Millbrook football ousts Cardinal Gibbons in playoff battle of Raleigh heavyweights
The last time Cardinal Gibbons competed in a playoff football game in the rain, it paraded the ultimate hardware back to campus after a victory in the state title game.
Millbrook turned the tables on the Crusaders Thursday night in a second round NCHSAA 4A playoff game, and did so in dramatic fashion, coming from two scores down in the second half to earn a 42-30 win.
Thanks to Southern Alamance’s win over New Hanover, Millbrook, ranked No. 12 in the NCHSAA East bracket, will host No. 13 Southern Alamance in the third round next weekend.
The Wildcats struck first on a 40-yard strike from Mason Fortune to Ty Broughton in the first quarter.
Ryan Ziegler rumbled across the goal line after a 75-yard connection from Whitt Newbauer to Sam Dodd for Cardinal Gibbons to close out the first quarter, and the Crusaders went ahead early in the second quarter on a 27-yard completion from Newbauer to Landon Lawrence.
The see-saw battle continued when Fortune hit Xavier Pugh for 25 yards and a score, only to have the Crusaders take a 20-14 lead into halftime on another Newbauer-to-Dodd touchdown.
The Crusaders ran their lead to 27-14 in the third quarter before the Wildcats found a spark. Starting from his own 6-yard line, Mason Fortune marched Millbrook down the field and hit David Santiago for an 8-yard TD to cut the Cardinal Gibbons lead to one score. On the next Crusaders possession, Newbauer was intercepted, and Millbrook tacked on another TD, added an extra point and went back in front by one.
Following a Cardinal Gibbons field goal — a 41-yard bomb from Daniel Monti — Pugh again found the end zone for Millbrook to put the visitors in front for good. The Wildcats converted another turnover — this time a fumbled snap — into another touchdown to cap the scoring and secure a spot in the third round.
Around the region
In other Triangle matchups, No. 3 Wake Forest advanced to the third round after a convincing, 45-21 win over Leesville Road. Top-seeded Hillside kept rolling, as well, edging Apex 46-43. Hillside will host No. 8 Pine Forest, which upended Holly Springs in Round 2 on Thursday, 16-10.
Jordan of Durham kept its upset train chugging Thursday. One week after the No. 23 Falcons overcame No. 10 Jack Britt, they added a win over No. 7 Pinecrest on Thursday to advance to the third round. They’ll travel to face No. 2 New Bern next week.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Millbrook football ousts Cardinal Gibbons in playoff battle of Raleigh heavyweights."