Milford football shakes off slow start to knock off Manchester West

MILFORD - The Milford High School football team picked up its second win of the season, rolling past Manchester West 41-14 in a Division II South Conference game on Friday.

Fresh off their first win of the season over Pelham, the Spartans looked to continue their excellent play as they hosted an exciting and fast-paced contest against the visiting Blue Knights.  West and coach Tom Bozoian, coming off a 21-point loss to Sanborn in the team’s previous matchup, was eager to guide his group to their first victory of the season.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle of possessions. Milford (2-2) opened the game with a long, tough, time-consuming drive that saw over five minutes come off the game clock. Gaining almost five yards per carry on the drive, it seemed like the Spartans were going to take the first possession all the way into the end zone.

But West linebacker William Tyler had other plans. On third-and-9, the hard-hitting backer dropped Spartans quarterback Zack King for a big loss to force the Spartans to punt.

Following the punt, West (0-4) was quick to respond, as Jaymeson Maheaux took his first carry 50 yards down to the Spartans 3-yard line, and on the next play, Maheaux was able to pound the ball up the middle of the Milford defense to score the touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, West led 6-0.

But the Spartans didn’t take long to respond. Following the kickoff, Milford’s Victor Garcia was able to evade oncoming defenders and carry the ball untouched for 75-yards for the touchdown. The score put Milford up 7-6, and would also mark the start of what would be a massive offensive showing for the Spartans.

Milford was able to rip off another long play just before the end of the first quarter, when King scampered 60-yards on the quarterback keeper to put the Spartans up 14-7. After another stalled drive by the Blue Knights, Milford was able to regain possession of the ball, chewing over five minutes off the game clock again.

This time, the Spartans were able to punch the ball in on a 1-yard run by Dylan Salisbury. Milford added another 25-yard touchdown run by Ricky Debernardo, and a 35-yard touchdown pass from King to Nick Mazzeo. These scores put the Spartans in front 34-6 at the half.

An already thin roster, and a couple of big injuries during the game, left West scrambling to find suitable replacements to fend off the hungry Spartan defense. Despite the impressive first drive of the game, the Spartans were able to stuff the Blue Knights the rest of the way.

After a third-quarter touchdown run by Milford’s Owen Clary, the Spartans began to take the foot off the gas, leading 41-6. Other than a late touchdown by the Blue Knights with 41 seconds remaining in the game, the majority of the second half was dominated by long Milford drives, and failed West comeback attempts.

Milford will look to make it three wins in a row on Sept. 29, when it heads to Souhegan, while West will host Pembroke Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.