ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – On Saturday, the No. 9 Milligan University flag football program played two games at Citizens Bank Stadium in Elizabethton, Tenn. The Lady Buffs welcomed both Reinhardt (Ga.) and Cumberland (Tenn.), as they looked to remain perfect on the year. In the first matchup of the day with the Phoenix from Cumberland University, Milligan forced seven turnovers, thrashing the Phoenix by a final score of 55-0. Later in the afternoon they went toe to toe against the Eagles of Reinhardt University and held them scoreless until the fourth quarter, cruising to a 33-14 victory.

Milligan got the ball first to start game number one against Cumberland. On the first two plays, a long rush from Ashton Whearley and a deep reception from Krista Quinn put the Buffaloes in scoring position. Then, two straight incompletions and a short completion to Lilly Rumrill brought up fourth down and two yards. On fourth down, Bridget Keyser found Rumrill streaking towards the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown, giving MU a 6-0 lead. A one-point conversion extended the lead to 7-0 after the opening drive.

The Buffaloes defense came up with a three and out their first time on the field, and the offense moved the ball down the field and eventually K. Quinn scored on a 14-yard reception to extend the lead to 13. A conversion added another point for Milligan making the score 14-0 early in the first quarter.

The Buffs forced a Phoenix turnover on the ensuing drive and took over near mid-field at the 38-yard line. It did not take long for Milligan to score from there, as Keyser found K. Quinn and Sam Urso for completions, setting up a 21-yard touchdown reception for Caitlin Quinn. The score put MU ahead 20-0 and after a failed conversion the score remained there with one minute remaining in the first quarter.

Milligan's defense came out and forced a punt on the next drive, and once again the offense took over and quickly found the end zone. On the third play of the drive, Keyser found Whearley for a 14-yard TD reception, extending the Buffs lead to 26-0. The conversion was no good and Milligan held the 26-point advantage at the 10:50 mark of the second quarter.

It was another punt the next time out for the Phoenix offense, and the Buffs found the end zone again on the subsequent drive. This time Keyser found Rumrill for a 5-yard pass and catch to extend Milligan's lead 33-0, and a one-point conversion made it 34-0.

With six minutes left until halftime, Cumberland put together a lengthy drive that moved the ball all the way to the 1-yard line. However, an interception in the end zone from Whearley and 79-yard return for a touchdown put points on the scoreboard for Milligan, extending the Buffs lead to 40-0 going into the break.

Coming out of the halftime break, Milligan got the ball back after forcing a punt and Whearley found the end zone for the second time in the game. The touchdown came on a Keyser pass of 10 yards, and a two-point conversion opened a 48-0 lead for MU.

Milligan scored once in the final quarter to reach the final score of 55-0. The touchdown came when Whearley rushed for 10 yards into the end zone, and a successful one-point conversion at the 3:25 mark was the final point of the day.

In the second game of the afternoon, Milligan once again got the ball to start the game. However, this time they turned the ball over on a failed fourth down. The Eagles took over on downs at the 30-yard line and got within two yards of a first down when Mykelah Davis came up with a sack to give the ball back to MU's offense.

On the second drive of the game from Milligan, it took only three plays for them to score and take a 6-0 lead. It was Whearley who capped off the drive with a 24-yard touchdown reception from Keyser. A failed conversion attempt would keep the score at 6-0 with 5:09 to play in quarter one.

Neither side would score again until the start of the second quarter, when the Buffs added a touchdown. On a drive that started at their 35-yard line, Jeylise Padilla broke off a long 21-yard rush to set up Milligan across the 40-yard line into Reinhardt territory. Then, Keyser found Sam Urso wide open near the line of scrimmage, who caught the pass and did the rest of the work herself scoring on a 21-yard play. However, failed conversion attempts continued to be the only blemish on an otherwise all-around great performance from Milligan and the score remained 12-0.

Milligan came up with another stop on the Reinhardt drive, and a long play led to another touchdown for the Buffs. The score happened when Keyser found C. Quinn open in a seam across the middle and she hauled in a 35-yard TD reception. A two-point conversion attempt that failed kept the score at 18-0.

The Buffs would score again just prior to the halftime break. Abbylin LaPrise jumped in front of an Eagle receiver and came away with an interception at the 2:47 mark of the second quarter. Then, K. Quinn hauled in a pass for 20 yards and Whearley hauled one in for 10 yards to cap the drive with a touchdown, extending the MU lead to 24-0. After the touchdown, a successful two-point conversion extended the Buffs lead to 26-0 going into halftime.

Neither side would score in the third quarter, as the three remaining touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. Milligan scored once in the final period, while Reinhardt scored twice.
The touchdown from the Buffs came when K. Quinn hauled in a pass for 10 yards, and a one-point conversion made the score 33-0 at the 9:53 mark of the fourth.

Reinhardt would score twice in the final nine minutes, as a 6-yard rush and one-point conversion made the score 33-7 at the 5:59 mark. Later with 11 seconds to play in the game, the Eagles found the end zone again on a 28-yard pass and catch. A failed one-point conversion would result in a 33-14 victory for Milligan.

The Milligan receiving corps was led by K. Quinn, who hauled in 15 catches for 191 yards and two TDs. C. Quinn had seven catches for 114 yards and two scores, and Whearley caught the ball eight times for 88 yards and four touchdowns. Rumrill added three catches for 40 yards and two TDs on the afternoon. Urso, Taylor Thrasher, Jessica Hudson, Padilla, LaPrise, Zoey Lovelace, Mykelah Davis, Dani Shropshire and Parker Bridges also had receptions to round out the Milligan receiving game.

Whearley led the way rushing the ball with four carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. Jasmine McDowell carried the ball four times for 19 yards, and Keyser had five carries for two yards, while Sophia Anderson added two carries for 17 yards.

Defensively, the team had two interceptions on the day, coming from Whearley and LaPrise. The squad recorded seven sacks across the two games from Mykelah Davis with three, McDowell with two, and one each from Padilla and Jackson. McDowell led the team with 12 total flag pulls on the day. Mykelah Davis had nine, and Bridges, Annabelle Rhodes, Blakelee Ollis and Anderson each recorded six, while a plethora of other Buffs also had pulls across the two games

Next for Milligan (10-0) is a trip to Lebanon, Tenn. where the squad will face Illinois Wesleyan and Cumberland on Tuesday, March 17. The Buffs will Illinois Wesleyan first at a time that is TBD.