Sally Sexton
sports@weatherforddemocrat.com
MILLSAP - The Millsap Bulldogs weren’t looking to end the District 9-2A season with a loss. On the other hand, the disappointment was short-lived. The Bulldogs (3-2 in district, 8-2 overall), for the first time since 2002, will be making a playoff appearance. The Bulldogs take on Aubrey Thursday night at Springtown’s Porcupines Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
“8-2 is a big improvement for us. We’re just very excited to be in the playoffs and to learn from this experience and see how far we can go,” said Millsap head coach Kyle Coker. “We were going to be disappointed if we didn’t get into the playoffs this year. That was our goal and that’s where our sights were set.”
The game looked to be an even matchup, with Millsap drawing first blood on Mat Callan’s 1-yard run after a scoreless first quarter. Though Boyd (5-0, 6-4) would react with back-to-back scores, with runs by Colton Lyon and Tim Fleming, the Bulldogs offense led another charge. Zeb Littlefield completed a pass to Chris Hicks, worth 64 yards, to knot the game at 14 apiece.
The Yellowjackets added a parting shot before the half, with backup QB Tim Warner in the game. Warner found Austin Radliffe for the score, putting Boyd on top by a touchdown at the break.
Then disaster struck.
With the Bulldogs kicking off to start the third quarter, Kyle Stearns got the kick and threaded his way through the Millsap defense for an 81-yard score.
The next series didn’t prove any better for the Bulldogs, ending with an interception return by Jeff Mears on a Littlefield attempt.
Both scores seemingly put the game out of reach, and Ryan Wilson scored the final TD for Boyd to open the fourth quarter.
With 10 minutes to go, Millsap began its journey at its own 24-yard line, marching down the field in long, quick plays, including a 24-yard run by Littlefield to put the Bulldogs at the Boyd 20-yard line. One play and a few seconds was all it took for Littlefield to find Chris Hicks, who snatched the ball away from his defender and scampered for a 20-yard touchdown.
With time still ticking off, Millsap opted for an onside kick, finding success when the Bulldogs recovered the ball on the Yellowjacket 49-yard line. Littlefield started off the campaign with a 38-yard completion to Ryan Van Gundy, before running six yards into the end zone. The score narrowed the gap to 42-28, with 6:41 to play, giving the Bulldogs a shot.
Unfortunately, though the Bulldogs would hold the Yellowjackets to three-and-out on their last two series, Millsap couldn’t get anything going, turning the ball over twice after failing on fourth down attempts.
“I’m proud of the effort and the way we fought back. They had us out of the game there for a while, but we came back and gave ourselves a chance,” Coker said.
Boyd 42, Millsap 28
BHS 0 21 14 7 - 42
MHS 0 14 0 14 - 28
Scoring drives
Second quarter
M- Mat Callan 1 run (Andy Chesnut kick)
B- Colton Lyon 10 run (Edgar Lugo kick)
B- Tim Fleming 23 run (Lugo kick)
M- Zeb Littlefield 64 pass to Chris Hicks (Chesnut kick)
B- Tim Warner 9 pass to Austin Ratliff (Lugo kick)
Third quarter
B- Kyle Stearns 81 kickoff return (Lugo kick)
B- Jeff Mears 74 interception return (Lugo kick)
Fourth quarter
B- Ryan Wilson 2 run (Lugo kick)
M- Littlefield 20 pass to Hicks (Chesnut kick)
M- Littlefield 6 run (Chesnut kick)
Team stats
MHS BHS
First downs 17 21
Rushes-Yds 29-153 47-264
Passing Yds 238 94
Com-Att-Int 11-31-2 7-9-0
Total Yds 391 358
Punts-Avg 5-34.2 2-30.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yds 4-35 2-25
Individual leaders
Rushing
MHS- Mat Callan, 15-90; Zeb Littlefield, 11-54; Chris Hicks, 3-9. BHS- Ryan Wilson, 23-138; Tim Fleming, 9-79.
Passing
MHS- Littlefield, 11-31-2. BHS- Fleming, 6-8-0; Tim Warner, 1-1-0.
Receiving
MHS- Ryan Van Gundy, 4-108; Hicks, 4-91; Travis McCullough, 3-39. BHS- Kyle Stearns, 3-51; Edgar Lugo, 2-23.
