The Milton Eagles are back in the 7A championship game for the second time in four years, winning their semifinal matchup against the Walton Raiders in blowout fashion, 52-17, at the Eagles Nest Friday.
The No. 3 Eagles (13-1) set the program record for points scored in a playoff game, and Jordan McDonald led the offense with 155 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.
The Eagles will play the top-ranked Collins Hill Eagles (14-0) 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11 at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium. In a rematch of last year’s title game, Collins Hill knocked off defending champs Grayson 31-0 in the other semifinal Friday.
“I 1,000% believe we can win next week,” McDonald said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Milton started in a 10-0 hole but rallied to tie the game shortly before half on a Felipe Mota 22-yard field goal, followed by McDonald’s first touchdown run from 13 yards out with 2:25 remaining.
With a minute left in the half, and the Raiders facing fourth-and-1 on their own 23, they opted for a high-risk, low-reward fake punt in which Jeremy Hecklinski — the team’s quarterback and punter — attempted to run from 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, only to be stuffed well short of the first down.
The gamble backfired spectacularly as the Eagles took over with a short field and scored three plays into their drive on McDonald’s 2-yard run with 10 seconds left.
That gave Milton a 17-10 lead heading into halftime and was part of a 38-0 run that sealed the game in three quarters.
“It shocked me,” Eagles coach Adam Clack said of Walton’s fake punt. “We were kinda just playing safe right there for an opportunity to maybe go two minutes and get a field goal. Super heads-up play by our guys being prepared. We said all week to trust your eyes and react to what’s going to happen, because we knew there was going to be some calculated gambles by them.
“That was a huge moment in the game right there, being able to get that and punch it in right before half, feeling like we weren’t playing great, but still having a lead.”
The Eagles’ first three possessions of the game ended in two punts and an interception, and the Raiders scored on their first possession, with Hecklinski finding Nate Lyons on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 8:21 left in the first. They extended the lead on a Lucien Michelin 23-yard field goal with 7:35 left in the half.
After handing the lead to Milton for good at the end of the second quarter, they began the third by punting on the opening possession. Two plays later, McDonald broke free for an 81-yard touchdown to make it 24-10 with 8:14 left in the third.
The Raiders fumbled their next possession, and the Eagles’ next drive ended with a 5-yard McDonald touchdown. Next, the Raiders would go three-and-out, then Eagles quarterback Devin Farrell hit Brooks Bortle on a 26-yard touchdown pass to make it 38-10 with 1:05 left in the third.
It only got worse for the Raiders in the fourth quarter, where they threw three interceptions, including a 53-yard pick-six by Robert Billings, which brought the score to its final margin and set the Milton playoff record for points scored.
The previous high was 45, matched twice in Round 1 wins over Duluth this year and Peachtree Ridge in 2020.
“It’s crazy,” Billings said. “We put in so much work during the summer and now we’re getting ready to play for a state championship on Saturday.”
In the Eagles’ only other title game appearance in 2018, they beat heavily-favored Colquitt County 14-13 in what is considered the biggest upset for a high-class championship in GHSA history.
They’ll most certainly be seen as underdogs next week against a Collins Hill team ranked highly in the national polls and featuring Travis Hunter and Sam Horn.
“If people want to make us an underdog, that’s fine,” Clack said. “We won’t go in there feeling like one.”
The No. 9 Raiders finished 9-4, advancing to the semis for the first time since 2011, when they were the 5A runners-up. They beat No. 6 Colquitt County, Archer and No. 7 Brookwood, all by double-digits, as a No. 3 seed from Region 3.
Hecklinski, a sophomore, was 22-of-36 for 310 yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions, and his leading receiver was Rawson MacNeill (seven catches for 116 yards). Sutton Smith, committed to Memphis, was limited to 55 rushing yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 38 yards.
Walton 7 3 0 7 — 17
Milton 0 17 21 14 — 52
W — Nate Lyons 3 pass from Jeremy Hecklinski (Lucien Michelin kick)
W — Michelin 23 FG
M — Felipe Mota 22 FG
M — Jordan McDonald 13 run (Mota kick)
M — McDonald 2 run (Mota kick)
M — McDonald 81 run (Mota kick)
M — McDonald 5 run (Mota kick)
M — Brooks Bortle 26 pass from Devin Farrell (Mota kick)
W — Mustafa Hefner 37 pass from Hecklinski (Michelin kick)
M — Scott Moskowitz 37 run (Mota kick)
M — Robert Billings 53 INT return (Mota kick)
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