Mills enjoys 2-0 start for first time since ’13

MILLS 36, JACKSONVILLE 20

Continuing the momentum built last season, the Mills Comets defeated the Jacksonville Titans 36-20 Friday night in Jacksonville.

The Comets (2-0) twice overcame Jacksonville leads and pulled away with a pair of touchdowns, one of them by the defense, in the fourth quarter.

“I thought we played well,’’ Mills Coach Cortez Lee said. “We had a few blind spots in there. I think we let up just a little bit on some of the techniques and the schemes that we put in, but overall the guys kept fighting and finished the game.”

The Titans led 6-0 and later 14-6, but they managed just one score in the second half.

Jacksonville (0-1) took a 14-6 lead when Deorius Cobb scored from the 3 on the first play of the second quarter. Jaden Jones ran in the twopoint conversion for the advantage.

The Comets responded with a 73-yard drive that was capped by Caleb Sain scoring on a 6-yard run and Jabrae Shaw catching a pass for the tying two-point conversion.

It stayed that way until halftime.

Mills’ Dylan Parks recovered a fumbled punt return and Achillies Ringo hit Anton Pierce on a 45-yard scoring pass on the next play. Ringo ran in the two-pointer for a 22-14 lead.

The Titans cut the lead to 22-20 when Jones scored on a 13-yard run with 5:19 left in the third quarter. The two-point run failed.

Shaw got his second TD of the night on a 17-yard run with 8:20 left to make the lead 28-20.

Timmy Kitchen recovered a fumble in the end zone for the Comets’ final touchdown, and Ringo passed to Shaw for the two-point conversion with 6:38 left.

Mills was 1-4 last season before turning its season around and wound up with a first-round playoff victory before finishing 5-7 in Lee’s first season. The Comets are 2-0 for the first time since 2013 this year.

“This start is big for our program,’’ Lee said. “Last year we made strides going to the second round. This year we just want to go one week at a time. I like that we are building here.”