Woodley leads Milton by Needham
MILTON — Facing their toughest challenge to date, Milton showed it has the whole package.
Isaiah Woodley reeled in a pair of touchdowns and linebacker Stephen Joyce forced two turnovers as the Wildcats grabbed sole possession of first place in the Bay State Herget with a 22-14 win over Needham last night at Brooks Field.
“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game,” said Woodley. “They have a heck of a lot of talent, but we have something here we are trying to start ourselves. We came together tonight.”
Trailing 16-7 to begin the fourth quarter, the Rockets pulled within a score as Charlie Ogletree hit wide receiver Matt Smith on a curl route and he broke a pair of tackles for a 74-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 16-14. Smith finished with eight receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Milton (5-1, 3-0) immediately answered with Luke McMenamin hitting Woodley in stride for a 44-yard touchdown for a 2214 lead.
Needham (5-1, 2-1) had a chance to tie the score, taking over at their own 29-yard line with three minutes left. Six straight completions by Ogletree, including one to Smith for 11 yards, moved the Rockets inside the Milton 10. But a penalty and a running play for a loss backed up the Rockets. On fourth down, the Wildcats batted down a jump ball intended for Smith to seal the win.
“Our kids just kept competing,” said Milton coach Steve Dembowski. “Just a great game. Needham obviously has great weapons, but we were able to hold the fort in the end.”
Milton struck first on the opening drive. On third-and-6, McMenamin connected with a wide-open Woodley for a 54-yard score and a 6-0 lead.
Needham jumped in front later in the quarter as Ogletree hit Smith on a back-shoulder throw for a 4-yard touchdown to give the Rockets a 7-6 lead. They had a chance to extend the lead midway through the second quarter working inside the Milton 40. Ogletree’s third down pass, however, was intercepted by Joyce, sending Milton into halftime only down a point.
Milton grabbed the lead on its first drive of the third quarter courtesy of a Max Winkler 28yard field goal, and added to it when Tyrecee Weeks recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for a 16-7 advantage.