In a game defined by highlight-worthy plays, the Milton Eagles made more of them in a 55-27 win over the overmatched Alpharetta Raiders on Friday at the Eagles Nest.
The game marked the Region 5-7A opener for both teams. The Eagles, ranked No. 4, move to 5-1, while the Raiders drop to 1-5.
Eagles senior quarterback Devin Farrell used his dual-threat abilities to shred the Raiders defense, rushing for 93 yards on six carries — including a 47-yard touchdown run — and completing 12 of his 15 passes for 156 yards and touchdown.
Farrell, a Virginia Tech commit, said he wasn’t phased in the first half after he threw a pick-six that cut the Eagles’ lead to 21-14. He went three-for-three the next drive, which ended in a touchdown.
“I think we just stuck with our game plan,” Farrell. “I tell myself, ‘Next play.’ I don’t ever think about the last play that happened. As a quarterback, you have to stay level so, you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. That’s all I was thinking.”
The quick scoring response was a recurring theme in the game as the Eagles scored eight touchdowns to the Raiders’ four.
The Raiders opened the game with a three-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 1:03 and was capped by a 49-yard touchdown reception by Matteo Carriere from sophomore quarterback Ben Guthrie.
The Eagles responded with an 81-yard drive, with McDonald rushing for 76 yards on four carries — including a 39-yard run up the middle on a fourth-and-4 fake punt from the Alpharetta 45, making the score 7-7 with 7:08 left in the first.
The Eagles would tack on two more touchdowns — a Jack Nickel 6-yard reception and 1-yard McDonald run — and appeared poised to take a commanding lead into halftime before Cooper Mendlinger picked off Farrell and raced toward the sidelined, where he was cornered at the Milton 10 by three defenders but managed to spin and barrel his way through them and cut back inside for a touchdown.
On the final play of the first half, and the Raiders on the Milton 5, the ball was snapped over Guthrie’s head and he chased it down almost 10 yards later, but managed to split two charging Eagles defenders, run up the middle and softly lob a pass to a wide-open Garrett Young with no time on the clock.
The Eagles led 34-20 at halftime.
The Eagles pulled further away in the second half with three more touchdowns, including Farrell’s long run, which made it 48-27 with 0:48 left in the third quarter.
McDonald finished with 106 yards and two scores on 10 carries, followed by Farrell, Scott Moskowitz (85 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries) and Bruce Thornton (45 yards and a touchdown on five carries). Adam Freas had two carries for 17 yards and both were touchdowns. Brooks Bortle had two catches for 72 yards.
On defense, Zyere Horton and AJ Crawford each forced a fumble, and Crawford, Caleb Moran and Owen Pauley all recovered fumbles. Debron Gatling intercepted Guthrie in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles have won 19 region games in a row, with their last loss coming Oct. 13, 2017, during coach Adam Clack’s first season.
For the struggling Raiders, the slide continues and they’re headed for consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 2008-09.
They’ve lost all their games since beating Chattahoochee 35-0 in their season opener, getting outscored 217-47 by Alabama’s Hoover (35-7), Grayson (42-6), North Cobb (43-7), Collins Hill (42-0) and Milton.
Guthrie completed 24 of his 35 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Garrett Young had 128 yards and a touchdown on six catches and Carriere had eight catches for 113 yards and a score.
Alpharetta 7 13 7 0 — 27
Milton 14 20 14 7 — 55
A — Matteo Carriere 49 pass from Ben Guthrie (Cooper West kick)
M — Jordan McDonald 1 run (Felipe Mota kick)
M — Jack Nickel 6 pass from Devin Farrell (Mota kick)
M — McDonald 1 run (Mota kick)
A — Cooper Mendlinger 54 yard interception return (West kick)
M — Adam Freas 2 run (Mota kick)
M — Bryce Thornton 7 touchdown (Kick failed)
A — Garrett Young 5 pass from Guthrie (kick failed)
M — Freas 15 run (Mota kick)
A — Guthrie 3 run (West kick)
M — Farrell 47 run (Mota kick)
M — Scott Moskowitz 4 run (Mota kick)
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