MILTON – In the months leading up to the inaugural game at the brand new Alumni Stadium on the campus of Milton High School, head coach Phil Davis may not have been able to dream up a better opening performance.
The Milton Black Panthers (1-0) shut out visiting South Williamsport (0-1) by a final score of 28-0. Milton’s offense hummed on all cylinders throughout the game, as the Black Panther offense rolled for 300 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.
The defense stepped up too, limiting a South Williamsport offense that prides itself on strong offensive line play to just 164 total yards of offense. The Black Panther defense also forced four turnovers en route to the season-opening shutout.
“I think there was a little more pressure on the kids than they realized tonight,” said Davis on the inaugural game at the team’s revamped stadium. “They didn’t let that affect them at all. They were ultra-focused, and they executed really well on both sides of the ball. I’m really happy for these kids tonight.”
Milton forced one of its turnovers on South Williamsport’s opening offensive play of the game. With momentum on their side, Milton looked to punch in a quick score, but Mother Nature had other plans. An hour and 45-minute rain/lightning delay forced teams and fans alike to seek shelter. Coach Davis’ team had been in a similar situation before, and he knew his team would know how to perform after such a long layover.
“We experienced that last year when we went to Nativity and had an hour and 15-minute rain delay. So, most of these guys experienced that last year,” said Davis. “They’re a pretty mature team. We’ve got some great leaders and their goal was to come out here and be successful tonight.”
Sure enough just two plays after the long delay, Milton was on the board for the first time in the 2022 season. Quarterback Cale Bastian scampered in from eight yards out to give Milton an early 7-0 advantage.
Bastian would go on to lead Milton in rushing yards on the night, toting the ball 14 times for 105 yards and a score.
“All the credit goes to the o-line on that,” said Bastian. “The guys up there were creating holes that you could pretty much drive a truck through. That makes things easy for us. All the credit to those guys.”
“Coming out and getting that score right away was huge for us to get things started,” added Davis.
Milton found the endzone once again later in the opening quarter after forcing yet another fumble. With South Williamsport in a threatening position, Dylan Reiff fell on a loose ball in the Milton red zone to keep momentum with the home team.
Milton drove 90 yards on seven plays on the ensuing drive to go up 14-0.
Another clutch touchdown came with the clock nearing all zeroes in the opening half. On third-and-goal at the South Williamsport three-yard line, Bastian connected with Peyton Rearick to put Milton up 21-0 at the halftime whistle.
On four first-half drives, the Black Panther defense forced one punt and three fumbles to end Mountaineer drives prematurely.
“(South Williamsport) has a great offensive line and that’s been a concern of ours all month preparing for them,” said Coach Davis. “We preach running to the ball and that’s what causes turnovers. Those four turnovers were the difference in the game in my opinion.”
Milton found the endzone one more time late in the contest when freshman running back Monty Fisher took a 26-yard house call. The freshman got all his carries in the second half and recorded nine carries for 68 rushing yards in his varsity debut.
“I feel like we wore them down late,” said Davis “We had contributions from a lot of different runners. We started cramping up a little bit at the end and had to use other kids, but the offensive line kept making holes and making things happen. All the credit goes to the kids and our coaches. I’m just lucky to be a part of this.”
South Williamsport was led offensively by bruising running back Ryan Casella. The 6’-210lb junior toted the ball 13 times for 73 yards. Senior running back Caden Harris also added 71 yards on the ground for the visitors.
Milton takes its 1-0 record on the road to Towanda next week, while South Williamsport looks to rebound on the road against Montgomery.
Milton 28, South Williamsport 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
South Williamsport 0 0 0 0 – 0
Milton 14 7 0 7 – 28
First Quarter
M—Cale Bastian 8-yard run (Trace Witter PAT Good), 8:33.
M—Xzavier Minium 18-yard run (Witter PAT Good), 2:40.
Second Quarter
M—Peyton Rearick 4-yard reception from Bastian (Witter PAT Good), 0:03.
Fourth Quarter
M—Monty Fisher 26-yard run (Witter PAT Good), 11:23.
TEAM STATISTICS SW M
First downs 8 17
Total yards 164 344
Rushes-yards 33-164 44-300
Yards passing 0 44
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 0-0-0 5-12-0
Fumbles-lost 5-4 2-1
Penalties-yards 1-15 3-18
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Milton: Bastian 14-105 TD, Minium 11-105 TD, Fisher 9-68 TD, Mason Rowe 8-40, TEAM 2-(-18). South Williamsport: Ryan Casella 13-73, Caden Harris 9-71, Amir Kemrir 7-18, Radley Knapp 2-12, TEAM 2-(-10).
PASSING—Milton: Bastian 5-12 44 yards TD. South Williamsport: N/A.
RECEIVING—Milton: Luke Goodwin 1-28, Rearick 3-14 TD, Minium 1-2. South Williamsport: N/A
