When the big moment came on Friday night, with a near capacity crowd of drenched fans watching in the stands and countless others turned in to view on national television, the Mill Creek Hawks never flinched.
The defending Class 7A champions scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:20 left and held on with white knuckles to the buzzer because of Buford’s frantic drive in the final seconds, winning 31-24 at Markham Field.
“We didn’t blink,” said Mill Creek coach Josh Lovelady. “That’s the biggest thing. Sometimes when you play a big powerhouse like that, you sit there and wonder if I really want to get in the middle of this against these guys. Our kids stepped up.”
No. 2-ranked Mill Creek (7-0, 2-0 Region 8) got the ball at its own 40 with 7:07 remaining – after a Buford touchdown was negated because of an ineligible receiver penalty -- and began to slowly drive down the field behind its experienced-but-beat-up offensive line and the sturdy legs of Cam Robinson. The Hawks deviated from the script only at the end, when Lovelady changed the play and called a pass that quarterback Shane Throgmartin delivered into the hands of Justin Content for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:20 remaining.
But No. 1-ranked Buford (6-1, 1-1), ranked No. 6 in the nation, wasn’t done. Quarterback Dylan Raiola, the famed Georgia commit, drove the Wolves to the 8. With five seconds remaining, he was chased around and threw incomplete as the clock expired, setting off an exuberant celebration by the Mill Creek team.
Raiola was plagued by numerous dropped balls and was under constant pressure from the Mill Creek rush, although he was sacked just twice. He completed 19 of 43 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Tyshun White caught five passes for 94 yards. But the Buford running game was non-existent. The Wolves rushed for only 10 yards.
Mill Creek brought much more balance. The Hawks got most of their ground yardage from Robinson, who ran 29 times for 115 yards and Throgmartin completed 14 of 30 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Trajen Greco, the clutch two-way player who has committed to Georgia Tech, caught eight passes for 121 yards.
“(Throgmartin) has made tremendous strides,” Lovelady said. “I mean, every one of their kids has a college offer. That was a great defense, not only to grow up but also to have confidence in the people around him. He didn’t try to sit in there and make it all himself.”
Buford had a 17-10 halftime lead thanks to a pair of Raiola touchdown passes, both to Wright, an 18-yarder and a 7-yard on a nice scramble with 7.4 seconds left in the half. The Wolves also got a 30-yard field goal from Mario Ventura. Mill Creek scored on a 36-yard field goal by Brady Lane to open the game and a 2-yard second-effort sneak by Throgmartin.
Mill Creek tied the game 17-17 at 8:43 in the third quarter. Buford’s Jordan Allen fumbled a punt and Kaymon Bolden recovered for the Hawks. Mill Creek went 38 yards on a pass from Throgmartin to Jaiden Patterson to the 1 and Robinson scored on the next play.
Buford drove 84 yards to the 1 when Mill Creek came up with a goal-line stand. On fourth-and-goal, Raiola fumbled the exchange and the Hawks took over on downs and drove for the go-ahead touchdown when Throgmartin threw to Greco for a sprawling one-handed catch in the end zone.
After going three-and-out on its next possession, Buford got a break when Nassir McCoy jumped in front of a pass and returned the interception 9 yards for the tying score at 10:20.
The game was televised nationally on ESPN2, but viewers didn’t get to see the end of the game. At 10 p.m. the network switch to coverage of a preseason NBA game, denying the fans a chance to see the exciting conclusion.
About the Author
