Six Turnovers Doom Milton, 42-16

Walton forced Milton into committing six turnovers and cashed them in for points in a 42-16 victory Friday night at Milton High School.

The Raiders turned two of those turnovers into defensive touchdowns.

The Raiders were able to force the first turnover when on third-and-11 from the Milton 39, Milton QB Colin McElroy's pass was completed but fumbled and recovered by Walton.

Three plays later, Walton quarterback Parker McLeod threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Zack Blaylock, putting the Raiders on the board 7-0 with 8:57 in the first quarter.

However, the Eagles struck back. Milton had the ball at the Walton 44, and on second-and-10, McElroy connected with Jonathan Gill for a 42-yard pass completion to the 2-yard line. Fullback Kyle LeStrange ran it in for the score and the game was tied 7-7 with 11:57 left in the half. 

But the game kept turning in Walton’s favor the rest of the way.

The Eagles forced Walton to punt, but Milton punt returner Chase Coleman fumbled and the Raiders recovered the ball at the Milton 35.

Walton running back Tyren Jones scored from 6 yards out to give the Raiders a 14-7 lead with 7:11 left in the half. 

Milton turned the ball over again inside its own territory when running back Trevon Paulk took a hard hit from Walton DB Zack Blaylock, forcing a fumble.

The ball was recovered by the Raiders at the Milton 3-yard line.

Three plays later, Jones scored from the 2 to increase Walton's lead to 21-7.

Just as soon as the Eagles got the ball back, they gave it away once again when McElroy's pass was intercepted by Walton’s Daron Blaylock, who ran it back 38 yards for a touchdown, giving the Raiders a commanding 28-7 lead.  The Eagles were able to put points on the board when Paulk ran it in from 28 yards out, and the Raiders' lead was cut in half at 28-14 with 2:16 left in the half.

Then the Milton defense rose up and forced a safety when Brandon Nix sacked McLeod in the end zone, giving the Eagles more life and only a 28-16 deficit at halftime.

However, the Walton defense continued to force Milton into turnovers in the second half.

Paulk fumbled the ball inside Milton territory, and Walton DB Justin Brooks picked it up and ran it back for a touchdown, increasing the Raiders' lead to 35-16.

Just as Milton got the ball back, the Raider defense forced yet another turnover on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage. McElroy connected with Malik Mitchell for a nice gain, but Mitchell was hit and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Justin Brooks for Walton.

Milton was able to hold Walton on the next possession, but the Eagles' offense couldn't take advantage and were forced to punt on their next series. On Walton's next offensive series, the Raiders relied on Jones as he made runs of 4, 13 and 7 yards before running 23 yards for his third touchdown of the night, finishing off Milton by the score of 42-16.

Milton (1-1) will try to bounce back next Friday when they host Harrison, while Walton (2-0) will travel to Campbell.