The Navarre Raiders used a short-yardage offense to take a fourth-quarter lead Friday, but ended up bowing to the Milton Panthers 18-13.
Story by Near Post Sports
A 30-yard hail-Mary pass late in the game from Emory Williams to Raymond Cottrell nailed down Milton’s first victory over the Raiders in more than a decade.
Boiling down the game, Navarre put together two drives in the fourth quarter that ended in touchdowns. Both defenses efficiently halted much offensive momentum.
But, here’s how the game unfolded.
Milton’s gunslinger Emory Williams hits Trelin Carnegia on a 26-yard strike, which put the Panthers up 6-0 with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
After Navarre’s usually sure-handed receiver Terence Marshall couldn’t secure a punt, the Panthers took possession deep, deep, deep in Raider territory. Shortly afterward, Williams rumbled up the middle from eight yards to go up 12-0 with 5:59 showing until halftime.
A decent drive by the Raiders was capped on a fourth-and-six passing touchdown. Kyle Chambers scrambled around in the backfield before finding Chase Richardson on the right side for a 10-yard strike. There was 10:26 on the game clock with Navarre trailing 12-7.
The Raider defense held Milton to a short series, and Derek Percivalle’s punt return put Navarre just on the long-side of midfield. Head coach Jay Walls used three plays from a short-yardage playbook, Chambers battered into the end zone and a 13-12 advantage with 5:56 showing.
And then Milton broke the 12-year, 16-game winless streak with Cottrell’s leaping grab. The reception was pretty astonishing, as the Panther was well defended on the play.
Milton’s head coach Harry Lees said, “Raymond and Emory … they audibled to a fade, and he came down with it. They (Navarre) took away our number one guy. And in the end, we found a way to get it done. It’s kinda cool.”
Deuce Nedd tries to wrangle Milton’s Trelin Carnegia down for a tackle after a completion.
All photos © 2021 by Stu Camp can be purchased in high resolution at https://stuartcamp.smugmug.com/
