The Milton Eagles opened the season with a 13-10 home win over the Buford Wolves, in a game that ended 12:09 a.m. Saturday after a nearly-two-hour lightning delay that began at halftime.
The Eagles never trailed, and extended their lead to 13-0 on the opening drive of the rain-filled second half, when senior CJ Wiley caught a 17-yard pass from senior Luke Nickel, last season’s AJC 7A offensive player of the year. Senior TJ Lester’s 21-yard run with 3:16 left in the first quarter opened the game’s scoring, and came on Milton’s first drive.
The Wolves staged a rally that began late in the third quarter, when they punted to Milton’s 1. On the Eagles’ first play, Wolves junior defensive lineman Bryce Perry-White tackled Lester in the end zone for a safety, making it 13-2 with 2:35 left in the third. The Wolves would again punt to Milton their next possession, this time pinning Milton on its 4. Two plays into the drive, Nickel’s pass was intercepted by senior Chris Garland at the Milton 15.
Wolves senior running back Ethan Ervin ran for a 12-yard touchdown two plays later, and sophomore quarterback Dayton Raiola’s pass to senior AJ Benton on the 2-point conversion with 10:02 left in the fourth quarter would be the game’s final points.
Buford had two more possessions and a chance to take a lead, but they ended in a punt and the game’s final play, a 31-yard pass from Raiola to senior Sam Harkness, who was tackled at the Milton 29 with no time remaining.
At the end of the first half, the Wolves opted to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the 20 over a 35-yard field goal attempt, and the play ended with an incomplete pass. They missed a 36-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive.
Nickel said the Eagles were expecting adversity heading into the game, even before the weather delay.
“Every first game is always going to have some struggles,” Nickel said. “We’re always going to have to battle through adversity. We’ll be back next week, and we’ll get it all figured out.”
Nickel was 20 for 28 passing for 163 yards and his leading receiver, Wiley, had seven catches for 90 yards. Lester finished with 91 yards on 23 carries.
Ervin led the Wolves with 60 yards on 12 carries, and Raiola was 6 of 13 for 85 yards.
Buford, which reached the Class 7A quarterfinals last year, entered the season ranked No. 1 in 6A. Milton, which won 7A last year, is No. 1 in 5A. Both programs are nationally ranked, and a combined 19 Power-4 commits took the field.
Next week, Buford hosts 4A No. 1 Benedictine, and Milton travels to South Florida to play in the Broward County National Football Showcase against American Heritage-Plantation (Fla.), ranked No. 6 overall in the MaxPreps Florida rankings.
“Going into next week we’re going to have to put in a lot of work just to be better,” Nickel said. “Our offense needs to take the next step, and I know we can. I know what kind of offense we can be.”
Buford 0 0 2 8 - 10
Milton 7 0 6 0 - 13
M — TJ Lester 21 run (Alex Nover kick)
M — CJ Wiley 17 pass from Luke Nickel (kick failed)
B — Team safety
B — Ethan Ervan 12-yard run (Sam Harkness pass from Dayton Raiola)
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