SETTING THE SCENE: Milford, seeking to win a second playoff game in a season for the first time in school history, will return to the gridiron as the D1, Region 4 top-seeded Eagles welcome No. 9 Mason. The Eagles used a strong second half to cruise past Fairfield in the playoff opener, while the Comets earned a shutout of ECC foe Lebanon to set-up this regional quarterfinal contest. Milford will count on star RB Nathan Webster to lead its offense against a tough Comet defense. The Eagle D will look to continue its second half surge that has seen them allow just 50 points over the last six and a half games, including a trio of shutouts.

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The match-up by the numbers

A look at the Milford-Mason match-up by the numbers (per game averages & conference team rankings):

• Milford scoring offense (2^nd-36.9) vs. Mason scoring defense (3^rd-15.9)

• Milford total offense (2^nd-371.2) vs. Mason total defense (3^rd-209.0)

• Milford rushing offense (2^nd-146.4) vs. Mason rushing defense (3^rd-67.2)

• Milford passing offense (3^rd-224.9) vs. Mason passing defense (9^th-141.8)
• Mason scoring offense (8^th-16.2) vs. Milford scoring defense (2^nd-15.3)

• Mason total offense (9^th-231.7) vs. Milford total defense (4^th-270.6)

• Mason rushing offense (7^tht-123.9) vs. Milford rushing defense (2^nd-75.9)

• Mason passing offense (9^th-107.8) vs. Milford passing defense (6^th-194.7)

A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:
Rushing Yards: Nathan Webster (1231, 19 TDs)
Passing Yards: Luke Brand (2049, 13 TDs)
Receiving Yards: Reece Davis (838, 7 TDs)
Tackles: Andrew Littrell (106)
Sacks: Hunter Gulaskey/Tofa Luani (5.5)
Interceptions: Robby Mickler/Will Reid (3)
Kicking Points: Mason Cooper (56)
Punting Average: Jacob Luecke (40.8)
Kickoff Return Yards: Reece Davis (205, 0 TDs)
Punt Return Yards: Reece Davis (192, 1 TD)

A look at Mason’s statistical leaders:
Rushing Yards: Sky Talley (319, 1 TD)
Passing Yards: Quinn Brown (621, 6 TDs)
Receiving Yards: Colin Billhorn (308, 2 TDs)
Tackles: Kai Woolfolk (101)
Sacks: Liam McManes (4.0)
Interceptions: Kyle Wilson (3)
Kicking Points: Max Gogul (38)
Punting Average: Quinn Brown (35.7)
Kickoff Return Yards: Branden Dunn (203)
Punt Return Yards: Branden Dunn (47)

Notable 2023 Performances

Week 1

• Newcomer Nathan Webster made an immediate impact in his Milford debut in Week 1 vs. Edgewood. The senior transfer from the Atlanta-area and younger brother of former Eagle RB Natwan Webster rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns in his debut.
• Senior Max Hardoerfer had the biggest play of his Milford career late in the Edgewood contest as he scooped up a fumble forced by Daniel Walker and rumbled 72 yards for a touchdown.

Week 2

• Senior Reece Davis was a dual threat in a big way in Milford's wild win over Lebanon. He opened the game with an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, then hauled in a receiving TD late in the first quarter. He capped the night with the game-winning TD reception with 34 seconds remaining. Reece finished the night with nine catches for 130 yards, along with 175 yards in returns.
• In just his second start at QB, junior Luke Brand had a big night at Lebanon, connecting on three TD passes. He finished the night 20 of 37 for 240 yards passing.
• Junior LB Christian Felix made his first big impact play of the season on defense against Lebanon with a sack/forced fumble that set up an Eagles' touchdown. He finished with three tackles on top of the strip sack.

Week 3

• Luke Brand had a record-setting performance in the Eagles' big win over rival Loveland. For the night, Brand set a Milford school record with 423 passing yards, connecting on 34-of-46 passes and a pair of touchdowns. He also added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
• Senior K Mason Cooper connected on all seven of his extra point attempts, as well as his first career field goal, a 31-yard try against Loveland. He also kicked off a total of eight times with four resulting in touchbacks.
• Reeve Davis topped 100 yards receiving for the second straight game against Loveland, hauling in 10 passes for a career-high 172 yards.
• Nathan Webster continued to make his presence felt in the Loveland win, totaling 127 yards for his second 100-yard plus game of the year.

