Milton Defeats Roswell In Highly-Anticipated Rivalry Match

By Mike Blum

ROSWELL, GA -- After years of domination by nearby rival Roswell High School, Milton has made the football series between the long-time foes competitive again.

The Milton Eagles soared to a 40-7 victory on the Roswell Hornets’ field Friday night, their fourth win over Roswell in the past seven meetings. Since Roswell went 22-2 against Milton from 1983 to 2007, the teams are 5-5 over the past decade, with the Eagles’ most recent victory their most lopsided margin over the Hornets
in the modern history of the rivalry.

Milton led 21-7 at the half, but the only difference between the two teams at that stage was a pair of
turnovers by the Hornets deep in Milton territory. Neither defense was able to contain the opponents’
offense in the opening two periods, but the Eagles limited the Hornets to just one score thanks to the
two turnovers.

Roswell outgained Milton 253 yards to 235 in the first half, but the turnovers and six penalties for 45
yards kept the Hornets for making things closer on the scoreboard. After putting together three lengthy drives in the first half, Roswell managed just 79 yards in the final two periods and never penetrated the Milton 40.

Milton put the game away with a 99-yard touchdown drive after Roswell had seemingly punted the
Eagles into a deep hole at the Milton 1. The Eagles took a 28-7 lead on the second play of the fourth
quarter and added another drive that resulted in a field goal before a pair of late scores by the defense
and special teams.

It was a strong all-around effort for the Eagles (4-1), who rushed for 200 yards and passed for 190, while
doing an outstanding job against Roswell’s passing game in the second half. After quarterback Cordel
Littlejohn went 11 of 13 for 130 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters, the Eagles allowed only
20 passing yards on 13 attempts in the second half, with Littlejohn only 3 of 11.

Solomon Vanhorse had his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game for the Eagles, carrying 27 times for 102
yards. Quarterback Jordan Yates deftly directed the Milton attack, completing 8 of 15 passes for 190
yards and three touchdowns, two to Dash Hairston, and adding 42 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Roswell’s offense was led by Kamonty Jett, who carried 20 times for 129 yards and added 29 receiving
yards.

The Eagles drove 80 yards after receiving the opening kickoff, with the drive highlighted by a short gain
by Yates on fourth-and- 1 from the Milton 39. Yates picked up 22 yards on the next two plays and hit
Dakota Warfield for 27 yards to the Roswell 7 before scoring on an outside run of 4 yards aided by some
excellent blocking from his teammates.

The Hornets came right back with an 82-yard scoring drive, with Littlejohn 3-of- 3 for 54 yards and a 6-
yard pop pass for the TD to tight end Tyneil Hopper. Both defenses held after allowing a pair of first downs each before the Eagles went ahead for good with the assistance of another fourth down gamble in their own territory. On fourth-and- 3 from the 24, Jordan Davis went 30 yards on an unexpected and well-executed fake punt to the Roswell 46.

After a touchdown pass was nullified by a penalty, the Eagles faced third-and 17 from the Roswell 18, but
took the lead on an 18-yard pass from Yates to Holden Shaw, who broke through attempted Roswell
tackles to take the swing pass into the end zone.

Again, the Hornets came right back down the field behind consecutive gains of 16 and 21 yards by Jett.
But the Hornets stalled neat their Milton 10 and a Littlejohn pass was intercepted by Syaire Waters on
fourth-and- 13 from the 15.

Hairston got behind the Roswell defense for a 75-yard catch from Yates to make it 21-7 with 2:21 left in
the half, but the Hornets again threatened before a second costly mistake. Littlejohn hit Hopper for 35
yards and Jett broke away for 15 yards to the Milton 16 in the final minute of the half. But a Hornets’
fumble was recovered by D.J. Albright to keep the Eagles safely in the lead.

Yates hit a wide-open Hairston in the end zone from 19 yards out to cap the 99-yard drive, and a 32-yard
field goal by Hayden Hairston made it 31-7 with four minutes to play. The Eagles were awarded a safety when Littlejohn was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, and Albright accounted for the final score when he returned the ensuing free kick 67 yards for a touchdown.

Both teams open region play next Friday against likely playoff-bound teams. Milton plays at West
Forsyth in the first game for Milton head coach Adam Clack against the team he coached the past three
season. Roswell (1-4) plays at Lassiter, which is expected to compete for playoff spots in their region along with unbeaten Walton, Etowah and the Hornets, whose losing record is partly the result of one of the
toughest schedules any team in the state has played.

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