Milton 42, Alpharetta 13

Milton scores big, manhandles Alpharetta

Raiders can’t match Eagles’ superior offensive effort

By MIKE BLUM / http://www.ajc.com/

Friday, September 19, 2008

Milton hasn’t qualified for the postseason in football in the 21st century, but the Eagles certainly looked like a playoff team Friday night as they trampled Region 6-AAAAA rival Alpharetta 42-13.

It was the Eagles’ second straight decisive region victory on their home field. Both Milton and Alpharetta are 2-1 in the region, 3-1 overall.

The Milton offense was led by Tennessee-bound tailback Toney Williams, who carried 24 times for 250 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 916 yards and 10 touchdowns for the season.
One play after Milton stopped the Raiders on a fourth-down sack deep in Eagles territory early in the third quarter, Williams shot through the middle for 78 yards and a touchdown to give the Eagles a 28-7 lead.

The Raiders closed within 28-13 two plays after sophomore quarterback Mikhal Abdul-Saboor left the game with a leg injury. But Milton responded with a penalty-aided scoring drive, with Williams going 15 yards for his final score.

The Eagles scored on drives of 65, 71 and 59 yards in their first three series and finished the game with more than 480 yards of total offense. Quarterback Wil Perry was 10-of-13 for 120 yards and a touchdown, throwing primarily to fullback Robbie Hoffman and tight end Johnny Keane, who had an 8-yard scoring catch.

The Milton defense, which allowed 77 points in its first two games, turned in a second straight strong effort, led by lineman Andrew Quinlan, linebacker Jeremy Grable and safety Joe Kizer, who all contributed big plays.

After Abdul-Saboor connected with Brandon Terry for 27 yards to tie the score at 7-7 in the first period, the Milton defense forced three straight punts before twice holding on downs inside the Eagles’ 20.

Abdul-Saboor passed for 234 yards and set up the second Alpharetta score on a 45-yard pass to Terry, but the Raiders were ineffective on the ground. They finished with just 26 yards rushing, with Alpharetta running backs carrying just once in the game for a loss of 4 yards.