Telegraph photo by TOM KING Milford's Liam Daly breaks up a pass intended for HB's Blake Bergerson late in the first half of the Spartans' 26-24 win in Milford on Friday night.

MILFORD – The Milford High School football team managed to down Hollis Brookline 26-24 on Friday night in their opener because they did the little things.

The big things were done by the Cavaliers – basically by senior running back Marc-Andre Thermitus, who rushed for a whopping 318 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.

But the little things were done by Spartans kicker Colin Gregg, whose two PAT kicks were the difference in the game. That and the fact the Spartans stopped the Cavs (0-2) on all four two-point conversion attempts, as both teams scored four touchdowns.

Could either coach believe the result given Thermitus’ night?

“I believe it because I watched him run up and down the field,” Milford coach Keith Jones said. “It was a poorly played defensive game on both sides. Neither team punted.

“But then again both defenses made big stops at times. … We bottled him up at times, and he killed us on the sweep.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things in high school football, so yeah,” Cavs coach Chris Lones said. “In my opinion, he’s the best running back in the state.

“But we’ve got to clean up the little things. They’re killing us right now.”

Thermitus had TD runs of 7, 84, and 53 yards, the first two giving the Cavs leads of 6-0 and 12-7 in the first quarter. But he had another called back by a hold, and he was also bottled up on conversion runs, just short on one with 1:11 left in the third and bottled up decisively by the Spartans on another with 7:16 left. Both would have tied the game but left HB trailing, 20-18 and by the 26-24 final.

“Our two-point defense, we worked on it all week, right?” Jones said, joking. “But what I’m really happy about, we hadn’t had any contact, we hadn’t had a scrimmage. I’m really proud of the kids. They did a great job.”

The Spartans rushed for a modest 294 yards, led by106 (on 16 carries) on the part of back Caden Zalenski, who also had three TDs. Trailing 6-0 after the Cavs took the opening kickoff, marching 70 yards in 11 plays, the Spartans answered with sophomore QB Charlie Urda’s 36-yard TD run with 6:30 left in the first quarter.

Down 12-7, the Spartans answered again with a 17-play, 70-yard drive with Zalenski scoring from one yard out. This time the conversion failed, and Milford settled for a 13-12 lead which held up into halftime, thanks to stopping the Cavs at the 10 late in the half.

Zalenski scored his second TD, a 5-yarder, and the PAT kick was good for a 20-12 lead with 3:27 left in the third. Back came the Cavs, Thermitus’ 53-yard jaunt bringing them to within two again. But Zalenski answered, a 45-yard run with 10:59 left, to increase the Spartans’ lead to 26-18. This time Gregg’s kick was short to give HB hope.

That hope almost came to fruition as Cavs’ QB Drew Gryniewicz found Jack Delaney in the end zone for a 9-yard TD flip with 7:16 left to make it 26-24. But Thermitus was bottled up on the conversion attempt. That decided it.

The Cavs never saw the football again. The Spartans, true to their ground and pound identity, ran the final 13 plays over 7:09. Jones opted to go for it on fourth and inches at his own 35 with 2:17 left and Zalenski got the first down – barely.

“That was huge,” Jones said. “Zalenski, just blood and guts. The nose of the ball.”

“We’re getting everybody’s best game,” Lones said. “We just have to keep grinding, keep working, get rid of these mistakes, and we’ll be fine.”

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