'It's a great win for Milford:' Defense steps up as unbeaten Eagles beat Anderson, 56-35

MILFORD, Ohio – Tom Grippa knew his defense would give up plenty of yards and points to Anderson Friday night.

The Milford head football coach was pleased with how his Eagles' defense responded with big plays against one of the city's most electric offenses after struggling at times through the team’s first three games.

Those key plays, combined with an effective game from Milford’s own explosive offense, led the Eagles to a 56-35 win over the Raptors in a game that was part of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.

Milford has started 4-0 for the second year in a row after never having done that before. The Eagles are in first place in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, tied with Winton Woods (4-0, 3-0), which beat Turpin Friday night.

“It’s a great win for Milford,” Grippa said. “We’re 4-0, second time in school history. We want to keep it rolling. Tough game next week at Kings. We got our work cut out for us. Our league is pretty tough.”

Milford and Anderson came into the game having played the same two teams, Loveland and Lebanon, in ECC play. The Milford defense had not played as well as the Raptors ‘D’ in those games.

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In their showdown Friday, Anderson’s defense did better in yardage given up. Milford gained 376 yards but allowed 553 to Anderson’s high-octane attack.

But Milford’s defense made several huge plays to secure a win over the Raptors for the second straight year.

“I feel great,” said Milford senior Nathan Webster. “We had a great week of practice. Everyone was locked in watching film. Find the little tendencies, find out everything you can about them. It was packed. First home game. It was great. We came out with the win."

The Eagles forced two key turnovers and blocked a punt deep in Raptors territory to set up a short touchdown drive. The Eagles also recorded four sacks in the fourth quarter when the Raptors were trying to come back.

Milford stopped Anderson five times on fourth down, several at key moments.

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“I’m really proud of my defensive staff,” Grippa said. “They had a great game plan. That’s a great offense. They score on everybody, Thirty-five will be the lowest of the year for them except maybe when they play Winton Woods. But that’s an explosive offense and they did a really nice job. You can’t look at stats all the time. They dominated us in the stats, but we won the scoreboard.”

Turning point

Hunter Gulaskey’s 40-yard interception return gave Milford a 21-14 lead in the second quarter. Milford pressured Anderson quarterback Justice Burnam into a bad pass, and Gulaskey grabbed it before running untouched down the sideline.

After Gulaskey’s score, Milford stopped Anderson inside its own 30 when the Raptors decided to risk a short field by going for it on fourth down, and the Eagles scored on the ensuing short field to lead 28-14.

Play of the game

Luke Brand’s 54-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Reece Davis, followed by a Mason Cooper PAT, tied the game at 14 in the second quarter and gave the Eagles a lot of momentum.

Players of the game

Tofa Luani, Milford: The senior rushed for three touchdowns. He had 14 tackles on defense including a sack, and was named the MVP of the game for the Skyline Showdown.

“It’s a big win for us,” he said. “I’m blessed to be with this team. We just take each week one by one. We want to go 1-0 each week. We got to come together as a team and get It done.”

Nathan Webster, Milford: He rushed for 170 yards on 19 carries, starting Milford’s offensive game with a 59-yard run to set up his first TD. He scored from 45 yards out to put Milford up 49-28. He had three TDs on the night.

“My coaches told me all week I might not get the big runs early in the game,” Webster said. “They said ‘be patient and it would come to you.’”

Hunter Gulaskey, Milford: In addition to the interception return, he had a key sack in the fourth quarter during Anderson’s comeback attempt:

Cole Miller, Milford: He had nine solo tackles and 17 total.

Justice Burnam, Anderson: He threw for 446 yards.

Brodey Berg, Anderson: He had 12 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 67 and three scores.

“We got just enough pressure and we got good coverage,” Grippa said. “Their quarterback run plays are really tough and we really emphasized stopping those plays. (Burnam) is a really good player. We worked on stopping him rushing the football.”

What’s next

Milford plays at Kings, who lost to Loveland 31-20 Friday and is 3-1, 2-1 in the ECC. Anderson hosts Walnut Hills, who is 0-4, 0-3 after losing 45-6 to West Clermont.

Milford 56, Anderson 35

Anderson           14          7            7            7-35

Milford 7           21          21          7-56

A – Piening 2 run (Nelson run)

M – Webster 1 run (Cooper kick)

A – Berg 6 run (pass failed)

M – Davis 54 pass from Brand (Cooper kick)

M – Gulaskey 42 interception return (Cooper kick)

M – Tofa Luani 2 run (Cooper kick)

A – Berg 41 pass from Burnam (Goethe kick)

M – Tofa Luani 3 run (Cooper kick)

M – Tofa Luani 5 run (Cooper kick)

A – Berg 3 run (Goethe kick)

M – Webster 45run (Cooper kick)

A – Berg 1 run (Goethe kick)

M – Webster 4 run (Cooper kick)

Records: A 3-1 (2-1 ECC); M 4-0 (3-0).

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Defense steps up as unbeaten Eagles beat Anderson, 56-35