The punch in the gut came quick, and out of nowhere. Before the Millville High School football team knew it, what had been a manageable game fell into a downward spiral the Thunderbolts couldn't stop.
Heavy underdogs to host Mainland, the Bolts were within a minute of escaping the first quarter with a workable one-touchdown deficit. They had the ball with their backs against the wall at their own two-yard line, but all was not lost-yet.
Before the Bolts knew it, their running back was tackled in their endzone for a safety, Mainland's Troy Brennan has returned the ensuing free kick for a touchdown, and the Mustangs had scored nine points in 12 seconds en route to handing Millville a 51-6 loss at the Mustang Corral.
"Hey, we got it at our own goal line," Millville wide receiver Khalid Cherry said. "We've just got to keep our heads up and keep playing. We've got nothing to lose, so just keep playing our hearts out."
Mainland (6-0) showed it was more than just a flashy offense in beating Millville (0-7) for the fourth straight time. Mainland's defense forced five turnovers and held Millville to 11 yards of total offense in the first half, 69 overall.
Of course, the offense was there, too. Brennan scored on a reception, rush and kick return, and the Mustangs offense piled up 349 yards.
"I had a really bad game last week, so I bounced back," said Brennan, who had never before pulled the scoring trifecta. "It's all about character."
Off to their worst start since 1948, when they opened the season 0-7-1, the Bolts were not terribly upset with their play in Friday's game. Naturally, they were not happy with the result, but they did manage to put points on the board, something not even Hammonton was able to do against Mainland last week.
The Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in the South Jersey Mean 15, have allowed 19 points all season.
And there is a silver lining in comparing this team to the 1948 edition; that year, Millville won its final two games, including a Thanksgiving Day victory over Vineland.
"I think we played our hearts out," Millville quarterback Tasker Robbins said. "We followed the game plan. Mainland's just a good team."
Mainland quarterback Brent Caprio was 10-of-17 passing for 199 yards, and wide receiver Ed Irizarry made five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Robbins probably won't be eager to face Mainland defensive back Daniel Boudreau, a junior, again. Boudreau intercepted Robbins three times-the junior quarterback's first three-interception game-including one Boudreau returned 68 yards for a touchdown.
Millville's five turnovers were a season high.
"To Mainland's credit, they were able to disrupt our timing a little bit with their pass rush and disrupting the receivers' routes," Millville coach Jason Durham said. "That caused us some problems. We'll just get back and go to work again."
The Mustangs' first-quarter blitzkrieg was only the beginning. The Mustangs offense scored two more touchdowns and the special teams had one more before halftime, and Millville entered the second half down, 37-0.
Down 44-0 in the third quarter, the Bolts shook off the shock of their big hole on the scoreboard. As the clocked ticked down due to the 35-point mercy rule, Millville executed a 14-play drive that chewed up 68 yards and lasted more than 14 minutes. On fourth down and goal from the 15-yard line, Tasker Robbins found Sammy Serra on a fade route, putting the Bolts on the board in the fourth quarter.
"We couldn't be prouder of our kids," Durham said. "They've been playing to the bitter end in every contest. As long as they keep doing that, they're going to make small steps in the right direction. We're all impatient to get there in a hurry, me more than most, but we just need to keep getting better each day."
本文转自：China Industry News
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