Spartans, Clippers set for another showdown

As nice as it was for Keith Jones to see his Milford High School football team holding a big lead over Con-Val at halftime, the Spartans coach wanted to see more.

Jones wanted to see his defense do something after halftime, which was something it had struggled to do in the team’s previous three games.

But this time, the defense pulled through.

“The key was at half,” Jones said. “It was 19-0 and (the players) know we haven’t punted, we haven’t been stopped, although we fumbled. They came out and played defense, made a great stop and put another one in.

“That was the difference maker. We hadn’t come out in the second half and played fantastic defense. It was a good thing for us.”

Milford eventually went up 33-0 before the Cougars scored 18 fourth-quarter to bring the final score closer.

“We came out (in the second half) against Memorial and scored, but gave up a touchdown immediately,” Jones said. “Pembroke drove down the field (after halftime) and the same thing with Tyngsboro. This time, we forced them to punt and kept the momentum.”

While there were still two fumbles in the first half – without them, Jones believed the game could have been over at halftime – but this time, Milford was able to keep those mistakes from leading to complete self-destruction.

And the confidence that comes with that couldn’t be coming at a better time, as the Spartans head to Portsmouth Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Clippers.

The teams have played some interesting games since Portsmouth moved down to Division III in 2006.

That same season, Milford went to the seacoast for the regular-season finale and pulled out a 10-7 win to get home field in the playoffs the following week. Portsmouth came out to Milford and pounded the Spartans, 32-0.

In 2007, Milford won the regular-season meeting in overtime 27-20, in a game that was played at Souhegan.

The teams played again in the finale in 2008 in Milford, and this time, Portsmouth took home field with a 43-15 win. A week later, the Spartans nearly knocked off the Clippers, losing 14-13.

A year ago, with a home playoff game once again on the line, Portsmouth pulled out a 28-21 win at home.

“The biggest thing with us, especially with team with an explosive offense, in order to win, we have to control the clock,” Jones said. “We can’t turn the ball over. We have to keep their athletes off the field, and that’s where we struggle.”

While the Clippers lost a lot of those athletes from the last two years, they still have some standout players, like running back Billy Lane, quarterback Quin McCann and receiver Aidan O’Leary.

“Again, here they come, they’ve got all these athletes,” Jones said. “We have to do our best to contain them and bend but not break.”

On offense, it doesn’t seem to be a question of if the Spartans will move the ball, but how long will they hold on to it. The potentially rainy weather would seem to play into Milford’s favor – the Spartans will run, run and run – slick footballs might prove tougher to hang on to.

“The key for us isn’t whether we can run or not,” Jones said. “It’s whether we can hold on to the football. If we can hold on to the football, we can be explosive. Obviously, John Forte has emerged as a go-to kid, but we’re not specifically trying to force him to carry it.”

Forte had another big week against Con-Val, rushing 189 yards, giving him almost 700 in four games this season.

Milford will take the field against Portsmouth for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.