The Milano Eagles fell 63-0 in their final game of the 2018 season to the top-ranked Mason Punchers on Friday night at Burnet’s Bulldog Stadium.
Poised to make another run at the state title, the undefeated Punchers shutout four of their last seven opponents and have only given up six touchdowns since September. They were first in class 2A division one pre-season rankings by Texas Football Magazine, after making the regional finals in the 2017 season where they lost to state finalist Refugio 38-14.
The Eagles were led by rushing from Noah Benavides with 27 yards on 10 carries, and Christian Thurman with 25 yards on five carries. Wide receiver Arthur Soto led Milano in passing yards with 24 on two receptions. Defensive standouts for Milano were Jeremyah Tafao with six tackles and Kameron Funburg, who had five tackles and one interception.
Against the Eagles, Mason was led by quarterback Otto Worford, who was five of six with 167 yards and had his hands on five touchdown passes. The Puncher backfield scored the other four touchdowns and combined for 253 yards rushing.
Mason scored within the first two minutes of the game. Worford found receiver Roman Coe open for a 36-yard touchdown. Kaleab Fisher made the point-after-touchdown (PAT) to put the Punchers up 7-0.
Wofford threw his second of three touchdown passes in the first quarter with less than two minutes on the clock, finding Klay Klaerner open for a 12-yard pass. Klaerner had a total of 1,400 offensive yards last season. Fisher made the PAT to make the score 14-0. Running back Jase Eckert scored the first rushing touchdown of the game when he crossed the goal line after a 70-yard run. Fisher made the PAT to put the Punchers ahead 21-0 halfway through the first quarter.
In the final seconds of the quarter, Tyson Keller scored on a 54-yard pass from Wofford. Fisher made the PAT and the Punchers led 28-0 going into the second quarter.
The Puncher backfield put points on the scoreboard in the second quarter. Eckert scored his second touchdown on a one-yard push across the goal line. Fisher made the PAT to put his team in front of the Eagles 35-0. Three minutes later, Chandler Buntyn scored on a 13-yard run. Fisher made the PAT, and Mason went up 42-0 halfway through the quarter.
Coe caught his second touchdown pass from Wofford for 31 yards before the end of the half. Fisher made his seventh PAT of the game. Mason led 49-0 at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Josh Fluhmann scored on a 28-yard run. Fisher made the PAT. The Punchers scored their final touchdown of the game on a seven-yard fumble recovery by Jose Valdez. Fisher made his ninth PAT of the game to produce the final score, 63-0.
Bi-district champion Mason will move on to the area round of the 2018 UIL 2A-DI state playoffs. The Punchers face Weimar 7 p.m., Friday at Bob Shelton Stadium in Buda.
Future
The Eagles had nine seniors on the 2018 team. They will lose quarterback Funburg, who passed for 1,554 total yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Milano will look to fill the shoes of Thurman and Devonte Jones, who led the team in touchdowns. Thurman had 472 receiving yards and 250 rushing yards with ten touchdowns. Jones had 472 receiving yards and nine touchdowns for the Eagles.
Milano has many talented players returning next season. Funburg’s younger brother Kameron and Danny Cloud will return in 2019 after leading the Eagles in tackles this season. Cloud had 78 and the younger Funburg, 73. Freshmen quarterback Nick Grimes saw a couple of snaps this year for the Eagles, along with receivers Marquise Jones, Drew Demeritt, and Noah Benavides.
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