Week 4

• In a big win over Anderson and its high-powered offense, the foursome of Andrew Littrell, Tofa Luani, Cole Miller and Nathan Webster all played starring roles. The Eagles' linebacker threesome of Littrell (17), Miller (17) and Luani (14) combined for 48 tackles on the night as the Milford defense withstood 108 offensive snaps by Anderson. Littrell also had a sack and forced a pick-six interception return with a fierce rush of the quarterback. Luani tagged on 1.5 tackles for loss, blocked a punt, and scored three rushing touchdowns on offense. Webster matched Luani with three rushing scores, while finishing with 170 yards on the ground.

Week 5

• Two under the radar seniors and Milford's rapidly improving junior quarterback played key pieces in helping the Eagles improve to 5-0 with a win over Kings. Pressed into service as the main running back, Ashton Warther finished with 172 all-purpose yards, made up of 86 rushing, 61 receiving, and 25 in kick return yards. He also scored his first TD of the season. Senior WR J.P. Naylor was QB Luke Brand’s favorite target on the night, catching eight passes for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brand was phenomenal under center once again for the Eagles, completing 22-of-28 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns.

Week 6

• A pair of seniors came up with key performances in helping Milford improve to 6-0 with a win over Little Miami. Robby Mickler came up with a pair of interceptions from his safety position and was part of a defensive effort which allowed a then season-low 219 yards and recorded its first shutout since last season's playoff opener. Nathan Webster topped 100 yards rushing for the third time in the five games he's played this season, finishing with 142 against the Panthers. He also scored three rushing touchdowns.

Week 7

• QB Luke Brand and junior WR Ethan Melgard, both played key roles in Milford's Homecoming win over Walnut Hills. Brand was outstanding once again, completing an efficient 14-of-19 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding a rushing touchdown. Melgard finished with a career-best 70 receiving yards on three catches, including a 33-yard touchdown.

Week 8

• Milford's huge ECC win over Winton Woods had many key performances, but those by Mason Cooper, Tofa and Toto Luani, and Nathan Webster rose to the top. In a pressure-packed situation, Cooper connected on the only points of the night, a game-winning 22-yard field goal with just over two minutes to play. Tofa Luani, had 1.5 sacks, including a forced fumble on a strip, along with eight total tackles and a quarterback hurry. Toto Luani, a senior DB, led all Milford players with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Webster grinded out 98 yards on 22 carries against the ECC's top-ranked defense, the most by an opposing back against Winton Woods this season.

Week 9

• Three key seniors were impact performers in helping Milford improve to 9-0 with a win over West Clermont. LB Tofa Luani led a defense that posted its third shutout in the last four games with a game-high 10 tackles, including three for loss. Two of the three TFL were sacks. RB Ashton Warther provided 88 yards from scrimmage on 18 touches. He rushed for 50 yards on nine carries and added 38 yards receiving on nine receptions. RB Nathan Webster picked up his fifth 100-yard game of the year, finishing with 141. He also scored three touchdowns for the fourth time this season.

Week 10

• Junior super sub Caden Bailey made the most of his first career start at quarterback, connecting on 18-of-29 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns. He's played extensively as a wide receiver this season entering week 10. Senior linebacker Andrew Littrell had a big Senior Night, finishing with 14 tackles, including 11 in the first half. It marks his third game this season with 10+ tackles. Senior JP Naylor contributed in all three phases of the game to help the Eagles secure a perfect regular season. As a fill-in starter on defense, he contributed five tackles, including one for loss. He delivered seven on-target snaps as the Eagles' long snapper and logged several plays on offense at wide receiver.
• Slightly overlooked in the night of so much history being made, Eagle head coach Tom Grippa walked away with the 225^th win of his long coaching career and his 50^th since taking over the Milford program in 2017.

Playoffs Week 1

• Nathan Webster vaulted himself up on a pair of Milford season leader lists against Fairfield. His 1,231 yards rank second in school history. His 19 rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth. Webster also becomes the Eagles’ first 1,000 yard rusher since Cameron Kells (1,607 yards) in 2018.
• The 333 rushing yards against Fairfield were the most since a 456-yard explosion against Loveland two years ago. That night was also the last time that two Milford runners went over 100 yards in the same game. That night the honors belonged to Natwan Webster and Tofa Luani. Against Fairfield, Webster rushed for 215 yards and Ashton Warther added 111.
• Finally, Webster becomes the first Milford back to crack 200 yards since Cameron Kells went for 206 against Kings in 2018.