Millbrook football
Millbrook QB Trey McFarland (5) scored the Wildcats' game-winning touchdown in Friday's 20-14 win at Knightdale. The victory improves Millbrook's record to 2-0.
Resilient Wildcats knock off Knightdale
On its way to a 20-14 victory over Knightdale, the Millbrook football team could have tripped over any of the considerable obstacles if faced Friday night.
First, there was the soggy weather supported by a continuous rain.
Then there were the Wildcats' self-inflicted wounds — three first-half turnovers.
And, finally, Millbrook's most serious hurdle was overcoming the sight of sophomore running back Keith Marshall taken away from the field on a stretcher.
If the Wildcats were looking for an excuse to lose, there were plenty available. But Millbrook chose to play through the challenges, and deliver its second impressive victory in as many weeks.
"We didn’t play a perfect game by any stretch," Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore said Friday night. "I thought Knightdale come out and played us really well. They were really aggressive, and their defense was strong. But our kids responded. They fought back and showed a lot of heart and a lot of courage."
The Wildcats' heart was never more evident than during the drive after Marshall's injury. (Following the game, Inscore said he didn't have an update on Marshall's condition, but as the sophomore was wheeled out to an ambulance, he was seated upright and moving.)
Having forced a Knightdale punt, Millbrook took over at its 45-yard line with nine minutes remaining in the contest. After two Wildcat incompletions and a short pass, Millbrook finally caught a break as a Knightdale personal foul extended the drive.
Given a second chance, junior quarterback Trey McFarland seized the opportunity, completing an 8-yard pass to Michael Thornton, then calling his own number twice and plunging into the end zone. (Millbrook failed to convert the PAT.)
McFarland's 2-yard TD dive proved to be the game winner, erasing Millbrook's up-and-down first half and momentarily easing the pain of an emotional final quarter.
"Trey put the team on his back," Inscore said. "We lost one of our weapons — Keith is a big part of this team — and we had to do some shuffling around, but Trey didn’t want to be denied.
"All of our guys showed the heart of a champion tonight, and I couldn’t be more proud of them the past couple of days."
McFarland finished 12 for 19, with 150 passing yards. He also gained another 62 on the ground.
While the Wildcats made all the right moves in the final quarter, Millbrook seemingly couldn't get out of its own way in the first half.
Just three plays into the game, Millbrook fumbled inside its own 20-yard line, and Knightdale lineman Adrian McDowell recovered.
Three plays later, Marcus Hinnant dove in from 1-yard out, giving Knightdale — without any heavy lifting — a 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats battled back with a 10-play, 84-yard drive, capped by Marshall's 11-yard TD run. A 29-yard pass from McFarland to Scott Gray set up the Millbrook score.
Tied at 7-7, neither team mounted another scoring drive in the first half — though for different reasons.
The Millbrook defense, led by Marcus Plummer and Justus Hoffmann, forced two punts and a turnover-on-downs in the Knights' next three series. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they continued to shoot themselves in the foot, throwing an interception on one possession and ruining two other drives inside the 5-yard line, including a fumble with 30 seconds remaining before intermission.
The Wildcats could have likely been up two scores, but instead settled for a halftime tie.
The squads traded possessions after the break, but Millbrook capitalized on good field position midway into the third quarter.
After fumbling and recovering the series' first snap, McFarland threw a perfect lob pass over an outstretched Knightdale defensive back, connecting with Gray on a 55-yard touchdown pass.
With a successful PAT, the Wildcats took a 14-7 lead with 5:08 left in the third.
Gray explained the long pass was executed just how the Wildcats planned.
"We had two guys running [in-routes] and we were trying to get the corner to bite up," the senior receiver said. "I was going in the flat and then supposed turn it up, and try to catch him cheating.
"I was able to get behind him and Trey threw it right over top of him. It was about five inches over his hand — it was picture perfect."
Knightdale retaliated with a 75-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by Terrance Davis's 45-yard run, which set up A.J. Watford's 5-yard TD run.
Millbrook senior Scott Gray (22) kneels as emergency personnel and coaches tend to injured teammate Keith Marshall Friday night.
Four plays later, the game halted as Marshall was laid out by a Knightdale defender and crumpled to the turf. He stayed there for close to 15 minutes before emergency personnel took him to ambulance parked on the track.
Gray explained the injury had a big effect on him and his teammates.
"It was hard to see him go out like he did. He is family to us," the senior said. "But I think we showed how much heart we have. We don’t ever bow down when tough gets tough. We stood up for Keith after he got hurt. We went out there and did what we had to do."
Gray, who stepped in to take the majority of Marshall's rushes after the injury, finished with six catches for 95 yards and six carries for 16 yards.
The senior said he was especially careful handling the ball Friday because of the wet conditions.
"It was very sloppy. I really didn’t expect for it to rain all night," he said. "The ball was wet at all times, and you really had to make sure you held on to it.
"I tried to get what I could, and when I was grabbed, I tried not to let go."
Marshall had 15 carries for 59 yards when he left.
Following the game, Inscore explained he was happy, but not pleased.
"I was proud of the way we responded," he told his huddled team. "But by no means did we play a good football game tonight. We have a lot of work to do.
"But with all the obstacles in our way [tonight],we still found a way to win the ball game. You showed a lot of heart. It’s something we can’t coach and something we can’t teach."
Millbrook hosts East Wake Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. The Warriors fell to WF-R 19-0 Aug. 28.
