LEBANON, Tenn. – On Tuesday, the No. 9 Milligan University flag football program traveled to Lebanon, Tenn. for a pair of matchups, first against Illinois Wesleyan and next against Cumberland (Tenn.) University. The Lady Buffs previously defeated Cumberland on March 14 by a final score of 55-0. In the first matchup of the day with the Titans from Illinois Wesleyan, Milligan unleashed a dominant offensive effort, cruising to an 82-6 victory. Later in the afternoon, they battled the Phoenix of Cumberland University and held them scoreless, posting a 53-0 victory.

Milligan got the ball first to start game number one against Illinois Wesleyan and scored on the opening drive. Following the point-after conversion, the Buffs took an early 7-0 lead. Milligan went the length of the field on five plays, capping the drive with a Bridget Keyser completion to Caitlin Quinn for a 24-yard touchdown.

The Buffaloes defense came up with a three-and-out on their first time on the field, and the offense took over on the Titans' 36-yard line. Then, after back-to-back receptions by C. Quinn for 14 and 15 yards, Sam Urso hauled in a four-yard pass from Keyser for a touchdown. After the score, Milligan went for the extra point and converted, extending their lead to 14-0.

On the first play of the ensuing IWU drive, Annabelle Rhodes came away with an interception and returned the ball 17 yards to the MU five-yard line. From there, Keyser wasted no time finding pay dirt, as she ran the ball in herself for a Buffaloe score. Milligan elected to go for two and succeeded, extending the advantage to 22-0 less than six minutes into the game.

The Titans punted for the second time in the game on their next drive, and the Buffs scored on the first play from scrimmage. A one-point conversion gave them a 29-0 lead nearing the end of the first quarter. The touchdown came on a pass from Keyser to Krista Quinn for 21 yards.

Illinois Wesleyan's offense struggled to get anything going, as on the next drive Courtney Cummings came away with an interception for Milligan. Capitalizing on the turnover on the first play, K. Quinn scored her second touchdown of the day on a four-yard grab. The one-point conversion following the touchdown gave Milligan a 36-0 lead after the first quarter.

The third punt of the day from the Titans came on the next drive, and the Buffs once again capitalized with a touchdown. The score came when Lilly Rumrill was open in the endzone and Keyser found her for an 18-yard touchdown. The one-point conversion gave Milligan a 43-0 advantage.

Illinois Wesleyan got on the board with a 10-play scoring drive, but a failed two-point conversion left the score at 43-6 with 4:51 left in the second quarter.

The next touchdown of the first half came from Milligan at the 1:52 mark. Following four straight completions, the fifth pass to Abbylin LaPrise for 19 yards resulted in a score. A one-point conversion extended the Buff advantage to 50-6. Just before halftime, Milligan added two touchdowns after Keyser found Whearley for six yards, and Parker Bridges took an interception to the house, extending the Milligan lead to 62-6 going into the halftime break.

With the game firmly controlled by Milligan, the Buffs added three touchdowns and a pair of one-point conversions to ultimately reach the 82-6 final score. The first touchdown came from C. Quinn on a 25-yard reception, the second from a one-yard rush by Whearley and the third was scored by LaPrise on a 39-yard touchdown reception from new quarterback Whearley.

Milligan would hold Cumberland scoreless in game two, and an explosive offense paired with stellar defense resulted in a game that was in the Buffs' favor wire-to-wire.
The Buffs' offense clicked early, as their first drive resulted in points being put on the board. After a fourth-down conversion, a Keyser connection to K. Quinn turned into a touchdown. A one-point conversion gave Milligan a 7-0 lead at the 6:40 mark of the first quarter.

Neither side would score again until the second quarter, when Whearley found the end zone on a 19-yard reception. The one-point conversion following the score gave MU a 14-0 lead early in the second period.

The Milligan offense continued to fire on all cylinders, as with one minute and 54 seconds before halftime the Buffs added another touchdown. It was once again a Keyser pass to K. Quinn that resulted in points for Milligan, and a subsequent one-point conversion put MU ahead 21-0.

With time winding down in the half, the Buffs were able to take over with prime field position after Jasmine McDowell jumped in front of a Phoenix pass and returned it all the way to the 19-yard line. Then, two plays later Rumrill hauled in a touchdown reception, extending Milligan's lead to 27-0 going into the halftime break.

The Buffs got the ball first to start the second half and wasted no time marching the ball down the field. C. Quinn capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown reception. Following the score, the Buffs converted on a one-point play to take a commanding 34-0 lead.

On the ensuing Phoenix drive, Sophia Anderson took the ball away with an interception and returned it to the five-yard line. On the next play, Milligan capitalized on a five-yard touchdown reception from C. Quinn. At this point, MU held a 40-0 advantage.

Milligan would score again in the third quarter when Parker Bridges came up with a highlight interception and a 56-yard return for a touchdown. The touchdown came at the 7:42 mark and gave Milligan a 46-0 lead.

The final touchdown of the day came late in the fourth quarter, as LaPrise ran the ball in on a fourth-and-one. The one-point conversion following this play would cap a 53-0 victory for the Buffs.

The Milligan receiving corps was led by C. Quinn, who hauled in 13 catches for 152 yards and four TDs. K. Quinn had nine catches for 106 yards and four scores, and Whearley caught the ball 10 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Rumrill added seven catches for 99 yards and two TDs across the two games. LaPrise had four receptions for 66 yards and three scores, while Urso added five catches for 28 yards and a touchdown. Rhodes, Sophia Anderson, Jeylise Padilla and McDowell also had receptions to round out the Milligan receiving game.

At quarterback, Keyser completed 44-of-55 passes for 475 yards and 14 touchdowns with no interceptions across the two games, including a 23-of-27 performance in the opener against Illinois Wesleyan. Whearley added 8-of-15 passing for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Whearley led the way rushing the ball with 10 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. McDowell carried the ball three times for 29 yards, and Keyser had five carries for 17 yards, while Padilla added one carry for five yards.

Defensively, the team had seven interceptions across the two games, coming from Bridges with two, and one each from McDowell, Rumrill, Anderson, Cummings and Rhodes. The squad recorded four sacks from Davis with two, and one each from McDowell and Bridges. Bridges led the team with 21 total flag pulls across the two games. McDowell had seven, while Wilson and LaPrise each had five, and K. Quinn, Davis and Anderson each recorded four, while a plethora of other Buffs also had pulls across the two games.

Next for Milligan (12-0) will be a quick turnaround, as the Buffs will play tomorrow March 18 in Bristol, Tenn. against King University. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.