SPRINGTOWN — For a solid quarter Friday, the Millsap Bulldogs certainly did not give the impression they were playing in their first postseason contest in more than a half dozen years.
Aubrey's Chaparrals had all they could handle from the initial kickoff in the Class 2A Region II bi-district contest at Porcupine Stadium in Springtown, as the Bulldogs' defense added woe to Aubrey's self-inflictions for the first period.
But Aubrey, no stranger to the playoffs, righted its listing first-quarter ship to overcome an early deficit, beating the Bulldogs, 34-7.
Millsap's defense took control from the first snap, foisting three 3-and-outs on the Chaparrals' offense, while displaying its own running game. Mat Callan's 28-yard scoring jaunt capped the Bulldogs' 5-play, 68-yard march, that saw big chunks of yardage fall on the legs of Callan and junior quarterback Zeb Littlefield.
After Andy Chesnut's point-after, Millsap enjoyed an early lead. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs' advantage would prove to be its only edge of the night.
“I felt like tonight, and all year long, the boys gave a real good effort," said Millsap head coach Kyle Coker. "The turnovers cost us. I was hoping we could go into the half only being down a touchdown, so we kind dug ourselves a hole."
After blanking Aubrey through the first quarter, the Bulldogs yielded three touchdowns, resulting in a 21-7 deficit going to the locker room.
Millsap's second possession was looking fruitful.
"We knew it was going to be tough coming out the second half," Coker said. "We just didn’t make the big plays when we needed to.
"The early momentum turn was big. If we had gotten that second touchdown early, it very well may have changed the complexion of the rest of the game. We just didn’t quite get it done when we needed to."
The Bulldogs' offense had trouble finding its rhythm after the break, putting the ball on the ground eight times during the contest.
Despite the interruptions of the turnovers, Millsap threatened on a few drives late into the second half.
The loss ends Millsap's season, but Coker sees positives galore in the year.
"I told the boys that this doesn’t take away from anything we’ve accomplished this year," he said. "We’ve been shooting for the playoffs the last few years and we got here.
"We can’t let this loss overshadow what we’ve done."
With the program taking a step forward, Coker passed around kudos to those leaving and encouragement for the returnees.
"I congratulated our seniors on their year," Coker said. "There are a lot of leaders in this class and their work ethic was just awesome. They just did a great job of bringing this team together.
"And I told the underclassmen not to forget how this feels, so we can come back again next year.
"Our kids have played with a lot of heart, and fought hard in every game. Even in this game, although we lost like we did, we made several chances in the second half to punch it in, to make it a lot closer game."
Even after an arduous fall campaign ending on a sour note, Coker expressed the positive prospects for next year.
"I think getting to the playoffs this year is huge," he said, "because once you start getting into postseason games and get that experience, you start expecting to get here again.
"We have a good nucleus of returning starters coming back and I think the future looks bright for next year."
Millsap graduates 15 seniors from the 2009 Bulldogs' team.
Aubrey 34, Millsap 7
AHS (10-1) 0 21 7 7 — 34
MHA (8-3) 7 0 7 0 — 7
Scoring summary:
First quarter
M – Mat Callan 28 run (15 kick) 8:31
Second quarter
A – James Wurster 41 pass to Billy Feathers (Levi Birdsong kick) 6:21
A – Wurster 5 pass to Birdsong (Birdsong kick) 1:39
A – Wurster 23 pass to Birdsong (Birdsong kick) 0:46
Third quarter
A - Feathers 2 run (Birdsong kick) 4:55
Fourth quarter
A – Feathers 68 run (kick failed) 6:27
Team Stats: AHS MHS
First downs 10 10
Rushes-yards 31-158 44-113
Passing yards 155 78
Passing
(comp-att-int) 8-13-0 6-14-1
Fumbles-lost 8-2 2-0
Punts-avg 3-31 2-34.5
Penalties-yards 10-80 6-43
Individual leaders:
Rushing: AHS – Billy Feathers 15-124; MHS – Mat Callan 15-103.
Passing: AHS – James Wurster 7-12-128-0; MHS – Zeb Littlefield 5-13-67-1.
Receiving: AHS – Levi Birdsong 5-71; MHS – Chris Hicks 3-19, Clay Walker 2-34, Ryan Van Gundy 1-25.
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DAVID CLAUSEN/DEMOCRAT PHOTO
Bulldogs' early success fades in loss to Aubrey
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