ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – The No. 9 Milligan University flag football program hosted three schools for a round robin event on Saturday. The other three schools were Mars Hill University, Huntingdon College and Campbellsville University. Milligan played two games on the afternoon, facing Huntingdon in the first game and Campbellsville in the second. The games were the Buffs' most competitive yet, but stout defensive play and crucial plays on offense when they were needed led to two victories. Milligan defeated Huntingdon 39-19 and Campbellsville 28-6.

Huntingdon struck first in the first game on a big play, as a 59-yard rushing touchdown put them ahead 6-0. However, a stop on the conversion attempt from Milligan's defense limited the damage slightly.

Milligan was forced to punt on the next drive, and Huntingdon monotonously moved the pigskin down the field and capped off their drive with another rushing touchdown, this time of seven yards. Milligan was able to shut down Huntingdon's conversion attempt, and the score was 12-0 at the start of the second quarter.

On the ensuing Buffaloes drive, freshman Lilly Rumrill made a couple of highlight receptions to bring them to the red zone. Then, Bridget Keyser found Rumrill, for the third time on the drive, in the back of the end zone for their first touchdown of the day. The Buffs failed on the conversion attempt, making the score 12-6 midway through the second quarter. The Buffs were able to get a stop on fourth down on the next Hawks possession, and Keyser was able to connect with several receivers moving the ball towards their end zone. On a first down at the Huntingdon 15-yard line, Keyser threaded the needle to Ashton Whearley for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion attempt gave Milligan their first lead of the game at 13-12. After making a big fourth stop on the previous possession, Milligan's defense picked off Huntingdon's quarterback to set the offense up with excellent field position. The offense was able to capitalize on the field position, as Keyser found Whearley once again for a 21-yard score, extending the Buffs lead to 19-12 going into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Rumrill intercepted a pass to quickly end Huntingdon's opening drive, but the Buffs gave the ball right back on an interception. However, the Buffs got a stop defensively and Keyser found Caitlin Quinn for a 10-yard touchdown pass to extend the Buffs lead to 27-12 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter had three total touchdowns with two coming courtesy of the Buffs offense. The Buffs scored first to put them ahead 33-12 and the Hawks scored next to make the score 33-19. Then, Abbylin LaPrise's reception in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining would seal the deal and give the Buffs a 39-19 victory.

Milligan found pay dirt first in the second game of the afternoon after Keyser found Whearley open in the end zone, and a successful one-point conversion attempt gave the Buffs a 7-0 lead.
The opening score for the Buffs would be the game's only points for a while, until Krista Quinn had a touchdown reception in the middle of the second quarter, and a successful two-point conversion extended the lead to 13-0.

Campbellsville would answer with a touchdown on an explosive play, but they would fail on the conversion attempt to bring them within seven points at 13-6.

After the Campbellsville touchdown they got the ball back within a score, but a long fourth down forced them to punt. That is when Whearley received the punt and took it all the way back for a 65-yard touchdown and a successful one-point try gave the Buffs a 21-6 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, Milligan forced a turnover on their own five-yard line and looked to be struggling to move the ball out of their own territory. Then, Keyser found Sophia Anderson streaking across the middle, and she caught the ball and ran it all the way in for a 75-yard score. A successful one-point conversion would be the final score in the game, and the Buffs would capture a 28-6 victory.

Keyser threw for a total of 585 yards on 56-of-77 across the two games. She hurled nine touchdowns. Her first game was the most impressive with 369 passing yards and six touchdowns.

The Milligan receiving game was led by K. Quinn, who hauled in 14 passes for 146 yards and two TDs. Whearley had six catches for 89 yards, and Rumrill caught the ball seven times for 78 yards and a score. C. Quinn had eight catches for 75 yards, and Sophia Anderson matched that with one reception for 75 yards and a TD.

Keyser also led the way rushing the ball with 11 carries for 27 yards. Whearley had two carries for six yards and Jasmine McDowell carried the ball three times for three yards.

Defensively, the team had five interceptions on the day from C. Quinn, Blakelee Ollis, Rumrill, Sa'Keiah Newell and Parker Bridges. The squad had seven sacks on the day from McDowell, Carsen Bigelow, Bridges, Ashley Wilson, Mykelah Davis and Chloe Jackson. Bridges led the team with 10 total flag pulls on the day. McDowell pulled 7 and K. Quinn snagged 6, while a plethora of other Buffs also had tugs across the two games.

Next for Milligan (4-0) is a matchup with Ferrum (Va.) on Wednesday, March 4 at Citizens Bank Stadium in Elizabethton at 5 p.m.