Graham’s RB Danny Hoke eludes defenders to get a Falcons first down. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Graham’s three-headed monster at running back combined for 266 yards on 35 carries in a 35-7 win over Milton Union. The Falcons dominated the line of scrimmage, and collected four takeaways to move to 2-0.
By Alan Brads for Press Pros
After playing third fiddle in week one, Graham’s Donovan Corwin took center stage of the three-man tailback act against Milton-Union. He gashed the Bulldog defense for 121 yards on 10 rush attempts, a touchdown on the ground, and another receiving. The defense came through with a +4 turnover differential, all leading to a 35-7 Falcon victory.
Fellow Graham (2-0) RB Danny Hoke’s 30 carries for 159 yards a week ago garnered the attention of Milton-Union (0-2), which came prepared to stop the heavy hitter. He ran for 59 yards, a decent number, but a century short of his week one mark. But that interior defensive lanes for noy only Corwin, but also Jakob Hoke, who tacked on 86 yards and a touchdown, mostly on outside runs.
Alan Brads is a contributing columnist and writes sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.
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“Donovan has just as much ability as Jake and Danny Hoke,” head coach Rich Clark said. “He just didn’t get the opportunity last week. We fixed a couple of things this week with blocking, and it was his time to shine. Each week, somebody’s gonna get the carries.”
Corwin specializes in jet sweeps, with acceleration and speed that threaten to change the game every time he goes in motion.
Given the teams’ profiles, it was no secret the team that ran the ball better would win. They combined for four completed passes in week one. Graham’s trio gained 7.6 yards per carry on 35 rushes, while Milton-Union’s duo of Charlie Lane and Seth Lowry ran for 4.8 YPC on 21 attempts.
That deficit points toward a Falcon win, but can’t account for the lopsided final score. The missing piece, or rather pieces, of the puzzle are four Bulldog turnovers, including a fumble recovered for a touchdown, and an interception that set up a nine-yard touchdown drive.
“They’re a really good and physical football team,” Clark said. “They made some mistakes throwing the ball, and our defense just played lights out … This win goes to them as much as anybody.”
Milton-Union’s Cason Berner (linebacker) trys to wrap up a tackle in Friday’s loss to Graham.
The Graham defensive front held their own against a typically imposing Bulldog offensive line.
“Unfortunately, we’re a team based on our physicality, and we met someone tonight who outdid us,” Milton-Union Head Coach Bret Pearce said. “That really hurt what we do. If we can out-physical a team, I think we’ll have some success.”
Early down stuffs and TFLs forced Milton-Union to the air, which is well outside its comfort zone, and as it stands, its capability.
Three of seven Bulldog passes fell into enemy hands, and the other four dropped incomplete. Immediate penetration often left QB Cason Berner with no option but to take a sack or throw up a prayer. Pearce’s team rightfully prides itself on its run game, but the pass game has to find another gear that, at a minimum, keeps defenses honest if the Bulldogs are going to right the ship.
Graham scored on the opening drive, countering the expectation of Danny Hoke as the workhorse with outside runs to Jakob Hoke, who ran untouched around the right end for a 20-yard touchdown.
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Milton-Union’s Berner responded with a four-yard touchdown run on 4th down to tie it near the end of the first.
But the good vibes of a competitive game in picture-perfect weather crashed down for the home crowd when a Berner screen pass inside his own 10-yard line floated into the waiting hands of Jakob Hoke. Graham’s run game made play action believable, and Corwin slipped out to the right for an uncontested TD catch and a 14-7 lead.
Despite two other first-half interceptions caught by Graham’s Holdyn Nitchman, the Bulldogs punted with a minute in the half with a great chance to escape to halftime down by only a touchdown. But in honor of Lee Corso’s retirement, Corwin said, “Not so fast.”
Graham’s running back Jakob Hoke put the Falcons on the board in the first quarter.
He ran eight yards left, then 41 yards right behind a brigade of blockers, breaking a defender’s ankles on the way to the red zone.
“Honestly the first thing I saw was how good my blocks were,” Corwin said. “Then going down the sideline, I just had to juke somebody.”
Quarterback Gage Stull reminded the crowd that he can run too, and took it in himself from 13 yards out for a 21-7 halftime lead.
The body blow sucked the life out of the Bulldogs, who came out sluggish in the second half.
“The more we tried and failed, the more our kids’ spirit dropped,” Pearce said. “So we need to fight back. We need to do a better job physically, but we need to do a better job controlling our emotions as well.”
The battle in the trenches went from the Falcons holding a lead, to flat-out imposing their will on defense. What success Milton-Union found running the ball in the first half evaporated. Lane and Lowry only ran for 15 yards in the second half, as three-and-outs limited their offensive snap count.
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“We love the run, and they’re a run team,” defensive lineman Levi Hollingsworth said. “We’ve always been physical, so we just go out there and fight. Up front we’re so fast and quick off our feet that we beat most of the offensive linemen we go against.”
That’s exactly what happened in the third quarter when linebacker Jack Traylor mauled Berner a microsecond after he set up to throw after play-action. The ball squeaked out, careening back 15 yards until Hollinsgworth fell on it in the endzone.
Milton-Union’s LB Evan Michael jumps in to stop the Graham running attack.
Corwin capped the night with an end-around for his second touchdown and a 35-7 win.
Milton-Union finds itself reeling, with just one more game against 2-0 Oakwood before conference play begins. They say the most improvement happens between weeks one and two. For the Bulldogs, that improvement appears to be running behind schedule, but given last year’s slow start, there’s cause to hope it’s on its way.
Meanwhile, the Falcons’ second win leaves them just a victory short of tying last season’s three-win mark, but obviously their aspirations are much higher than that.
Corwin said the team’s attitude is its most-improved aspect year-over-year.
“Last year we were just going into games thinking we were gonna lose,” Corwin said. “We have way more confidence now.”
Corwin also said he wasn’t surprised to get his name called so often, and hopes the opportunity comes “all season long.”
“The defense can’t cover everybody,” Coach Clark said. “And tonight they left [Corwin] open. Next week, we’ll see who it is.”
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