News Archive
Eagles Pull Out Late Win In Thriller At Lebanon
Another year, another epic, last minute battle between Milford and Lebanon. For the third time in four meetings as members of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, the Eagles and Warriors battled until the waning seconds. This time, Milford’s Reece Davis scored the game-winner with 34 seconds left to secure the Eagles’ dramatic 34-29 win during Week 2 of the 2023 season.
It appeared Milford would be in position for a comfortable victory as a Luke Brand to Ethan Melgard TD toss early in the third quarter pushed the visitors in front by a 28-3 cushion. But Lebanon countered with a pair of quick scores; first on a short TD throw and less than a minute later on a perfectly executed halfback pass following a recovered onside kick. Lebanon scored twice more in the fourth quarter, the final on a 70-yard bomb to take a 29-28 lead with just four minutes to go.
The Eagles wouldn’t stay down as Brand engineered a methodical, but quick drive downfield to score the go-ahead TD. Covering 11 plays and 69 yards over 1:44 and featuring several quick and short completions, the winning drive was capped by a Brand to Davis 14-yard strike. DB Tim Dick sealed the triumph with an interception on the first play of the Lebanon’s last-ditch drive.
But the night belonged to Davis, as he finished with 130 yards receiving and another 175 in return yardage. He ignited the Milford crowd early, taking a punt 89 yards to the house for his second career return TD and first on a punt. Davis connected with Brand later in the first quarter for his first of two receiving scores on the night.
Nathan Webster paced the Eagle ground game with 71 hard-earned yards on 20 carries, with Tofa Luani finding paydirt on a short TD out of Milford’s heavy offensive set. Brand connected on 20 of 37 throws for 240 yards and the three TDs. Robby Mickler paced the defense with 10 tackles, with Will Reid joining Dick in the Eagle interception club for the night. Junior Christian Felix made his first impact play of the season in the second with a quarterback sack and forced fumble that set up an Eagle TD.
Milford is back at it next week with the final of three straight road games to open the season, travelling to rival Loveland.
Click here for the final game stats.
