Milton Varsity Football Tackles Past Roxbury Latin

By William O’Brien ‘28

Milton Academy Varsity Football met up with their first opponent, The Roxbury Latin School, on a wet and raw Saturday afternoon on Stockinger Field. 

To start the game, captains Henry Fallon ‘25, Chase Judge ‘25, and Qur’an McNeil ‘26 won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Milton would start the rainy afternoon on defense.  

Both teams had a rocky start in the first quarter of the game, changing possessions three times before a score. On Roxbury Latin’s second possession of the game, Jacob Strojny would throw the ball straight into the arms of Gio Joseph ‘26 who ran the ball back for a pick-six. Tom Breeze ‘25 made the extra point, putting the Mustangs ahead 7-0. Milton began to pick up rhythm and would start their domination of the game. 

Towards the end of the first quarter, Roxbury Latin would have a 45-yard return, but was stopped by Milton’s solid defensive showing during the remainder of the downs and could not capitalize on the strong return. Milton closed out the first quarter with an unsuccessful drive downfield but still led the game 7-0. 

The offense for Milton started with the ball in the second quarter, driving downfield. The drive was complete with a quarterback keeper from McNeil. Milton pushed their lead to 13-0. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their extra-point attempt was blocked by Roxbury Latin, who returned the ball 98 yards, resulting in 2 points for the Foxes. 

With 38 seconds to go in the first half, McNeil is picked off. Milton retreated to the locker room to dry off and continue their domination in the second half, leading 13-2.

Back out on the field, Milton received the second-half kickoff. Joseph had a return of over 30 yards to propel the Mustangs downfield. Milton benefitted from a few pass interference calls to continue their drive down the field. Milton, however, hit some bad luck when they went for it on 4th down and were stopped by the Roxbury Latin defense, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

It did not take long for the Mustangs’ defense to secure the ball back. McNeil brought the Mustangs into the red zone, completing a 26-yard pass to Zahir Mitchell ‘27, giving Milton a strong 19-2 lead. 

With 26 seconds to go in the third quarter, Roxbury Latin quarterback Strojny was picked off again, this time by Milton’s Gavin Thomas ‘25. The Mustangs led by 17 going into the fourth quarter.

Milton continued to dominate the game going into the last quarter of play. McNeil and Mitchell connected on their second touchdown pass of the day, making it a 25-2 Mustangs lead, following an ineligible man downfield penalty called back. The extra point by Breeze was good, giving Milton a 26-2 lead.

A little rain couldn’t stop the Mustangs; closing out their domination with a field goal, the Mustangs rolled to a 29-2 victory. Saturday, Milton will try to keep their winning streak alive when they play Buckingham Brown and Nichols School at Stockinger Field at 1pm.