Milan Football Trounces Westfield Prep 43-0 in Season Opener

Written by Michael Mezei

The Milan football team kicked off its season in impressive fashion with a 43-0 trouncing of Westfield Prep.

Milan struck first on a 3 yard run from junior Elijah Blackmon in the first quarter. The game was a back-and-forth struggle for most of the half. In a key play late in the second quarter, Milan junior linebacker JJ Allen returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. Milan converted a two-point conversion by junior Cam Dessellier to take a 15-0 halftime lead. That proved to be a momentum changer as Milan dominated the second half.

The Big Reds scored twice in the third quarter to extend their lead to 29-0. Dessellier had a 3 yard touchdown run and senior Leland Varney returned a punt 38 yards for another score. The fourth quarter was all Milan. Dessellier found junior Elijah Dotson for a 1 yard touchdown pass. Freshman Xander Galanti completed the scoring with a 16 yard run.

Milan received contributions from many players. Dessellier finished 6-9 for 102 yards passing. Senior Jacob Offerman led the Big Reds in receiving with 3 catches for 58 yards. Blackmon had a strong game on both sides of the ball with his touchdown, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. A balanced running attack was led by senior Shawn Ballard, 8 carries for 32 yards, with freshman RJ Boreio adding 25 yards on 4 carries in late game action. Junior Logan Vaughn had a strong defensive outing with a sack and a fumble recovery. Seniors Charlie and Fred Brown provided a solid kicking game.

Photo provided by Stephen Cook