Wayne overwhelms Centerville on ESPNU
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By Steve Helwagen (Bucknuts.com)
At 4-3, Wayne and Braxton Miller needed a win at Centerville. They got it.
It has been a rough season for Huber Heights Wayne and standout senior quarterback Braxton Miller, who pledged to Ohio State back in June.
Miller suffered a high ankle sprain in Wayne’s season-opening loss to Cincinnati Moeller, a game where the Warriors blew a two-touchdown lead. He then missed a Week 2 loss to Canton McKinley in a game staged basically for him at Ohio Stadium.
Miller returned, but a third loss to GWOC rival Springfield put Wayne’s Division I playoff hopes on the critical list. The Warriors were a distant 13th in the Region 4 playoff standings heading into Thursday night’s showdown at Centerville.
But on Thursday night, Miller flashed the form that led several recruiting services to rank him among the nation’s top three quarterbacks as he led Wayne to a critical victory that kept the Warriors dreams of a playoff bid alive.
Miller completed 18 of 24 passes for a season-high 225 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in his team’s 34-10 rout of host Centerville. The game was televised nationally by ESPNU, marking Wayne’s first win in three national TV games this season.
The Elks, led by OSU verbal DT Michael Bennett, were 6-0 just two weeks ago but after back-to-back losses to Clayton Northmont and Wayne they may need a strong finish to qualify for the playoffs, themselves.
Wayne’s defense came to play in support of Miller as the Warriors held Centerville’s option offense to just 159 yards total offense.
Wayne capitalized on a fumbled Centerville punt to go up 7-0 early on a 7-yard touchdown run by Anthone Taylor.
Miller then hit Marshall Peterson for a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0 late in the first quarter.
After Centerville’s Chris Kuzma hit a 19-yard field goal, Wayne junior Jordan Morgan returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Moments later, Wayne’s Teven Williams returned a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown and what became a 27-3 halftime lead for the visiting Warriors.
Wayne then drove for the clinching score late in the third quarter with Miller hitting favorite target Armani Miller for the 9-yard touchdown and a 34-3 lead. Those two had hooked up on a 30-yard toss to set up the touchdown.
Centerville quarterback Jon Overstreet capped the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Bennett worked primarily as an offensive tackle for the Elks, although he is ticketed to play on the defensive line at Ohio State. Bennett tallied five tackles in limited work on defense. Afterwards, he and Miller shared a hug.
We caught up with Miller after the game. He revealed he is still only “85 percent” in his recovery from the ankle sprain. Unlike past weeks where he has hardly run the ball, Miller had seven carries for 36 yards in this game.
He also mentioned how he plans to graduate from Wayne in December and enroll at OSU in January, allowing him to go through spring football with the Buckeyes.
This marked the second year in a row Miller has had a big game to help his team defeat Centerville. Longtime Elks coach Ron Ullery joked afterwards, “The Big Ten can have him.”
For the year, Miller has now completed 68 of 138 passes (49.3 percent) for 939 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has 362 yards rushing on 56 carries (6.5 average) and six touchdowns.
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