Titans Washed Away By Millbrook 34-22
(Game Recaps provided by Millbrook and Dominion Gameday Insiders)
The Dominion Titans lost at home Friday night to the Millbrook Pioneers 34-22 at rain drenched Titan Stadium. The conditions were sloppy all night long....both with the field, and with the play itself, by both teams.
The Titans drew first blood when Todd Lancaster took the opening kick off, and raced 90 yards for the score. The lead was short lived, however, as Pioneer Sr. RB Butch Kaczmarzewski scored on the Pioneer's 2nd play from scrimmage, on a 46 yard touchdown run. The bottom started to fall out on the Titan's on the ensuing kick-off, as they immediately fumbled the ball back to the Pioneers. QB Andrew Oates would then connect with WR Levon Williams on a 13 yard strike. Before the Titan's offense would touch the ball, they now found themselves trailing 14-7. Millbrook would stave off any attempt at a Dominion drive in the 1st quarter, as they recovered 2 Titan fumbles, and blocked a field goal attempt.
The Pioneers added 2 more scores in the 2nd quarter, on a trick play and another Titan miscue. Facing 4th and 26 from the Dominion 31, Millbrook coach Reed Prosser pulled out his playbook, turned to the little read "School Yard Plays" section, and found a gem. On the play, WR John Siepel would take the direct snap on the sweep, then pull up to find a streaking Oates.....the QB....down the sidelines, where he would haul in the toss for the 31 yard score. The PAT would fail, however, making the score Millbrook 20, Dominion 7. Then, with just over a minute left in the half, the Pioneer's Calvin Rodney would scoop up another Titan fumble, and run 42 yards untouched for the score, and the 27-7 halftime lead.
The Titan misfortunes in the 1st half were attributed to many factors. The offensive line had a difficult time holding off the Pioneer rush. In one series, QB Geoffrey McCowat was sacked on 3 consecutive plays. Freshman standout RB DeAndre Reaves could not get untracked (7 carries for 5 yards), and the unsure footing on the field arguably prevented at least 1 Dominion score, as a wide open Ben Dickerson was unable to set himself to haul in the McCowat pass. Add 5 fumbles (2 lost to Millbrook), and you have a steep mountain to climb, for sure. Don't think the miscues were all one sided, though. Milbrook was flagged 10 times for 115 yards, to add to the bizarre night.
However, the Titans offense began to jell in the third quarter, and show some spark. On an impressive, sustained drive, Reaves began the comeback with a 2 yard run, to bring the home team to within 27-14. However, Kaczmarzewski broke the game open for the Pioneers, with a 44 yard run, to make the score 34-14. In the 4th quarter, Dominion would get on the board again when Henry Lobo scored from the 1 yard line, and followed with the 2 point conversion plunge, to make the score a little closer at 34-22. But that is where it would end on this night, as the Titans were unsuccessful on several desperation passes as time ran out, and there would be no come from behind victory.
The Titans (1-1) will next travel to Frederick, MD, on Thursday night, to play Tucarora, at 7:30. The Pioneers (2-1) will play host to James Wood on Friday, at 7:00.
Chic-Fil-A Players of the Game
Millbrook - Butch Kaczmarzewski, Sr., RB; 18-146, 2 TD
Dominion - DeAndre Reaves, Fr., WB; 12-117 (109 in 2nd half), 1 TD
