ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – Milligan University's No. 9-ranked flag football squad concluded their home schedule for the 2026 campaign on Thursday evening at Citizens Bank Stadium in Elizabethton. In the contest, they hosted the NCAA Division II Lees-McRae College (N.C.) Bobcats. The result was the first one-possession game of the entire season for the undefeated Buffaloes. Ultimately, a stellar defensive play late in the contest led to a game-winning touchdown and extra-point conversion to snag a 13-12 win.

In a game that was dominated by the two defenses, Lees-McRae scored first on a 26-yard passing score on second down and 14. It was a 6-0 score in their favor with a pair of minutes remaining in the first quarter after they failed to convert their one-point conversion attempt.

The following possession for the Buffs ended in another turnover on downs, but the ensuing LMC drive resulted in a turnover on downs, as well. That led the Buffs to an opportunity with a shorter field. They ended up converting a 20-yard TD pass from Bridget Keyser to Krista Quinn to knot up the score at 6-6 after a failed one-point attempt.

The score would remain there until the fourth quarter, as both sides struggled to move the pigskin at all in the third period. The Bobcats would take advantage with a two-yard TD toss on fourth down to take a 12-6 lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the contest.

Milligan would be forced to punt on their next possession, though, and it looked as if the visitors may hand the Buffaloes their first loss of the campaign. However, Annabelle Rhodes had something to say about that on a deflected pass that ended up in her arms for the lone MU interception of the day. She returned the pick all the way back to the LMC two yard-line. 

From there, a one-yard TD strike from Keyser to the center Sam Urso tied the score at 12 apiece. The ensuing one-point conversion attempt ended up being converted on a well drawn up option handoff to Jasmine McDowell, who raced in untouched for the point.

Lees-McRae would threaten one more time, moving the ball into Milligan territory, but an eventual fourth down desperation pass was off target near the front of the end zone to give the Buffaloes the ball back with just a minute-and-a-half to go. That turnover meant that all the Buffs needed to do was run out the clock on their 13-12 win with LMC having no timeouts left.

Keyser had a somewhat pedestrian day tossing the football, completing just 18 of her 31 attempts for 165 yards with a pair of TD strikes. She did toss one interception, as well.

Lilly Rumrill was the Buffs' receiving leader in terms of volume, hauling in seven passes for a team-best 57 yards. K. Quinn (4 rec, 54 yds, TD) and Caitlin Quinn (4 rec, 48 yds) were the other two receivers with multiple grabs in the game. Ashton Whearley, Mykelah Davis and Urso hauled in the remaining three for a combined seven yards and a score.

Keyser toted the rock for 24 yards on four rushes, with one of them totaling 19 yards. Whearley had four rushes for eight yards, with three of the carries coming on the final drive to run out the clock.

Rhodes' pick was the standout defensive play of the day for Milligan, but there were several strong defensive showings. Parker Bridges led the team with seven flag pulls in the win, while Davis finished just behind her with six. McDowell totaled five, Blakelee Ollis came away with four, both Sophia Anderson and K. Quinn managed three, Rhodes tallied a pair and both Keyser and Whearley provided one. Rhodes and Bridges claimed two passes break ups apiece, while Davis and Whearley were each responsible for one.

It is a quick turnaround for the Buffaloes (15-0), as they will have a pair of contests in Mars Hill, N.C. on Friday evening against Wingate (N.C.) at 6 p.m. and Mars Hill at 8 p.m. on the campus of Mars Hill University.