The game lasted twelve seconds before Milford announced itself. On the first play from scrimmage at their own 39-yard line, quarterback Vincent Loscerbo threw a backwards pass to sophomore reserve Logan Snaddon, who launched a deep strike to Eli Rosenberg. The senior co-captain caught it in stride and raced untouched into the end zone. The Scarlet Hawks led 7-0 just twelve seconds into their season opener against Framingham, and the rout was on.
Milford finished with a 49-7 win Thursday night at their home turf field, amassing 476 yards of total offense. Loscerbo completed eight of twelve passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Rosenberg hauled in five receptions for 147 yards and three scores. The connection between the junior signal caller and his senior co-captain was the headline, but the supporting cast delivered as well, with sophomore running back Kaua Reiss, tight end Jaxsen Lindsay, and a defense led by Wanderson Dos Santos all contributing to the statement win.
The preparation for this game was anything but routine. Veteran assistant coach Dana Olson admitted the coaching staff had little idea what to expect from a young roster that leans heavily on sophomores and juniors. New MIAA rules limited the team to just one scrimmage before opening night.
"Honestly I didn't know what to expect heading into the season," Olson said. "We have a very young team, and we're relying on sophomores and juniors to help carry this team. With the new MIAA rules, we didn't have a lot of time to prepare, and we only had one scrimmage, so we weren't really sure of how things were going to turn out, but I'm happy with the way the guys performed. Sure we made some silly mistakes and committed some penalties, but we'll work on correcting them as the season moves forward."
The opening strike was a designed trick that caught Framingham completely off guard. Rosenberg credited the film work the team put in during the offseason.
"That first play really set the tone of the game," Rosenberg said. "We're a young team and we really worked hard in the off-season. This play is one of coach's favorites and Logan (Snaddon) just threw it perfectly. They (Framingham) were caught off guard, bit into the coverage and we just came out and executed."
Milford's second possession ended with an interception by Jesus Battista, but the defense held and forced a punt. Loscerbo then went to work with his legs, ripping off consecutive 24-yard runs. Reiss capped the quick five-play, 66-yard drive with a 15-yard scamper to make it 13-0 with 4:34 left in the first quarter.
Another defensive stop gave Milford favorable field position, and Loscerbo found Rosenberg again. On first down from the Flyer 32, Loscerbo lofted a fade down the right sideline. Rosenberg drew separation, hauled it in at the 15, and walked into the end zone with fourteen seconds left in the quarter. The lead grew to 20-0.
Rosenberg credited the team's preparation for the sharp execution. "We really spent a lot of time in the film room," he said. "Studying what we do and watching what we do on film, and how to work on those mistakes has been huge for us, and whatever time we didn't spend on the field, we studied in the film room."
The third touchdown connection came early in the second quarter. After a 23-yard scramble by Loscerbo, he fired a strike from the Flyer 27 that split two defenders. Rosenberg caught it at the 10 and raced in for the score, pushing the lead to 27-0 with 9:33 left in the half.
"That was probably his best pass of the night," Olson said. "He split the pass right through a pair of defenders and hit (Rosenberg) right on target and he was able to go right into the end zone."
Loscerbo capped the first-half scoring with a 23-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Jaxsen Lindsay in the back of the end zone with 5:20 remaining, giving Milford a 34-0 halftime cushion.
Framingham avoided the shutout to open the third quarter. Senior running back Nick Duarte, converted to quarterback, engineered a 12-play, 88-yard drive. On fourth and six from the Milford 21, he found Battista in the back of the end zone for the score with 5:49 left in the third.
Milford answered 56 seconds later. Reiss gained 29 yards, then Cam Zicherman burst through the middle of the field and into the end zone from distance, making it 41-7. With the bench emptied, Dante Capuzziello followed his blockers in for a late score, and Snaddon converted the two-point try for the final 49-7 margin.
Defensively, Dos Santos recorded a team-high 21 tackles. "Wanderson (Dos Santos) has tremendous speed, agility and he just reacts off the ball," Olson said. "He was all over the place making tackles and stopping their key guys. He had a great game on both sides of the ball."
Despite the convincing win, Olson kept the focus on what needs fixing. "It's a great way to open the season with a win like this against (Framingham)," he said. "We're a very young team, and we had plenty of sophomores and juniors step it up. We made some mistakes, dropped some passes and committed too many penalties, and we're going to have to fix these issues as we prepare for King Philip (next week)."
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