the storm passed.
Late game heroics by the Yellowjackets took some
of the sting out of the eventual loss. Eldred caused Milbrook to
go three and out and Jonathan Counts repeated his magic from the
Chester game with a 54-yard return on the punt. McCormick threw
a two-yard pass to Vinny Reilly for the two-point conversion and
Eldred closed within 26-15. A final interception by Milbrook stopped
Eldred’s last scoring drive and time expired.
If Eldred defeats both Livingston Manor and Roscoe,
they are assured of a berth in the championship game. If not, the
two combatants will be assessed by their league records, head-to-head
competition and point differentials to determine any tiebreakers.
Eldred is now 1-3 (1-1 Class D). Milbrook is 2-2(1-1 Class D). Their
two losses were close games against powerful Rye Neck and Spackenkill.
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