Loscerbo-to-Rosenberg connection keys Milford football in opening win

MILFORD – With the dynamic duo of wideout Eli Rosenberg and quarterback Vincent Loscerbo, the Milford High football team certainly delivered their opening statements convincingly Thursday night.

The senior co-captain hauled in five receptions for 147 yards and three touchdowns and the junior signal caller completed eight of 12 passes for 211 yards and three scores as the Scarlet Hawks amassed a total of 476 yards in offense en route to a 49-7 grounding of Framingham in a non-league, season-opening matchup at Milford High’s turf field.

“Honestly I didn’t know what to expect heading into the season,” said veteran Milford assistant coach Dana Olson. “We have a very young team, and we’re relying on sophomores and juniors to help carry this team. With the new MIAA rules, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, and we only had one scrimmage, so we weren’t really sure of how things were going to turn out, but I’m happy with the way the guys performed. Sure we made some silly mistakes and committed some penalties, but we’ll work on correcting them as the season moves forward.”

As the estimated crowd of approximately 2,000 spectators looked on, the Scarlet Hawks struck on the first play of the contest

On the game’s first play from scrimmage at their own 39-yard line, the Scarlet Hawks drew first blood and grabbed a 7-0 lead just :12 into the contest. On a backwards pass from Loscerbo to sophomore reserve quarterback Logan Snaddon, who fired a perfect strike downfield to Rosenberg, who raced into the end zone untouched for the 7-0 lead.

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“That first play really set the tone of the game,” said Rosenberg. “We’re a young team and we really worked hard in the off-season. This play is one of coach’s favorites and Logan (Snaddon) just threw it perfectly. They (Framingham) were caught off guard, bit into the coverage and we just came out and executed.”

Loscerbo, who was intercepted by Jesus Battista on the Scarlet Hawks’ second possession, recovered nicely. Failing to capitalize on prime field position, the Flyers were forced to punt and the Scarlet Hawks immediately cashed in. After consecutive 24-yard rushes by Loscerbo and Wanderson Dos Santos, the Scarlet Hawks capped off a quick five play, 66-yard drive with a 15-yard scamper into the end zone by sophomore running back Kaua Reiss with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter increasing the lead to 13-0.

Another defensive stop allowed the Scarlet Hawks to work with favorable field position. On a five-play, 45-yard scoring drive, Rosenberg hauled in his second touchdown reception of the quarter.

On a first down from the Flyer 32-yard line, Loscerbo lofted a fade down the right side as Rosenberg drew separation, hauled in the reception at the 15, and waltzed into the end zone untouched with :14 remaining as the Scarlet Hawks increased the lead to 20-0.

“We really spent a lot of time in the film room,” said Rosenberg. “Studying what we do and watching what we do on film, and how to work on those mistakes has been huge for us, and whatever time we didn’t spend on the field, we studied in the film room.”

As the Flyers continued to struggle offensively, the Scarlet Hawks overcame penalties and miscues to engineer a five play scoring drive that spanned 56 yards. Following a 23-yard scramble by Loscerbo, Rosenberg snatched his third touchdown reception of the contest.

On a first down from the Flyer 27, Loscerbo fired a strike that split a pair of Flyer defenders that Rosenberg hauled in at the 10, and raced into the end zone, increasing the Scarlet Hawk lead to 27-0 with 9:33 remaining in the first half.

“That was probably his best pass of the night,” said Olson about Loscerbo’s second touchdown pass to Rosenberg. “He split the pass right through a pair of defenders and hit (Rosenberg) right on target and he was able to go right into the end zone.”

Capping the first-half scoring, Loscerbo guided the Scarlet Hawks to a six-play drive that spanned 48 yards. Following a pair of rushes, Loscerbo fired his third touchdown pass of the contest, a 23-yard strike to sophomore tight end Jaxsen Lindsay in the back of the end zone with 5:20 remaining in the first half for the 34-0 edge.

With the game well in hand, the Flyers managed to avert the shutout with a scoring drive to open the second half. Nick Duarte, a senior running back, who was converted into a quarterback, initiated a 12-play scoring drive that spanned 88 yards. On a fourth and six from the Wildcat 21, Duarte spotted Battista in the back of the end zone for the touchdown with 5:49 in the third quarter.

Only 56 seconds later, the Scarlet Hawks countered with a quick two-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Following a 29-yard gain by Reiss, Cam Zicherman blitzed through the middle of the field and blitzed into the end zone with 4:45 remaining for the 41-7 lead.

As Olson emptied his bench, the Scarlet Hawks added an additional score as Dante Capuzziello followed a host of blockers and scampered into the end zone with 9:45 remaining in the contest. A successful two-point conversion by Snaddon accounted for the 49-7 lead as the Scarlet Hawks emerged with the dominating win.

Defensively, Dos Santos led the way, recording a team-high 21 tackles.

“Wanderson (Dos Santos) has tremendous speed, agility and he just reacts off the ball,” said Olson. “He was all over the place making tackles and stopping their key guys. He had a great game on both sides of the ball.”

Despite last night’s convincing victory, Olson is well aware that there’s plenty of work to be done.

“It’s a great way to open the season with a win like this against (Framingham),” said Olson. “We’re a very young team, and we had plenty of sophomores and juniors step it up. We made some mistakes, dropped some passes and committed too many penalties, and we’re going to have to fix these issues as we prepare for King Philip (next week).”

The Scarlet Hawks will face a big test when they travel to face defending Division 3 state champion and Hockomock rival KP next Friday night.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Loscerbo-to-Rosenberg connection keys Milford football in opening win