‘THIS IS A STATEMENT WIN’
Milford stuns Walled Lake Western, 18-15, in wild finish
HIGHLAND » The Milford football team came into Friday having already won three games in a season for the first time since 2012.
Still, the Mavericks had a little more history on their mind, as they were seeking their firstever win over Walled Lake Western after eight unsuccessful attempts.
Milford made sure that first win would be something nobody would ever forget.
Trailing the entire game, the Mavericks scored a go-ahead touchdown with 42 seconds to play, only to see Western return the ensuing kickoff for a TD to go up 15-12 and seemingly spoil the celebration.
However, the Mavericks proved resilient, driving 75 yards over 27 seconds, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Billy Sternberg to Lucas Theriault, giving Milford the 18-15 victory.
“In 14 years, I don’t think I have ever been in a game like
that,” Milford coach Garfrey Smith said. “This is a statement win. We haven’t beaten Walled Lake Western ever, so this is huge. This is a statement that Milford football is back.”
The Mavericks (4-1, 3-1 Lakes Valley Conference) did all of their scoring in the final 6:18 of play.
Their first score came on a 56-yard drive that saw Sternberg hit Trey Hayes on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Hayes caught the ball at the 4 yard line and fought his way into the endzone. Milford would miss the extra point to trail the Warriors (2-3, 2-3 LVC) 7-6.
Milford’s defense forced a quick punt and got the Maverick offense the ball back with 3:45 to play from its 22. Sternberg converted a 3rd and 22 with a 49-yard rollout pass to Hayes that got the Mavs down into the redzone.
Sternberg would then get the go-ahead touchdown pass on a 4-yard shovel pass to Ryan Allen with 42.4 seconds on the clock. Milford would fail the 2-point conversion to lead 12-7, but the Maverick fans were rocking.
Milford’s kicking woes continued on the ensuing kickoff as three straight went out of bounds. Western elected to keep pushing the Mavericks back to re-kick, and that worked out as it led to junior Darius Taylor fielding a squib kick and taking it 70 yards for the score, silencing the crowd.
“Darius is our guy. He’s the
best player in the area. I have never seen anything like that kid,” Western coach Kory Cioroch said of Taylor, who also scored the opening touchdown in the first quarter on a 30-yard fumble recovery for a score. “(Milford) kicks the ball on the ground and that kid finds a way to run through a handful of kids to get us a touchdown. He’s incredible.”
Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Milford took over at its 25-yard line with 29.1 on the clock.
The drive started with a 31-yard pass from Sternberg to Brandon Gibson to get the ball to midfield.
“It’s not hard to keep this group motivated. I have been with them since freshmen and they have been playing hard for me since then,” Smith said.
“They have been through a lot of tough times on the field and always keep fighting. That didn’t change after that touchdown. They still believed in themselves.”
After a QB keeper that got to the Western 31, the Warriors were called for pass interference on a throw toward the endzone.
That put the Mavs at the 16 and set up the game-winning strike from Sternberg to Theriault with 2.3 seconds on the clock.
“We ran a switch concept and were able to get my guy running up the seam between his man and the safety,” Sternberg said of the throw. “He made a great catch and got into the endzone. I can’t even describe the feeling when I saw him score. Best feeling ever.”
Western attempted to get the ball back to Taylor on the following kickoff, but Milford managed to intercept a lateral to end the game and start the raucous celebration.
“This is such a great moment for the kids. What a roller coaster,” Smith said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
For the Warriors, they were their own worst enemy throughout the night. They threatened on offense multiple times only to see their drives killed by multiple penalties.
“We do it every game. Every single game we are in we shoot ourselves in the foot consistently, to the point that we play with everybody. That came back to bite us tonight,” Cioroch said. “I don’t know if this is a wake-up call. We are just undisciplined and that’s on me.”
Western will look to bounce back next week when it hosts Ferndale for its lone non-conference game of the season.
Milford hopes to continue its breakout start when it travels to Waterford Mott in another LVC clash.