In Round 2 of the Class AAAAAAA state playoffs, the Mill Creek Hawks zeroed in on Milton Eagles dual-threat quarterback Jordan Yates’ running abilities, daring the senior and Georgia Tech commit to beat them with his arm. So he did, and the Eagles won 24-3 on Friday at Eagles Nest.
The No. 8 Eagles (10-2) advance to their first quarterfinals since 2014 as the top seed from Region 5. They’ll play at No. 4 Hillgrove (13-0), the No. 1 seed from Region 3 next Friday. The GHSA’s universal coin toss went to the top half of the playoff bracket, which is why Hillgrove will host Milton despite both teams owning a No. 1 seed.
Yates completed 16 of 23 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns, making up for his minus-32 yards rushing.
“Since they had to stop me in the run game, they left a lot open in the pass game,” Yates said. “There were a lot of one-on-one matchups that we really liked and our coaches took advantage of it.”
Yates’ top target was Dylan Leonard, who hauled in eight catches for 177 yards and both touchdowns, including the game-clinching, 30-yard scoring reception on fourth-and-9 with 3:38 remaining, which brought the score to its final margin.
The Eagles defense also did its job, keeping the Hawks (8-4) — a No. 2 seed from Region 6 — out of the end zone and forcing a late-fourth quarter fumble that set up Milton’s final scoring drive.
“Every now and then, they’d get a crease and break a run,” Eagles second-year coach Adam Clack said. “But we tackled every blade of grass, and made them have to snap it again and I’m just so proud of those guys for owning the red zone the way they did.”
On the game’s opening drive, the Eagles marched 70 yards in just five plays, with Yates completing all three of his pass attempts for 17, 39 and 15 yards, the last of which was touchdown pass to Leonard that made it 7-0 with 9:49 left in the first.
They wouldn’t score another touchdown until there was 11:37 left in the game, on Josh Edwards’ 1-yard run, which pushed their lead to 17-3.
The Hawks’ lone points came off a 31-yard field goal from Tim Page in the first quarter, but that was canceled out by Hayden Hairston’s 39-yard field goal with 1:47 left in the half, giving the Eagles a 10-3 lead they’d take into the locker room.
Aside from the field goal, Mill Creek’s possessions ended with six punts, a forced fumble and a turnover on downs. The closest the Hawks came to a touchdown was Milton’s 11-yard line, but on third-and-2 they were stuffed in the run for a 3-yard loss and settled for Page’s field goal with 0:43 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks’ Parker Wroble led all rushers with 89 yards on seven carries and also had a team-high 49 yards on five catches. Quarterback Baxley Harris was 9-of-19 passing for 61 yards and rushed for 1 yard on 10 carries.
Edwards led the Eagles in rushing with 50 yards on 14 carries.
Mill Creek 3 0 0 0 - 3
Milton 7 3 0 14 - 24
M - Dylan Leonard 15 pass from Jordan Yates (Hayden Hairston kick)
MC - Tim Page 31 FG
M - Hairston 39 FG
M - Josh Edwards 1 run (Hairston kick)
M - Leonard 30 pass from Yates (Hairston kick)
