H.S. FOOTBALL: Milan dominates Camden

CAMDEN – The Milan football team took a punch to the mouth in the second quarter as Camden racked up 117 of its 262 total yards and tied the game going into halftime.

Camden had the momentum going into the second half, but Milan quickly took the momentum back in the first three minutes on the way to a 41-10 win over the Lions in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs in Camden.

Milan (9-3) now has the opportunity to host a playoff game next week after Hickman County upset Waverly. So the Bulldogs, a No. 5 seed, host Hickman County, a No. 7 seed, on Friday at 7 p.m.

Coming out of the second half, Milan drove the ball to the 15-yard line in four plays to set up a 32-yard field goal by Conner Allen for the 13-10 lead.

Camden fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give the Bulldogs back the ball on the Camden 17-yard line. Three plays later Milan quarterback Landon Walker threw his second touchdown pass of the game to Jordan Sturdivant for the 20-10 lead with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter.

“Milan football is usually to run the ball, but we came out throwing and surprised them,” Walker said. “[Running back] Isiah Ross had stepped up here late in the season, and he did it again for us tonight.”

From there, the Milan defense took over and allowed Camden little room to run the ball.

“Camden had the momentum at half,” Milan coach Jeff Morris said. “We had the good kickoff return and then the second field goal. Landon made a nice read for the touchdown, and from there it was defense and takeaways.”

Camden finished with three fumbles lost and two interceptions.

“I think we were part of the turnovers, and we took care of the ball for the most part on offense,” Morris said.

The Bulldogs played that type of defense in the first quarter, holding the Lions to three straight 3-and-outs with a total of minus-four yards of offense.

After the misstep in the second quarter, Milan went right back to work trying to contain Camden’s Deshawn Brown. Brown broke a 29-yard run in the third quarter, but the Lions finished with 49 total yards in the quarter.

Milan had a couple of missed snaps that could have hurt, but the defense staying strong in the final 12 minutes forcing a turnover on downs, two interceptions and a lost fumble.

Offensively, Milan running back Isiah Ross had touchdown runs of 14 and 32 yards to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 34-10.

“We didn’t throw much after the second touchdown because they started respecting the pass, and that opened up our running game,” Walker said.

Milan broke 200 yards of rushing for the second time in the postseason with 209 rushing yards against Camden.

Milan’s Kristen McKinney scored the final touchdown on an interception returned for a touchdown from the goal line.

“We have the mindset to keep the seniors playing,” Walker said. “Everyone is working together so the seniors keep playing.”

Michael Odom, 425-9754