By John Cummings

Contributing Writer

Milton-Union football coach Bret Pearce got an early sign of how the night was going to unfold in a Division IV, Region 16 final against Clinton-Massie at Centerville High School.

After Massie scored on its first drive, the Bulldog defense stuffed the Falcons and forced them to punt from their own goal line. Falcons punter Travis Daughtery fumbled the snap and, with a trio of Bulldogs closing on him, broke to the outside and down the sideline for an 89-yard scoring run and a 14-0 lead.

“One kid breaking down,” Pearce said, shaking his head after Clinton-Massie’s 35-7 win ended the Bulldogs’ season at 8-3. “They are a heckuva football team and they take advantage of your mistakes. That was the story of the night. We had to play a perfect football game.”

The Falcons converted a second-and-17 on their first drive en route to jumping on Milton-Union right away when Bayle Wolf plowed in from a yard out before Daughtery’s run gave the 13-0 Falcons a 14-0 lead. Wolf added a scoring run of 58 yards and Tyler Uetrecht closed out the first half with a 20-yard scoring strike to Trent Smart for a 28-0 cushion.

“You don’t have to peel the paint (when you are up 28-0 at half),” Clinton-Massie coach Dan McSurley said. “We could be poised, take a deep breath and make some adjustments because their defensive front was giving us fits.”

After rushing for 265 yards and 11 first downs in the first half, the Milton defense held the Falcons to 114 yards and three first downs in the second half. The Falcons had two three-and-outs, and turned the ball over on a third.

“We played them even in the second half, we just dug too big of a hole,” Pearce said. “I told the kids (at halftime) that everybody in Milton is here and they came to watch you because of your heart. Their (the players) passion is the reason we are in the position we are in and we were not going to give up.”

Milton cut the lead to 28-7 on an 11-yard pass from Kenton Dickison to David Karns and looked to be in business one play later when Tyler Cottrell recovered a fumble, but Massie’s defense dug in, forcing Milton to turn the ball over on downs at the Falcon 32. Two plays later, Wolf closed the deal with a 56-yard scoring run.

Wolf finished with 182 yards on 16 carries to pace the Falcons, who finished with 422 yards of total offense. Dickison came on in the second half and completed 6-of-10 passes for Milton for 92 yards as the Bulldogs finished with 150 yards of offense.

Clinton-Massie advances to its second consecutive state semifinal next week, but McSurley said this regional title feels different from last season.

“Last year … it was a miracle thing and there was a lot of emotion,” McSurley said. “They will enjoy it tonight, but know we have to get back to work tomorrow.”