West Florida's game last Thursday was a loss, but they didn't let that memory haunt them on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 23-20 victory over the Milton Panthers. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Jaguars have posted since November 2, 2023.
West Florida can attribute much of their success to Xavier Finley, who rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 14 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: West Florida was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Milton only rushed for 66.
Despite the loss, Milton still got an impressive performance from Bryson Brown, who picked up 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown. Brown's longest reception was for an incredible 72 yards. Another player making a difference was Cade Pierce, who threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
West Florida's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-5. As for Milton, they are on an eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 0-8.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. A feisty cat fight will be fought when Jaguars dukes it out withPensacola at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. They are coming into the matchup with three straight losses on the road, meaning West Florida will have to defend against a squad hungry for a win. As for Milton, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Niceville at 7:30 p.m. Milton will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each match than the last.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
