Milford runs over Pembroke in D3 opener

PEMBROKE – Kyle Higgins rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns and the Milford High School football team shutdown Pembroke Academy’s offense Saturday in a 24-7 win.

For the second straight week, the Spartans dominated play up front and ran their ball-control offense to perfection, as they opened the Division III schedule with a win.

Milford piled up 265 yards on the ground on 60 carries and the Spartans (1-0 division, 2-0 overall) won time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 33 minutes, and kept Pembroke to just 74 yards of offense.

“We know we’re not a big-play team,” Milford coach Keith Jones said. “We know we don’t have that, we don’t have the breakaway kid. But we did what we wanted to do. We wanted to keep the ball away from the offense.

“We wanted to throw the ball and be successful when necessary, and we did. I was happy with the way we’re playing between the tackles. We’re pounding it in there like a blue-collar football team.”

Milford quarterback Bud Theriault completed 3 of 7 passes for 63 yards, with all three completions going to Thomas Scannell, and all for big gains at key points of the game.

Scannell also had an interception that ended a Pembroke drive with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter. Milford took over at its 45-yard line and ended the game with a 12-play drive that came to a halt on Pembroke’s 19.

“That was a tough, hard-fought football game,” Jones said. “Give a lot of credit to them. They came off the ball and they never gave up. We had a lot of substitutions there at the end, we had a lot of guys getting out, and give credit to the kids who finished that one. That was tough.”

Pembroke (0-1, 0-2) didn’t pick up a first down until midway through the second quarter on a fake punt, and by then, Milford already led 14-0. Higgins opened the scoring with an 8-yard run with 5:25 left in the first quarter, and added a 12-yard scoring jaunt with 10:42 to go in the second.

Morgan Andrews hit a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to put Milford up 17-0, and the Spartans opened the second half with a 12-play, 66-yard drive that ended on a 2-yard touchdown run by Anton Camillieri to make it 24-0.

Seth Gonya got Pembroke on the board on a 3-yard touchdown run, as the Spartans answered with a 12-play drive of their own. But after Pembroke forced a turnover on downs, Gonya was intercepted by Scannell, giving Milford the chance to put the game away.

“Defense has been playing great,” Jones said. “The interior guys have been outstanding and we’re getting quality secondary play from these young kids who are out there. Give credit to (Pembroke) for making us work and play a whole football game.”