Milton 35, Dedham 14: One quarter of the way there

Huddled together against a late fall cold snap, the Dedham faithful were warmed by the efforts of their Marauders during the opening ten minutes of Friday night’s game at Milton’s Brooks Field.

Scoring on the opening kickoff and then again, on an 8-yard run near the end of the first quarter, the Marauders jumped out to a 14-0 lead and looked like they were on the cusp of their first win of the year.

Three quarters later, however, after a tenacious Milton squad had reeled off 35 unanswered points, many of those same Dedham supporters were yearning for the warmth of car heaters and clinging to a hope that the next outing might yield more desirable results.

“This is the second time that we got out by two touchdowns real early and were unable to hold on to it,” said Dedham head coach Keith Comeau, whose team fell to 0-6. “So that’s frustrating and something we have to work on. We have to find a way to keep that momentum going and put teams away after we get ahead.”

Dedham got ahead 7-0 with just 10 ticks off the clock as Shane Lowe gathered the opening kickoff on his 19-yard-line and took flight along the near sideline for an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The Dedham defense, led by Nick Boudreau, forced a turnover on the Wildcats’ second possession, dislodging the ball from the grasp of workhorse Kamani Jones. Cody Abbott retrieved it, giving the Dedham offense the ball at midfield.

Initially, Dedham failed to make any progress. Milton stopped Bernie Girard twice for no gain and then sacked Dan O’Connor, forcing a three-and-out. But on the ensuing punt, Wildcats punt returner Geno Kelley reached up and tipped the ball as it sailed over his head, making it fair game for all with Lowe emerging from the mad scramble at the Milton 27.

Once again, however, the Marauders found themselves mired in place, missing on a pair of O’Connor passes and facing a third-and-long. Girard, who led his team with 68 yards on 15 carries, provided his longest run of the night, a 22-yarder, to give Dedham a new set of downs. Two plays later, Girard finished the job, finding the end zone on an 8-yard run 2:32 remaining in the quarter.

Trailing 14-0 after a rocky first quarter, Milton head coach Jim Bowes turned to his burly junior tailback Jones for help. Jones shook off the effects of the earlier fumble and proceeded to exploit the Dedham defense, racking up 190 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.

The first of Jones’ quartet was a 10-yarder with 10:40 left in the half that cut the Dedham lead to 14-6 after a missed PAT.

The Wildcats tied the score at 14, capitalizing on the first of three Dedham fumbles. Girard mishandled a punt, with Jesse Jeter recovering for the Wildcats at the Dedham 24. Milton needed six plays to get back in the end zone as defensive lineman-turned-fullback Olajuwon Dickerson plowed his way in from a yard out with 3:52 left in the half. Jones tied the game at 14 by rushing for the 2-point conversion.

“I just told them to relax and stay positive,” said Bowes. “The kids are still learning our system and they made a lot of mistakes through games three and four. But we’re starting to get that stuff down and play more aggressively and physical.”

Milton took its first lead of the game, 20-14, with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter, taking advantage of a short punt that set them up at the Dedham 41. Matt Regan connected with Nick Noonan for 24 yards on a third-and-10 and from there it was steady doses of Jones. He slipped through a seam in the line for a 1-yard score.

The Wildcats went to a quick-strike offense on their next series, again taking advantage of a short field following a punt. Taking over at the Dedham 30, Regan carried himself for 21 yards, paving the way for Jones who, on the next play, shook-off several would-be tacklers for a 9-yard touchdown with two seconds left in the third quarter. Dorall Hilton coasted in for a 2-point conversion and a commanding 28-14 Milton lead.

“Our defense kept giving us the ball,” said Bowes, whose team snapped a 4-game losing streak and is now 2-4. “And we also got a brand new second half. But the key to this win was Kamani Jones who is getting the idea and learning how to run the ball hard.”

Jones wrapped up the scoring, sifting virtually untouched 16 yards through the defense with 9:15 left.

“We’ve shown flashes every week of being able to take control of the game,” said Comeau, whose squad will host Walpole on Saturday. “We just have to put together all three aspects of the game and put it together for a full forty-eight minutes.”