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Dover's Milligan excels in a leading role for Senators

By Andy Walter
Posted 11/24/22

DOVER — Tysean Milligan remembers looking up and seeing the zero on Sussex Central High’s side of the scoreboard Saturday night.

It looked pretty good to the Dover High senior …

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Dover's Milligan excels in a leading role for Senators

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DOVER — Tysean Milligan remembers looking up and seeing the zero on Sussex Central High’s side of the scoreboard Saturday night.

It looked pretty good to the Dover High senior linebacker.

The last time the Senators left this field, in October, there was a ‘21’ under the Golden Knights’ score and the zero belonged to Dover.

“Sussex Central was a very good team, everybody knew that,” said Milligan. “People thought Central was going to win, which made that zero feel way better. It just felt good.”

Even better than the shutout was the fact that the No. 6 Senators’ 20-0 upset of third-seeded Central sent Dover to the DIAA Class 2A semifinals for the second year in a row.

The Senators (7-4) will host No. 7 St. Georges (5-6) on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the right to play in the state finals on Dec. 10 at Delaware Stadium.

For second-year Dover coach Chip Knapp, it has been particularly gratifying to see players like Milligan step up into leading roles this fall.

A year ago, Milligan was the backup behind Senator standouts Sir William Bauer and Ethan Roth. But, this season, Milligan was named the Class 2A, District II Defensive Player of the Year.

He posted a team-high 113 tackles in the regular season.

“It was kind of his turn,” said Knapp. “He was untested but he’s passed the test with flying colors.

“He’s the classic story of a guy working hard. When he gets his opportunity, he takes advantage of it. Coming into the off-season training, he was one of the hardest workers that we had.

“He’s someone we can point to for future players of how the process typically works. Hard work meets opportunity and that’s where the success happens.”

Knapp said Milligan was pretty impressive when he put up 21 tackles in Dover’s first game against Sussex Central. He also had 17 stops against Salesianum.

The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Milligan is at his best in stopping the run, said Knapp.

“He’s tough,” said Knapp. “He’s very strong. And he has taken his play to the next level on the mental side of the game.

“He’s reading his keys and you can see that on the game film. He’s bought into our system. He’s put it all together — the physical, the mental and also the intangibles. He’s been a great leader and a great role model for the rest of the team.”

Milligan would like to think he learned a lot from watching those older players last season. He said he learned to be patient and let the play develop.

“They gave me advice on what to do,” said Milligan. “I watched film with them, I worked out with them. They helped me out a lot.”

Being a starter now means that Milligan can have a bigger impact on the game, naturally.

He said he likes that feeling.

When fellow linebacker Nasir Snipes-Guzman had to miss five games because of an eligibility issue, Milligan tried to help fill the void.

“I feel like I can control more what happens, the outcome of games,” Milligan said about being a starter. “I know if I have a great game, it will help everybody. When I make plays, it helps my team’s morale.

“Everybody seemed down,” he said about the first meeting with Sussex Central. “I tried my best to get everybody’s energy up.”

The fact that the Senators came back and beat the Golden Knights in the rematch was special for Milligan. Snipes-Guzman made his comeback in that game after being cleared by the DIAA.

Earning a shutout was icing on the cake. It was Dover’s third shutout of the season.

“That felt really good,” said Milligan. “Especially with No. 7 back, that felt really good playing with him. The whole defense’s energy was up. We didn’t let them score, that felt good.”

Extra points

Dover is in the state semifinals for the fourth time since 2013. The Senators have lost the last three appearances. ... St. Georges went to the state finals in the old Division II in both 2013 and ‘15 and the semifinals in ‘16. But this is the Hawks’ first trip to the semis since moving up to the large-school division. ... 302 Sports will air the Dover-St. Georges game but it will be through the NFHS Network with a subscription required.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at walter@iniusa.org. Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.

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