Late rally lifts Lebanon football to win over Milford (video)

MILFORD - For three and a half quarters Friday night, the Lebanon High School football team did a good job of beating itself.

A fumble in the first half and 60 yards of penalties on the opening drive of the second had set up two Milford touchdowns, and the Raiders were down two points heading into crunch time. Fortunately for Lebanon, it's defense was there all game, and when called upon, it delivered.

Milford was forced to punt after a strip sack left the Spartans facing a fourth-and-24 from its own 23, and Jackson Stone returned the kick 55 yards for what proved to be the winning score with 4:19 remaining in a 27-14 comeback win for Lebanon in a Division II West Conference game.

Stone added a 9-yard touchdown run after the Spartans turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and the Raiders (3-0) escaped with a win that looked a lot different than their first two. Lebanon scored a combined 137 points in two blowout wins to open the season.

"It was definitely not a pretty win," Lebanon coach Chris Childs said. "A lot of mouths talking (Friday), which cost us a lot in yardage. We hung together, we hung tight. We had that fumble early and gave them short field position, and they scored on us there. We kind of buckled down there for a little while and got our grips together.

"It’s a good gut check. Our starters only ran 24 plays in the first two games, so to ring the bell in the fourth quarter and still get our stuff done, we kind of wore them down a little bit. It definitely is a nice feeling for us."

Leading the way was Stone, who was just 2 of 7 for 23 yards passing, but ran for a game-high 86 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to go with the special teams score. The senior also connected on a two-point conversion with CJ Childs, the coach's son, after that score to make it 20-14.

CJ Childs also had a touchdown for the Raiders, as he ran for 78 yards on nine carries, and Nyeoti Punni, Jr., added 63 yards on four carries, as Lebanon outgained Milford 272-149.

But miscues by the Raiders put the game in jeopardy.

Cole Shambo (four carries, 22 yards) fumbled on the Raiders' second possession and Milford's Chuck Urda recovered at the Lebanon 27-yard line. The Spartans (2-1) needed eight plays to find the end zone, scoring on a 1-yard run by Logan Barnhill to take a 7-0 lead with 1:49 left in the first quarter.

Lebanon answered right away, as CJ Childs ran for 24 yards on first down and Stone scored on a 50-yard touchdown run on the next play. But the extra point try by Tanner Ames was wide right, leaving Milford with a 7-6 lead with 56.6 left in the quarter.

"He makes me look real good sometimes," Chris Childs said of Stone. "He’s strong and talented kid. He can make a lot of kids miss with his pure athleticism."

The Raiders had a chance to take the lead before halftime, but a 38-yard field goal attempt by Ames went into the line, and the Spartans took the one-point lead into halftime.

Milford got the ball to start the quarter and it looked like Lebanon was going to force a punt, but on third-and-8 from the Spartans' 26, the Raiders were called for personal foul on a late hit. As the officials were walking off the penalty, the head official threw another flag for an unsportsmanlike foul on the Raiders.

The Spartans picked up another first down on the ground and Lebanon received another unsportsmanlike penalty after the play, giving Milford a first down at the Raiders 24. The defense looked like it was going to hold again, but on fourth-and-16, Lebanon was flagged for pass interference.

It was Milford's turn for a flag, as the Spartans were called for a false start, turning fourth-and-1 into fourth-and-6. But on the next play, Urda connected with Trice Cote for a 20-yard touchdown to cap a drive that saw 60 yards in penalties on Lebanon and ate up 7:35 of the third quarter.

Lebanon again had an answer before the end of the quarter, as the Raiders went on a six-play, 70-yard drive in 2:30, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by CJ Childs. But Stone's pass attempt on the conversion fell incomplete and Milford held on to a 14-12 lead with 1:45 remaining in the third.

"With all of their time of possession on offense, I think it was really good for us (to be able to answer quick)," Stone said. "Defense, we were out there for a long time. To get those two touchdowns was big for us."

After Milford turned the ball over on downs near midfield on its next possession, Lebanon drove down to the Spartans' 26-yard line, but the drive stalled thanks to two negative plays and a pre-snap penalty on the Raiders.

But Milford wasn't able to move the ball, and on third down, Urda was sacked by Connor Brown and fumbled. The Spartans recovered, but faced a fourth down, setting up Stone's punt return.

Urda finished the game 4 of 11 for 65 yards and the touchdown to Cote for Milford, while Barnhill had 59 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.