Spartans try to right ship against Bulldogs

The high school football teams from Milford and Bedford are coming off two completely different types of games.

Bedford found itself in its toughest contest of the season a week ago, and the Bulldogs mustered enough to pull out a 19-16 win over Con-Val in double overtime. Milford expected to go to Portsmouth and give the Clippers a tough game, but instead, the Spartans were blown out 40-0.

The win for Bedford (4-0 in Division III, 5-0 overall) kept it undefeated, one of two teams in the division without a loss against league opponents. Milford (2-1, 2-3) has now alternated wins a losses through the first five weeks of the season, but last week was the first time the Spartans failed to keep the game close. The teams will meet for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday in Milford.

“Right now, they’re the favorite,” Milford coach Keith Jones said. “With the way we played last week, we’re no body’s favorite.”

Milford’s best defense this year has been its ball-control offense, but with the Spartans unable to run the football last week, they fell victim to Portsmouth’s big plays.

“We didn’t block anybody, simple as that,” Jones said. “They were hungry and we were not, that’s the way the game started. They punched us right in the face and we did not respond. They blew us off the ball the whole game.”

Bedford coach Kurt Hines knows what to expect from Milford, and knows the Spartans will come out fired up, not only because of last week’s loss, but also because of Bedford’s opening-day win over Milford a year ago.

“We know they’re a powerhouse team,” Hines said. “I have no doubts that they’re going to come ready for battle. I imagine they’ll want a little redemption for last year, too.”

While the Spartans have several players who can run the football, Hines believes the key to stopping them is shutting down running back John Forte. The senior had just 29 yards against Portsmouth last week.

“Forte is a beast,” Hines said. “We have got to stop him. I don’t think we’ll have a problem with their outside game. They don’t pass a lot. It’s the dive and the double dive.”

Because the Bulldogs don’t matchup as well physically, Hines expects inside linebackers Sam McClain and David Cannone to step up and take care of things in the middle.

On the other side of the ball, it will be the second week in a row that Milford’s defense will have to face a spread offense. Jones isn’t sure that having that experience last week will help.

“I hope we learned what not to do,” Jones said. “They changed their offense and they have a lot of athletes on the field and they’re tough to defend.”

Although the Bulldogs have run the ball more from the spread, the coaching staff has been allowing sophomore quarterback James Caparell more opportunities to throw the ball. Against Con-Val, Caparell did well executing a last-minute drive in regulation that almost got the Bulldogs the win before overtime.

“We’ll rely on it when we have to,” Hines said. “James showed me last year as a freshman, when he had to start two games, he showed great poise. He doesn’t allow the game to get into his head.”

Milford might hold the advantage in experience, thanks to a group of seniors who have been playing on varsity since they were sophomores, Bedford learned a lot from the win over Con-Val.

“The one thing about playing young kids is that they don’t have that experience late in the game,” Jones said. “But last week was great for them. That was a year’s worth of experience for them right there.”

The Spartans and Bulldogs will meet at 7 p.m. on Friday in Milford.