MILTON – Rivalries often bring out the best in players, and in a Saturday afternoon matinee at Milton Academy, quarterback Qur’an McNeill proved exactly why.
McNeill started off a little shaky in the first 12 minutes of play but rose to the occasion as the Mustangs rattled off 38 unanswered points – including 21 in the second quarter – to motor past archrival Nobles & Greenough, 38-9, in the regular season finale for both.
“This is a rivalry game, the kids get hyped up, and Nobles is a good team. They came into the game with the same record as us,” said Milton Academy head coach Mike Mason.
McNeill, who is headed to the University of Buffalo in the fall, finished 14-for-25 with three touchdowns, one on the ground and two through the air, to spark Milton (6-2), but it wasn’t easy early on.
The Nobles (5-3) defense was outstanding on Milton’s first three series, limiting the Mustangs to 29 yards and picking off McNeill twice to set up two scoring opportunities.
Will Owens picked off McNeill and brought the interception back to the Mustangs’ 21-yard line. Thomas Hall hit a field goal from 37 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead at the 7:18 mark of the first quarter.
After the teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions, Nathaniel Pichardo took a pick-six back 35 yards to give Nobles a 9-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the first quarter and the upset alert was in full swing.
But McNeill took a deep breath and led the next three drives for touchdowns as the 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback called his own number on a one-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 9-7.
McNeill followed up with a five-play drive and found Ben Allen for an 18-yard touchdown grab to take the lead for good, 14-9, with 1:45 left in the half.
Dionisios Kitsos picked up the first of three Mustangs interceptions and McNeill went back to work as he found senior captain Kash Kelly wide open on a crossing route in the middle of the end zone. The two touchdowns came 1:13 apart as McNeill took the wind out of the Bulldogs sails.
“I think this win was very important as we hate playing Nobles. This rivalry is very, very real. We really don’t like them,” said McNeill. “Our defense played a hell of a game, and I don’t think the score would have been as far away as it was without them and props for the guys on the sidelines for encouraging me after throwing the two picks and making it known that they still have my back.”
Milton Academy held Nobles to minus-4 yards of total offense in the second half and would put points on the board with three of their four possessions in the final 24 minutes.
McNeill would hit Boston College-bound Zahir Mitchell with a quick toss in the flat and the dynamic Mitchell did the rest on a 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Junior Jonah Selter showed off his booming leg with a 42-yard field goal that would have been good from 50-plus yards. Running back Davion Scott put the rubber stamp on things as he accounted for all the yardage on a six-play, 66-yard drive to end the game with a one-yard touchdown.
“We just had to calm down. We really got it going after that first quarter and their defense held us in. But our defense was solid all day and really gave our offense a chance,” said Mason. “We were a little worried about their Maryland-I (formation) and we thought if we could get them out of that, the pressure would be there – and we did, and it worked out.”
