Risky fake punt doesn't pay off for Milledgeville in loss to east Dubuque

MILLEDGEVILLE – Jason Wroble had two things on his mind as his Milledgeville Missiles approached a fourth-down play at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter.

The first was that the score was tied and his defense was dominating the East Dubuque Warriors.

The second was that they had a fake punt play in their pocket that always worked during scrimmages in practice.

The Missiles coach took a chance. This time, it didn’t work out.

The fake-punt pass by punter Daniel Lohnes was broken up by the Warrior defense, and a few plays later East Dubuque’s Will Kieffer broke a long run for a touchdown that proved the difference in a 14-6 loss for the Missiles.

“We have run that play countless times in practice, and every time it has worked,” Wroble said. “Even with the sophomore team giving us tight coverage, we’ve converted. I almost ran it during last week’s game. I saw the chance tonight and took it. The opportunity to win was there.”

East Dubuque (2-0) took over on downs at its own 47. After a 1-yard run, Trey Culbertson picked up the Warriors’ third first down of the second half with a 10-yard run. Two plays later, Kieffer slashed through the middle of the Missiles’ defense for a 40-yard touchdown.

“I had confidence in our defense,” Wroble said. “It played really well tonight, and it was impressive because we have a lot of young kids who are undersized. That’s going to be the case most every week.”

Milledgeville (0-2), which was held to two second-half first downs, did nothing with the ball on its last possession and was forced to punt. East Dubuque ran out the clock on the ensuing drive.

Despite the lack of yardage, the Missiles spent much of the second half in East Dubuque territory, including two trips inside the 20. One drive ended with a fumble at the 10, and the second drive fizzled at the 14.

“That was same case as last week,” Wroble said. “We had some chances but were not able to convert.”

East Dubuque scored first on a two-play drive that consisted of completions of 28 and 20 yards from Zach Meyer to Zach Schulting.

Millegeville’s lone score came on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Nicholas Smith to Ashton Nobis in the second quarter. Nobis also had a 40-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard punt return.

“We spend a lot of time on special teams, and he’s capable of making some big plays,” Wroble said.

Marcus McKenna led Milledgeville with 77 yards on 21 carries.

Football

East Dubuque 14, Milledgeville 6

Star of the game: Ashton Nobis, Milledegeville, 30-yard touchdown reception, 40-yard kickoff return, 25-yard punt return.

He said. “We’re taking steps in the right direction. Last week we had a lot of kids playing their first high school football game. We had a lot of positives tonight. Better tackling. Better effort. We just have to be more consistent.” - Milledgeville coach Jason Wroble.