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Eagles Thump Turpin In Finale; Prepare For Playoff Announcement

Posted on: October 27, 2018

Milford’s defense kept Turpin’s high-powered offense in check and Jake Ayler had a Senior Night to remember with three touchdowns as the Eagles wrapped up the regular season in style with a 33-7 win over Turpin. The Eagle D limited the Spartans to a season-low 121 total yards (over 250 below their season average), while Ayler found the end zone as a rusher, a receiver and a punt returner and finished with 183 all-purpose yards. The win pushes Milford to 8-2 on for the season, with the Eagles playoff fate to be announced on Sunday. Early projections show the Eagles as a No. 4 seed with a home game against Fairfield.

 

First Quarter

  • With rain coming down on yet another Friday night, the Eagles wasted little time in taking an early lead. Two key completions by Hunter Johnson to Ayler kept the 12-play, 70-yard drive alive and it was only fitting the duo connected for the final 15 yards and a 7-0 Milford lead just over three minutes in.

 

Second Quarter

  • Ayler was the key again to Milford’s next scoring drive, finishing off the trip down the field with a six-yard rushing score. After converting a third down with a 12-yard rush, Ayler hauled in a 28-yard reception to the Turpin nine three plays before his score.
  • The Eagle defense made a big play the next time Turpin touched the ball and it was the older Johnson brother, Hayden coming up big. The senior LB intercepted Turpin’s Justin Silverstein, handing the ball back to the Eagles at the Spartan 33.
  • It didn’t take long for Milford to take advantage as Hunter Johnson connected with Ayler for an 11-yard reception, paving the way for a 22-yard sprint to the end zone by Cameron Kells that made it 20-0 Eagles at the 7:25
  • Milford had a chance to go ahead by more but a promising drive stalled inside the Turpin 10.
  • By halftime, the Spartans had compiled just 47 yards of total offense. Standout QB Silverstein, who left the game after halftime, finished just 5 of 15 for 25 yards.

 

Third Quarter

  • Milford was a little stagnant to start the second half and it took another big play by Ayler to spark the home team. With 4:30 remaining, Ayler hauled in a Turpin punt, followed a convoy of blockers around the right end and danced his way 56 yards for his first career punt return touchdown.

 

Fourth Quarter

  • Turpin finally found the end zone early in the fourth, capping an impressive 12-play, 67-yard drive. Spartan RB Reece Evans dove in from a yard out to cut the Milford lead to 27-7 with 10:51 to play.
  • The following drive, which produced the final score of the night, was vintage Kells as he tallied all but 11 yards on a 69-yard scoring drive. The senior found paydirt for the second time on the night when he pushed in from a yard out at the 7:23 point.

 

Notable

  • Kells finished with his eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the year. He ends the regular season with 1,471 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns, both the highest marks in the ECC.
  • Ayler finished with a season-high 114 yards receiving. He topped the 100-yard mark for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career.
  • Ayler became the third Eagle this season to return a punt for a touchdown, joining Dustin Laudermilk and Hayden Oberschlake (blocked punt return).
  • The three punt returns for touchdowns in a season are the most by a Eagle team in at least the last 15 years.
  • Hunter Johnson threw for 157 yards, passing the 2,000 mark for the year (2,077). He joins former teammate Blake King as the only two Milford signal callers to top 2,000 yards in at least 15 years.
  • Hayden Johnson led the defense with 10 tackles, including two for loss and an interception.

 

Click here for the final Milford-Turpin game stats.

 

Up Next

  • Milford closes the regular season 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the ECC for the second straight year. The Eagles have clinched a playoff berth again this year and will learn their match-up on Sunday. Turpin closes the year 6-4, 4-3 ECC.
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