On a team loaded with star power, it’s easy to overlook Mill Creek receiver Makhail Wood. But that’s a huge mistake.
The senior continued to embellish his reputation as a game-changer by hauling in three touchdown passes to help the Hawks rout Milton 48-14 at Lakewood Stadium on Friday in the Class 7A semifinals.
Wood, who has committed to Eastern Michigan, entered the game with 49 catches and 10 touchdowns. He fattened that total with six catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns in the game that advanced Mill Creek to its first state championship game.
“One-hundred percent that he gets overlooked,” Mill Creek coach Josh Lovelady said. “We’ve got (All-America) Caleb Downs and all these other guys and Makhail is phenomenal. His ball skill … If he was 20 pounds heavier you’d be talking about a DI play – and he still should because they can put some weight on him. He’ll be great wherever he goes.”
No. 3-ranked Mill Creek (13-1) advances to play the winner of the Colquitt County-Carrollton game on Saturday at 7 p.m. No. 7 Milton finished the season 10-4.
Wood caught a 64-yard touchdown from Hayden Clark on the third play of the game and caught a 19-yard to complete a drive after Milton had a punt blocked. After Clark scored on a 10-yard run, Wood snared a 32-yard pass from backup quarterback Shane Throgmartin, who entered the game after Clark injured his right hand.
“That first touchdown was huge,” Lovelady said. “(Milton) is so powerful. They’ve got three or four guys committed to Division I, so putting that seven points up there was huge.”
Throgmartin then found Caleb Downs for 19-yard touchdown pass that upped the lead to 35-0. Milton had a little juice after quarterback Luke Nickel drove the Eagles for a touchdown, hitting Bryce Thornton for a 26-yard touchdown.
But when Milton went for an onside kick, the ball was fielded by Miles “Good Hands” Gindlesperger, a sophomore, who burst past the Eagles’ defense and scored standing up for a 55-yard kickoff return touchdown. That score gave Mill Creek a 42-7 lead and secure spots for the team bus to park next week at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
Clark completed 7 of 8 passes for 165 and two touchdowns and ran twice for 27 yards and once score. Throgmartin completed 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Robinson rushed 11 times for 62 yards.
Milton quarterback Luke Nickell completed 10 of 23 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns and ran 12 times for 56 yards. Nickell was sacked four times for minus-24 yards.
“I told our kids, it’s the semifinals and everybody has great athletes, everybody has speed, everybody has size,” Lovelady said. “This is where your culture takes over. In my opinion, this is where your toughness and playing for each other comes to fruition. That’s what they did tonight.”
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