by Pat O'Malley
patomalleysports@aol.com
Who said the Hereford Bulls were done?
Not Nick DePaola, his offensive line and the rest of his Hereford teammates, nor the coaching staff.
The No. 13 ranked Bulls invaded previously undefeated and No. 17 Milford Mill Saturday afternoon and outlasted the "big play'' Millers, 28-27 in a key Baltimore County Class 4A/3A League encounter, not to mention the 3A North Region.
DePaola, who Bulls' coach Steve Turnbaugh calls "our playmaker,'' blocked an extra-point attempt, ran a kickoff back 34 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown from the five with 36 seconds left. All of DePaola's heroics came in the last three minutes after the Millers had taken a 27-21 lead with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining.
"We had a lot of nay-sayers and were our own worst enemy [because of all their success under Turnbaugh over the last 13 years] with everybody expecting us to win every game by the running clock,'' said Turnbaugh, who is 143-24 with three state titles in his tenure.
"We have two losses this year and we're not putting up big numbers this year, so we had a lot of doubting people saying Hereford is down and done. This was a game we needed to prove, we're not the powerhouse, but we can still play a good game. It was a confidence-booster for us.''
As a result, Hereford (5-2 overall), No. 19 Franklin (5-2, defeated Parkville, 35-0 Saturday) and Milford Mill (6-1) are 5-1 each atop the county league and when all the bonus points are counted, Hereford will be right there with Milford in the 3A North.
Down 21-7 at the half as Milford erupted for three long distance touchdowns-89 yards with game's opening kickoff by Ivan Mitchell, quarterback Kevin Fulton's 41-yard touchdown scamper and 72-yard scoring pass to Tyrek Cheeseboro-the Bulls fought back to tie it up at 21 in the third period on a pair of TD runs by Harold Williams.
When Milford Mill took the lead by 27-21 with 3:16 left in the game, DePaola and Vinnie Julio blocked Miguel Bernard's extra-point kick attempt. DePaola, who led all rushers with 192 yards on 25 attempts, then rambled 34 yards on the ensuing kickoff to the Bulls' 42.
Bulls' quarterback David Wood then called DePaola's number four consecutive plays and the 6-foot-1, 205-pound two-way senior (also a linebacker) carried the load down to the Millers' eight-yard line with less than a minute to go. After Neil Delucca gave DePaola a blow by taking the pigskin to the five, DePaola was back at it and crashed into the end zone to tie the game at 27 with 36 seconds left in the game.
Junior place-kicker Andrew Johns, who Turnbaugh told after the game, "you have ice-water veins,'' kicked his fourth extra-point of the game for the slim margin of victory. Johns has not missed a conversion kick all season.
"It was awesome, I loved it,'' said DePaola, who caught a game-winning touchdown pass to beat Milford Mill, 17-14, last season.
It's all in the heart. I couldn't have done it without my line. This is the first game we have played all four quarters. We were running guard traps up the middle and then switched up and ran off tackle. Andrew (Johns) is only a junior and he's really good.''
DePaola also praised Milford Mill's 6-3, 200-pound senior quarterback, Kevin Fulton, who reminds one of Meade's Auburn-bound Ray Cotton. They are about the same size and each has a strong arm and is fast and athletic.
"Aww, he's D-1 [Division I] man,'' said DePaola. "He's solid.''
Fulton ran for 107 yards and two scores on 15 carries and was 7-for-16 for 132 yards, including the 72-yard bomb to Cheeseboro, but the Bulls stuffed him twice at their one-yard line on third and fourth down early in the final period.
"That was huge,'' said DePaola.
Milford Mill coach Reggie White agreed somewhat.
"We weren't going for the field goal, we were going for the score and they stopped us on a matter of inches," said White.
"They held, but we came back and finally did the score (that made it 27-21 on second-and-goal from the one after missing on first down). We missed the extra point and it came back to bite us.
"They (Bulls) adjusted (in second half). I knew it was going to be a chess game between me and Steve. It always is. They have great coaches over there and we've got them to.''
As for his quarterback Fulton, who is a threat from anywhere on the field with his arm or legs, White said, "I just can't say enough about him.
He gives his heart every game along with a lot of other players on our team. And he leads by example and everybody is following him now in his senior year. He's a big time player, but he's hurting right now, but he will be fine.''
Fulton said he "wasn't disappointed because we played our best. We've just got execute our plays. They've got a good team and we've got to ready for Franklin next week.''
Meanwhile, Hereford will host Woodlawn (5-2, 4-2 in 4A/3A).
It's getting more interesting as the teams head down the stretch to post season. And. oh yeah, don't count out those Bulls-they are a long way from being done.
Hereford 28, Milford Mill 27
Hereford 7 0 14 7-28
Milford Mill 14 7 0 6-27
MM-Mitchell 89 kickoff return (Bernard kick)
MM-Fulton 41 run (Bernard kick)
H-Cromwell 1 run (Johns kick)
MM-Cheseboro 72 pass from Fulton (Bernard kick)
H-Williams 1 run (Johns kick)
H-Williams 21 run (Johns kick)
MM - Fulton 1 run (kick blocked)
H-DePaola 5 run (Johns kick)