WALESKA, Ga. - Milligan University's flag football squad continued their campaign on Saturday in the State of Georgia, facing off with Emmanuel University and Campbellsville University on the campus of Reinhardt University. A pir of wins in dominant fashion have now puched Milligan to 4-0 on the young season.
Game one against Emmanuel ended up in a 40-0 win, as the offense and defense both got in on the fun. Ashton Whearley had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the battle, while Sarah Rankhorn hauled in a pair of receiving scores on passes from Bridget Keyser. Jaz Wiggleton also had a touchdown catch from Keyser. Tatiana Buono, Yasmin Lott and Krista Quinn all had one-point conversions. Defensively, Caitlin Quinn snatched a 24-yard interception return for a TD to close out the Buffaloes' scoring.
Overall, Keyser tossed for 203 yards and 4 TD, while completing 21-of-28 passes. Whearley also threw the ball six times, completing three for 48 yards.
Keyser had three carries for seven yards, while Whearley had the one rushing TD on two carries and a total of six yards. Jeylise Padilla ran for 18 yards on two totes, while Ashley Wilson carried once for a single yard and Trinity Gillespie ran for three yards on one rush. Lastly, Sophia Ortiz had a 10-yard scamper.
Whearley (4 rec, 54 yds, TD), K. Quinn (5 rec, 65 yds), Rankhorn (3 rec, 48 yds, 2 TD), Sam Urso (4 rec, 28 yds), Jessica Hudson (2 rec, 15 yds) and Wiggleton (2 rec, 6 yds, TD) all had multiple receptions in the win. Sa'Keiah Newell, Alexa Johnson and Chloe Jackson all had one catch, and combined for 24 yards.
Wilson led the team with five flag pulls, while Whearley and Blakelee Ollis each supplied three. Buono and K. Quinn added two apiece, while Newell, Wiggleton, Lott, Ortiz, Bethany Stephens, Jackson, and Lexi Kile all had one. C. Quinn was responsible for the one forced turnover on her interception and subsequent return for a TD.
Game two ended with a 26-6 final score, as Milligan had a 5-yard receiving TD from K. Quinn via Keyser to start. Then, a Rankhorn 1-yard TD catch from Keyser and a 30-yard touchdown catch from Keyser to Rankhorn would be the two final offensive score of the contest. Whearley would then provide a 70-yard interception return for a score to cap things off. One-point conversions were tallied by Rankhorn and Elaina Greene in the battle.
Keyser continued her perfect day without an INT. She threw for 258 yards and 3 TD on a 28-of-35 completion rate.
Milligan rushed only five times in the win, as Keyser ran for three yards on two totes, Whearley amassed 15 yards on two carries and C. Quinn had two yards on one rush.
The trio fo Whearley (9 rec, 75 yds), K. Quinn (5 rec, 60 yds, TD) and Rankhorn (7 rec, 63 yds, 2 TD) combined for the vast majority of the 258 passing yards. Urso hauled in two passes for 15 yards, while Lott brought in a huge 35-yard catch-and-run. Hudson, Stephens and C. Quinn each had a single 10-yard recpetion in the victory.
K. Quinn and Whearley evenly split 12 flag pulls in the bout, while Buono and Newell had four apiece. Ortiz snagged thre flags and Hudson pulled two. Padilla, Wiggleton, Urso, Stephens, Jackson and C. Quinn had the other six in the game. Interceptions were tallied by both Whearley-who had the 70-yard INT return-and Ollis on the way to the 26-6 win.
The season continued for Milligan flag football on Saturday, Mar. 8 at Citizens Bank Stadium on the campus of Elizabethton HS, where the Buffs will host Huntington College at 11 a.m. and Campbellsville University at 3 p.m. Huntington and Campbellsville will match up at 1 p.m., in-between the two MU contests. The games will be streamed live HERE.
