Millbrook football
Warriors upend Wildcats late
It is a very rare occurrence in sports when one play hurts and helps both teams at the same time. But that's exactly what happened in Millbrook’s 17-16 loss to the East Wake Friday night, giving the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Trailing 10-6 with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Wildcat junior QB Trey McFarland hit a wide open Michael Thornton 30 yards down field for a go-ahead touchdown pass.
But as Thornton and the rest of Wildcats celebrated the score, McFarland laid on the ground, holding his head as the trainers rushed to his aid. In a single play, the Wildcats took the lead, but lost their starting quarterback to a possible concussion. And while the Warriors lost their lead, they knew McFarland would no longer be able to burn their struggling defense anymore.
“I was waiting on that play all night,” Thornton explained. “It was a perfect ball, but Trey got hurt and they kind of brought us down.”
Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore explained the quick swing of emotion on the play even further.
“Michael was our primary receiver on the play and that was the play we called,” Inscore explained. “Trey made a great play but unfortunately suffered what we think to be a concussion. We will just have to see what happens with that.”
Injuries have been Millbrook’s largest opponent this season as McFarland's apparent concussion means even more lost time for the Wildcats' backfield. In last week’s 20-14 victory at Knightdale, sophomore RB Keith Marshall was carried off the field by a stretcher. After only practicing once this week, Marshall was somewhat concerned suiting up for Friday’s contest.
“I was little bit nervous because I didn’t practice much this week,” the emerging star admitted. “But I felt good after the first run.”
And deservedly so.
After a fumble recovery by senior defensive lineman Andrew Favaron on the Warrior’s first drive, Marshall broke two tackles in the backfield and raced 29 yards into the end zone — on the first play from scrimmage — giving the Wildcats an early advantage. But the PAT failed, leaving the score 6-0 Millbrook.
A quick stop by the Wildcats brought out the offense once again but — as it turned out to be the story of the game — a Millbrook mistake ended the drive when Marshall fumbled the ball on fourth down. And the Warriors responded, later scoring on a 43-yard touchdown run.
Another Wildcat mistake on the extra point would eventually cost Millbrook the game.
As Millbrook approached the line of scrimmage with 12 men on the field, the East Wake coaching staff recognized the error, hollered for its team to snap the ball, and got a yard closer on the extra point. Taking advantage of the mistake — as they did all night — the Warriors punched the ball in for an 8-6 lead.
Inscore knew the miscues (two lost fumbles) and penalties (five off-sides calls), as well as the inexcusable too-many-men call, cost his team the game.
“We made way too many mistakes,” Inscore explained. “We couldn’t hold on to the ball and that’s a good football team we went against. They were a bit hungrier than we were and they made things happen, we didn’t.”
Coming back from the halftime down two, the Wildcat defense started off with a sack by senior Greg Gilchrist — his first of two on the night — and Millbrook eventually forced a punt. But the Warriors managed to down the ball at the 1-yard line, and McFarland was later sacked for a safety.
The play gave East Wake a 10-6 lead.
After a stop, the Wildcats marched the ball down the field and scored on the 30-yard pass to Thornton, but the play also ended McFarland's night.
Ironically, Thornton was called on again to lead his team, but this time, as the Wildcats' quarterback.
“When Trey went down I was like ‘Oh, man,'" Thornton explained. “I hadn’t got much quarterback experience except in practice with the scout team. I had to be a leader and step up for my team; I had to take on that responsibility.”
With McFarland sidelined, Thornton took command of the offense, driving the Wildcats 66 yards and setting up Jonathan Bowman's 27-yard field goal. Marshall carried the load during the drive, gaining 24 and 33 yards on back-to-back rushes.
The sophomore finished with 108 total yards.
Unfortunately for Millbrook, its six-point lead wouldn't hold up as East Wake receiver Travian Barnes scored late, tying the game with just 27.9 seconds remaining. The ensuing Warrior PAT proved to be the game-winner.
Despite missing all of the final quarter, McFarland took the blame for the loss.
“We should have done better on offense,” the fatigued quarterback said. “The defense did what they had to do. Part of this loss is on me and not handling snaps.”
With just 21 seconds to go and 70 yards to cover, the Wildcats tried to put Marshall in position to make a big play, but the Warriors thwarted the comeback attempt.
Inscore downplayed the thought that having his starting quarterback on the field late might have changed the outcome.
“It affected it a little bit,” the coach explained. “But we didn’t have enough time to take deep shots either. We tried to get our ball in our playmakers' hands and try to let something happen with some space.
"We came close, but close isn’t quite good enough.”
The Wildcats hope to avoid costly mistakes next week, visiting Northern Durham Friday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
