ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – On Saturday, the No. 9 Milligan University flag football program played two games at Citizens Bank Stadium in Elizabethton, Tenn. The Buffs came into the matchups with a perfect 5-0 record, as they looked to keep their unbeaten streak alive first against Emmanuel (Ga.) and secondly against LaGrange (Ga.). They did just that, after never trailing in either contest, defeating Emmanuel (Ga.) 37-7 and taking down LaGrange (Ga.) 42-0 in the matchup later in the afternoon. With just seven points allowed on the day, the Milligan defense was suffocating offenses all day and their air-raid attack offense scored quick and often.

Milligan struck first in the first game, when their defense forced a punt and Ashton Whearley had a long rush after Bridget Keyser pitched her the ball on a quarterback option play. After the rush, Keyser found Krista Quinn for a long pass and Quinn was stopped just short of goal line at the Emmanuel two-yard line. Then, Keyser kept it herself and ran the ball across the goal line for a Buffaloes touchdown to put them ahead 6-0, but a failed conversion attempt kept the lead at six points.

The Buffs forced another Lions punt on the subsequent drive, and the offense took over and moved down the field for their second score. After the punt, Milligan was backed up near their goal line at the 18-yard line, but a Keyser to Caitlin Quinn connection for 38 yards set the offense up in their own territory. However, the offense would stall a bit and eventually faced a fourth down and goal. That is when Keyser found K. Quinn again for 15 yards and a touchdown, and a subsequent one-point conversion extended the Buffs lead to 13-0.

It did not take Emmanuel long to respond to the Milligan score this time, as a 66-yard catch and run on the second play of the drive led to a score and a successful one-point conversion attempt to cut the Buffs' lead to one score at 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with MU finding pay dirt, as Abbylin LaPrise scored on an 18-yard rush on another quarterback option play, but a failed conversion attempt would leave the score at 19-7. During the drive the Buffs faced a fourth down, but a 10-yard completion from Keyser to C. Quinn kept the drive alive.

Nearing the end of the half, Emmanuel had a promising drive that made it to the Milligan 11-yard line, but a huge interception from Annabelle Rhodes and a 30-yard return turned the momentum back to MU. However, the offense could not capitalize, and the game went into halftime with Milligan leading 19-7.

Milligan got the ball to start the third and slowly moved the pigskin down the field, until Keyser found LaPrise open in the endzone for a touchdown making the score 25-7.

On the next drive from Emmanuel, Milligan forced another punt. Then, on fourth down Keyser found Whearley for a 21-yard touchdown, extending the Buffaloes lead to 31-7 at the end of the third quarter.

There was only one more touchdown scored, and it came as a result of another Whearley reception, but a fourth failed conversion attempt kept the score at 37-7. That would be the final score, as neither side scored again.

In the second game, Milligan was able to shut out LaGrange and a clicking Milligan offense led to a lopsided victory.

The first score from Milligan came on the opening drive when the first eight pass attempts were completed and the ninth to Lilly Rumrill resulted in a touchdown, and the successful one-point conversion made the score 7-0.

After getting the ball back Milligan scored again when K. Quinn hauled in a pass from Keyser for a 38-yard touchdown and successful one-point conversion gave the Buffs a 14-0 lead.

It was K. Quinn's sister C. Quinn who scored the next touchdown on the opening drive of the second quarter, and a one-point conversion extended Milligan's lead to 21-0.

With four minutes remaining in the half, Keyser found K. Quinn for a 5-yard touchdown pass and a successful one-point conversion opened a 28-0 advantage for Milligan. The Buffs would score once more in the half when Rumrill had a 21-yard TD reception. This made the score 35-0 going into halftime.

The final touchdown of the day came with 9:52 left in the third quarter when Jasmine McDowell had a four-yard touchdown reception and a one-point conversion made the score 42-0. The Buffs coasted the rest of the way, and the 42-0 final score kept their undefeated record intact. Keyser threw for a total of 601 yards on 58-of-78 across the two games. She hurled eight touchdowns, with her second game being the more impressive of the two, as she threw for 344 yards and six touchdowns against LaGrange.

The Milligan receiving game was led by K. Quinn, who hauled in 14 catches for 191 yards and three TDs. Whearley had 10 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Rumrill caught the ball six times for 68 yards and two scores. C. Quinn had seven catches for 71 yards and a TD, and LaPrise added seven catches for 47 yards on the afternoon. Rhodes, Urso, Padilla, Hudson, Bigelow, Anderson, McDowell and Lovelace also had receptions to round out the Milligan receiving corps.

Keyser led the way rushing the ball with 15 carries for 19 yards. Whearley had six carries for 49 yards, and McDowell carried the ball four times for 25 yards. Mykelah Davis added three carries for 26 yards, LaPrise had one carry for 18 yards, and Jeylise Padilla chipped in with one carry for five yards.

Defensively, the team had two interceptions on the day, both coming from Annabelle Rhodes. The squad recorded three sacks across the two games from McDowell, Mykelah Davis, and Jackson. Bridges led the team with 10 total flag pulls on the day. Davis and K. Quinn each had four, and Ollis recorded four as well, while a plethora of other Buffs also had pulls across the two games.

Next for Milligan (7-0) is a matchup with a Ferrum (Va.) squad that they have played and beaten already this season. The tilt is set to take place on Wednesday, March 11 in Ferrum, Va. at 4 p.m.