In a preseason kickoff classic game Thursday night at Hurley Manning Field at Haywood Hanna Stadium in Milton, Fla., the W.S. Neal Eagles suffered a 21-14 loss to the Panthers.
In the first half of play, considered a JV game on the scoreboard, WSN and Milton were tied 7-7 after two quarters of play. WSN led 7-0 after one quarter before Milton tied things up in the second quarter.
In the second half of play, considered a varsity game on the scoreboard, the Panthers outscored WSN 14-7 in the two quarters.
Milton scored both touchdowns in the third quarter while WSN added on in the fourth. Overall, Milton defeated WSN 21-7.
WSN head coach Doug Hoehn said his kids played their guts out in the loss to the Panthers.
“We lost 21-14, but we left some points on the field there in the first half,” Hoehn said. “We were in the red zone twice, and if we don’t have those three turnovers, we can at least get two field goals.
“We have a good field goal kicker this year. That is why you play the preseason games though.”
Hoehn said his main thing he wanted to see was effort and execution.
“We executed pretty well, but the three turnovers were at the worst time,” he said. “We had a couple of penalties and three turnovers tonight. So we just need to get better with that. This was our first outing. In the first outing, the kids gutted it out. Milton has a lot of talent.
“They are a 7A school in Alabama. I am proud of the kids tonight. We just need to go back and talk about turnovers and penalties. We can’t squander opportunities.”
In the first half, WSN racked up eight first downs and 107 total yards, with all coming on the ground. In the second half, WSN racked up nine first downs and 186 total yards, again with all coming on the ground.
As for Milton, the Panthers had five first downs in the first half and 10 in the second half. Milton racked up 229 total yards in the first half with 126 rushing and 103 passing. In the second half, Milton had 180 yards rushing and 136 passing for a total of 316 for the night.
Quenton Samuel led WSN rushing with 124 yards on 10 carries.
JT Gantt added 60 on nine carries and Nate Hutcheson had 57 on six carries. Malcolm Hawthorne had 53 yards on 10 carries.
Hawthorne scored WSN’s first score on a 3-yard run while Samuel scored the last on an 18-yard run.
Jacobey Hawthorne went 0-for-3 passing with one interception.
“They all played hard…everyone on the field,” Hoehn said of his team. “It is hard to single out any individual tonight. We had five or six guys run the ball tonight and everyone played hard. This was a team effort not an individual effort tonight.”
Hoehn said one thing he learned about his Eagles is that they were a little bit more physical than he thought they were going to be.
“We have not had a lot of full-pad contact, but our kids responded well.
“If you look at it, they had one turnover and we had three and two were going in to score. I am proud of the kids. We just have to get better though.”