Senior Nick DePaola (left), pictured with his brother, sophomore Vince, rushed for 211 yards and scored three touchdowns as Hereford blasted Millford Mill 41-14 in the snow on Friday night at Hereford.
The Hereford Bulls take the field shortly after a snow squaw hit area on Friday night.
by Joe DiBlasijdiblasi@digitalsports.comNick DePaola ran for 211 yards on 18 carries and he scored three touchdowns, as Hereford scored 41 unanswered points to beat Millford Mill 41-14 at Herefrod on Friday night in a Class 3A Regional title game. DePaola scored on runs of 6, 31 and 41 yards to lead a Bulls offense that amassed close to 400 yards on the ground. Hasai Cromwell added 104 yards on ten carries for coach Steve Turnbaugh. "Our line was great tonight," said DePaola.
"They opened holes and I just ran through." DePaola rushed for 243 yards the first time these two teams met during the regular season, when the Bulls won 28-27. In that one, he also blocked an extra point that turned out to be the margin of victory.
Quarterback David Wood scored on a one yard plunge as the second quarter ended to give the Bulls a 28-7 lead at the half. Neil DeLuca and Cromwell ran for scores of 3 and 19 yards respectively. The game was played on a snow covered field in bitter cold conditions after a snow squaw hit the Hereford area about two hours before game time. The game was delayed for a half hour because of poor road conditions that delayed the arrival of the Millers team bus.
Down, 7-0, after Kevin Fulton's 1-yard run, the Bulls got four second quarter scores -- the first two in succession by DePaola -- as well as four consecutive extra point kicks from Johns.
Fulton led a 14 play 70 yard drive on the Millers first possession of the night, but on their second series, the visitors tried a 42 yard field goal on a fourth and three, and the kick was short. Hereford took over, and from that point on, the Bulls were in control.
The victory improved 13th-year coach Steve Turnbaugh of Hereford (10-2) to 148-24 for his career as his Bulls earned a berth to visit Class 3A East Regional champion, Wilde Lake (11-1) of Howard County, a 39-15 winner over Fallston (8-4) of Harford County on Friday night. "A lot of poeple counted us out when we were 2-2, but we've come backm strong," said Turnbaugh.
Scott Schmelz had a sack for the Bulls.
Down, 41-7, with 3 minutes to go, Fulton threw a 10 yard TD pass to Tyrek Cheesboro to give the Millers their second score of the night. Fulton, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, ended the year with 15 touchdown passes and 12 more rushing.
Both the Bulls and the Millers -- ranked Nos. 10, and, No. 14, respectively, in the DigitalSports Top 20 -- entered the game off of lopsided victories.
The Millers (9-3) blanked Baltimore County rival Franklin, 23-0, after habing narrowly defeated the Indians, 13-7, earlier this year. And the Bulls easily defeated Mervo of Baltimore City, 37-6.
The Millers were Baltimore County Class 4A-3A League runners-up to the Bulls, with whom they earned a rematch of their earlier, 28-27 loss -- a game Milford Mill led, 21-7, at halftime.
The Millers were in their first playoffs since 2005 when their program reached the Class 2A state semifinals.
The Bulls, meanwhile, earned their second straight Baltimore County Class 4A-3A title this year, and won their second straight Class 3A North Regional title. Last year's Bulls were Class 3A state runners-up with a record of 13-1.
The Bulls have won three state titles under Turnbaugh.
Hereford 41, Milford Mill 14
Milford Mill 7 0 0 7 14
Hereford 0 28 7 6 41
M- Kevin Fulton 1 run (Miguel Bernard kick)
H- Nick DePaola 6 run (Andrew Johns kick)
H- Nick DePaola 41 run (Andrew Johns kick)
H- Neil DeLuca 3 run (Andrew Johns kick)
H- David Wood 1 run (Andrew Johns kick)
H- Nick DePaola 31 run (Andrew Johns kick)
H- Hasani Cromwell 19 run (kick failed)
M- Kevin Fulton 10 pass to Tyrik Cheesboro (Miguel Bernard kick)