If you're a defensive back, this is a typical of play that can cause a season's worth of nightmares.
In the third quarter of last Friday's 41-20 win at Milford, the Black Knights were in a third down and three situation from the Hawks' 48-yard line.
Time to give the ball to senior Malachi Baugh.
Time for the defense to panic.
Baugh found himself one-on-one with the defensive back on the right side of the field. He then gave the type of move usually reserved for Madden at the hands of a controller wizard. He gave a series of moves, and then found himself sprinting into the end zone for his third touchdown of the night and eighth of the season.
He had other runs of 72 on the first play of the game and a 12-yard run, both in the first quarter.
"Man, I didn't think the move was that good. first of all," said Baugh."I was tired, my legs were tired and couldn't get a crisp move. I think I just caught his feet flat and just came around him. I was surprised he didn't come around, and I just turned on the jets."
Don't expect any bravado statements from the speedy 5-9, 185-pounder. Instead, he knows he wouldn't be in the end zone unless there were blocks thrown in front of him.
"It was great blocking by Pat Renke and the whole right side of the line, and Dom (Evangelista) came around with the pull," said Baugh. "I just saw a hole and just had to turn on the jets. All the credit to the line. They do everything for me. I'm so proud of them. This is a great team."
Head coach Greg Burke knows when Baugh gets the ball, chances are he is headed to the end zone.
"He can really hit it," said Burke. "If he hits it, he's gone."
The fact is just one of many weapons 3-0 Stoughton will take into today's 3:45 p.m. season opener against 3-0 Oliver Ames. Stoughton can beat with speed to the outside, and then use the strength of their running game.
As the Tigers found out while studying the Black Knights this week, you have to pick which one you have to stop and then hope the other one doesn't hurt too much.
After watching him destroy the Milton defense, Milford head coach Joe Todd decided to shore up the inside and stop fullback Joe Girolamo. The junior did have a touchdown for the last score of the game, but the Black Knights exploited that strategy by using Lennox Green, Jovani Pires and Baugh to the outside.
"(No.) 25 is a great, great running back with great speed," said Todd of Baugh. "They have talent to hit you inside. We're nervous about him (Girolamo) and he didn't carry the ball until the end of the game. You have to pick your poison. If they were going to beat us, they were going to run outside and they did."
Burke wasn't surprised Milford went for stopping the inside game first.
"They decided to take away the fullback, which was the deal, but we can't take away the outside stuff," he said. "We ran a lot of inside plays (against Milton.) They were making it hard for him (Girolamo), they were putting another guy in there."
And then, the Black Knights have the option of going to the air, especially with a play that basically has senior quarterback Stanley Sajous throwing the ball as far as he can and Baugh chasing it down. Stoughton did that twice for touchdowns against Pembroke in the season-open.
GAME NOTES - This will be the Black Knights' first home game of the season and the first played on natural grass...OA is the No. 1 ranked team in the playoff ranking for Division 3 Southwest, while Stoughton is tied with Hopkinton...Both teams are 1-0 in the Davenport Division and the two favorites for the league title...Both teams have wins over Pembroke this year. OA has a 26-8 over Hingham, in a divisional battle. The Harbormen are third in the ratings...The Black Knights' secondary will face a tough test in trying to contain OA quarterback Nick Cidado, who had three touchdowns in a 37-6 win over Foxborough last Saturday.
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