By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — September 28, 2004 – Millbrook scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and two more in the third quarter to break open a close game versus host Livingston Manor.
Those four TDs allowed Millbrook to turn a slim 7-6 advantage into a commanding 34-6 lead in Saturday’s Section IX Class D football game at Livingston Manor Central School.
The Tigers added two scores in the fourth quarter for a 47-6 victory.
Millbrook improved to 4-0 on the season, 3-0 in Class D competition. Manor fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in Class D play.
After the Tigers took a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the contest, the Manor offense responded with a touchdown on its second possession of the game. Linebacker Ryan Taggart intercepted a Millbrook pass to give the Wildcats the ball at the Tiger 35-yard line.
Manor running back Lee Sanabria capped the ensuing 11-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to bring the Wildcats to within a point. On the subsequent 2-point conversion play, Sanabria was tackled well short of the goal line by a pair of Millbrook defenders.
Millbrook answered four minutes later when quarterback Darren Shepley threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Quirk. After the PAT kick by Brad Hawks, the Tigers had a 14-7 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Shepley connected with Matthew Michael for a 12-yard touchdown.
In the third quarter, Millbrook added a 6-yard touchdown run by Steve Kearins and a 47-yard touchdown run by Shepley.
The Tigers’ fourth quarter TDs were a 24-yard scramble by backup quarterback Evan Halvorsen and a 12-yard run by Hawks.
“I think in the early part of the game, Livingston Manor did a nice job,” Millbrook Coach Greg Scott said. “Honestly, I thought we came out a little flat. It took us a while to get going, but once we did our offense did a nice job.”
Scott praised the overall performance of Shepley, who is just a sophomore.
“He’s really coming of age,” Scott said of the young quarterback. “He’s working hard and doing well considering he only played quarterback for about one quarter last year.”
Manor Coach Kevin Clifford also noted the way his team played in the first quarter, staying right with the Tigers.
“I thought we were probably two blocks from going into halftime with a tie score,” said Clifford, referring to a pair of drives in the second quarter when the Manor offense was driving down the field and into Millbrook territory.
But one of the drives ended when the Tigers recovered a Wildcat fumble and the other was halted when Manor quarterback Josh Mendez was sacked as time ran out in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Wildcats had to alter their goals for the contest.
“We had some players get hurt, five starters didn’t play in the second half,” Clifford said. “That forced us to change our game plan. We just wanted to run the ball, keep the clock moving and not have anyone else get hurt.”
Manor will look to get back on the winning track on Friday night when it travels to Eldred to face the Yellowjackets in a Class D contest. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.