Week 8 Big Game:
Now that district play is upon us, there are big games in every district every week from here on out. Obviously the game that is sexy to talk about this week is the non-district contest between Milford and Garden City.
If you recall, this was an excellent game last season, with Garden City having kicked a field goal to take a 56-54 lead with 28 seconds left in the game. Milford scored on a long pass play on their first play, leaving the Bearkats 15 seconds to play with, however, they threw an interception that was returned as time expired, to cap off the 68-56 win for the Bulldogs.
I doubt this year’s contest will live up to the last year’s, but it appears to be a very good match-up.
Milford has done nothing but conquer everyone in their path this season. They stumbled a little in the second half of the first game of the season with Bryson, but still held on with a huge defensive stop to win that game 51-50. Since then, the Bulldogs have seemed to worked out most of their kinks, as they have defeated highly-ranked teams of the likes of Jonesboro, Aquilla, and Crowell, as well as Gholson and Wylie Prep, and sit at 6-0 on the season. In last week’s game versus Crowell, Taron Smith put on a passing clinic, completing 14 of his 16 attempts for 258 yards and four touchdowns, in a game that ended in the 3rd quarter. The All-State back has put together an amazing season 50-67-2 for 1,043 yards and 24 touchdowns passing; 55 carries for 818 yards and ten touchdowns rushing; six catches for 86 yards and three touchdowns receiving. All eyes will be on him when Milford has the ball. Defensively the Bulldogs have a few studs. Junior Corbin Schrotke leads the team in tackles with 77. Not far behind is sophomore Ricky Pendleton with 63 and senior Markavion Thompson with 61. Thompson also has logged five interceptions and recovered two fumbles as well.
Garden City sits at 6-1 on the season, having suffered their one loss at the hands of top ranked DII Balmorhea. They have quality wins over Austin Veritas in week 1, a tough as nails Buena Vista team in week 5, along with dominant wins over solid teams Rankin and Marfa. The Bearkats mix it up on offense and instead of having one true weapon, they have a host of players who can get the job done on any given night. Josue Gutierrez (55-459 yards, five touchdowns) leads the rushing attack that has four players who have rushed for over 200 yards this season. Amando Alegria is averaging 25.3 yards a carry and has seven rushing touchdowns. As a team Garden City has 1,569 yards rushing, at a rate of 10.1 yards per carry. The passing game is headed by Trent McMillan (28-58-4 for 314 yards), who has thrown for ten touchdowns. Defensively, Cesar Chavez and Raul Almazan lead the team with 68 and 64 tackles, respectively. The Bearkats ball hawk is Trent McMillan, who has logged five interceptions to go along with his 47 tackles.
Keys to the Game:
Garden City will need to apply excellent pass coverage, forcing mistakes and a few turnovers, while also trying to contain Smith on the ground. Milford will need to contain the running attack of Garden City and not get worried if they fall behind in the game. In the end I think Milford plays as well as they did last week, which makes will make things very tough for Garden City. My pick is Milford, comfortably at the end.
Now that district play is upon us, there are big games in every district every week from here on out. Obviously the game that is sexy to talk about this week is the non-district contest between Milford and Garden City.
If you recall, this was an excellent game last season, with Garden City having kicked a field goal to take a 56-54 lead with 28 seconds left in the game. Milford scored on a long pass play on their first play, leaving the Bearkats 15 seconds to play with, however, they threw an interception that was returned as time expired, to cap off the 68-56 win for the Bulldogs.
I doubt this year’s contest will live up to the last year’s, but it appears to be a very good match-up.
Milford has done nothing but conquer everyone in their path this season. They stumbled a little in the second half of the first game of the season with Bryson, but still held on with a huge defensive stop to win that game 51-50. Since then, the Bulldogs have seemed to worked out most of their kinks, as they have defeated highly-ranked teams of the likes of Jonesboro, Aquilla, and Crowell, as well as Gholson and Wylie Prep, and sit at 6-0 on the season. In last week’s game versus Crowell, Taron Smith put on a passing clinic, completing 14 of his 16 attempts for 258 yards and four touchdowns, in a game that ended in the 3rd quarter. The All-State back has put together an amazing season 50-67-2 for 1,043 yards and 24 touchdowns passing; 55 carries for 818 yards and ten touchdowns rushing; six catches for 86 yards and three touchdowns receiving. All eyes will be on him when Milford has the ball. Defensively the Bulldogs have a few studs. Junior Corbin Schrotke leads the team in tackles with 77. Not far behind is sophomore Ricky Pendleton with 63 and senior Markavion Thompson with 61. Thompson also has logged five interceptions and recovered two fumbles as well.
Garden City sits at 6-1 on the season, having suffered their one loss at the hands of top ranked DII Balmorhea. They have quality wins over Austin Veritas in week 1, a tough as nails Buena Vista team in week 5, along with dominant wins over solid teams Rankin and Marfa. The Bearkats mix it up on offense and instead of having one true weapon, they have a host of players who can get the job done on any given night. Josue Gutierrez (55-459 yards, five touchdowns) leads the rushing attack that has four players who have rushed for over 200 yards this season. Amando Alegria is averaging 25.3 yards a carry and has seven rushing touchdowns. As a team Garden City has 1,569 yards rushing, at a rate of 10.1 yards per carry. The passing game is headed by Trent McMillan (28-58-4 for 314 yards), who has thrown for ten touchdowns. Defensively, Cesar Chavez and Raul Almazan lead the team with 68 and 64 tackles, respectively. The Bearkats ball hawk is Trent McMillan, who has logged five interceptions to go along with his 47 tackles.
Keys to the Game:
Garden City will need to apply excellent pass coverage, forcing mistakes and a few turnovers, while also trying to contain Smith on the ground. Milford will need to contain the running attack of Garden City and not get worried if they fall behind in the game. In the end I think Milford plays as well as they did last week, which makes will make things very tough for Garden City. My pick is Milford, comfortably at the end.
