Milton defeated rival Roswell 20-14 on Saturday—shaking up the Class 7A polls—and putting its defensive fortitude and impressive rushing attack on full display. Their top 10 matchup marked the first time that the two rivals squared off as region opponents since the 2015 season and the Eagles jumped out to a 20-0 lead before closing out the home victory.
Many probably expected this game to be a back-and-forth defensive battle, but this year turned out to be heavily one-sided for the first three quarters. The Eagles held the previously-undefeated Hornets scoreless for the majority of the game before Roswell cut into the margin with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Head Coach Adam Clack detailed how the Eagles were able to give themselves the early advantage and credited his team’s powerful rushing attack and efficient passing for providing them with the edge. This well executed gameplan turned out to be the major difference in the game and once the Hornets got behind, they Milton defense ensured that Roswell’s attempts at a comeback would ultimately fall short. .
Milton came out aggressive from the get-go and according to Coach Clack there was a fake punt that really seemed give an early spark to the Eagles that turned the well-executed trick play into points.
“Yeah it was a good combination offensively executing the run and pass,” said Clack. “It was very important for us on that first drive to be able to do a fake punt and turn that drive into a touchdown.”
Coach Clack also emphasized on how great defense and special teams put the team in a position to increase the lead and put the team in a better position to potentially turn this gam into a blowout victory.
“Throughout the game we played fantastic on special teams and defense to give ourselves great field position,” said Clack. “The combination of the run and pass were also well-executed to give us that early lead.” Clack said.
Defensively, the Eagles put up a dominate performance throughout and especially within the first three quarters of the game were able to keep the Hornets offense off balance. On the other hand, the Hornets defense wasn’t able to do the same to the Eagles. Milton posted a season-high 383 rushing yards off of 49 carries in the victory and kept the defense off balance with 6-of-11 passing for 120 total yards. Clack spoke on how proud he was of how hard the defense played—including the 10 total tackles for loss that the unit tallied to better their chances of victory in a crucial Week 10 region showdown.
“I was really proud of the way those guys played, they were excellent at stopping the run and they were able to get rush the passer consistently with a four-man rush,” said Clack. “Our cornerbacks played tight coverage all game long, which would force Roswell to make some perfect throws and they did at times.”
With the exception of one mistake, the team made while Roswell attempted to kick a field goal, overall, Coach Clack enjoyed how well his team executed to secure this victory. Winning this game against a rival that was ranked higher in the 7A Class was very critical and puts Milton in a better position to compete for the region title.
“One drive we held them to a field goal and got a roughing the kicker penalty, which led to a touchdown, so it would have been a much better defensive performance, but I was proud at how well our guys performed.” Clack said.
Now that Milton has this victory in the books, they have moved up in the 7A class rankings and are currently ranked No. 8 to new Week 11 Score Atlanta polls. Meanwhile, the Hornets are still ranked number No. 10. Another great sign for Milton following this victory is the breakout junior season that running back Jordan McDonald continues to have. The 3-star athlete ran in all three of Milton’s touchdowns and now has eight touchdowns in the last three games. After the conclusion of Saturday night’s game, the Eagles are surging in a positive direction and still have room to improve. As for the Hornets, they will try to rebound this week against Alpharetta following their first loss of the season.
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