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Eagles Thump Western Hills, Move Into Second Round of Playoffs
Senior QB Austin Hardin accounted for six first half touchdowns, leading Milford to a convincing 62-16 win over Western Hills in the first round of the OHSAA Playoffs. After falling behind in the first two minutes of the game, the Eagles reeled off 56 consecutive points to overwhelm the Mustangs and move on to a second round playoff contest next Friday at Elder.
The Mustangs featured a super athletic QB in senior Omar Beckley, who on the game’s seventh snap, eluded the Milford defense and raced 69 yards for a touchdown and a quick 8-0 West High lead. But Milford would score on all six of its first half possessions to take an insurmountable 42-8 halftime edge.
In the first quarter, Hardin found Reece Davis from nine yards out and Natwan Webster from 12 yards away for a pair of TDs. The second quarter was more of the same, first with Hardin going up top to Cam Livingston for a 33-yard TD strike. Hardin fooled nearly everyone inside Eagle Stadium Powered by Cullen Electric on the next Milford drive, turning a perfectly executed read option into his first career rushing TD, a two-yard burst.
Hardin connected on TD throws number four and five in a 2:30 span of the second quarter. First, he found Webster for a second time as the powerful back rumbled 17 yards to paydirt. Davis hauled in the final Hardin TD of the night on a 38-yard strike.
The second half, with a running clock throughout, saw the Eagles tack on a trio of rushing touchdowns for the final scoring margin. Webster hit paydirt for the third time on the night early in the third quarter with a six-yard run. Then it was Ashton Warther’s turn as he scampered in from eight yards out.
Following a Western Hills TD pass early in the fourth quarter, back-up running back Chace Washington showed his skills with a 31-yard scoring run for his first varsity TD.
The Eagles put up 398 yards of total offense on the night, led by Hardin’s 263 yards on 18 of 22 passing. Davis hauled in four passes for 85 yards, while Luke Ray had five catches for 50. Washington actually paced the Eagles ground game with 59 yards on just three carries.
After yielding 80 yards on the first Mustang drive of the night, the Eagle D finished the night allowing just 204 total. The Eagles were turnover hungry all night with Bryce Burleson and Ryan Crompton snagging interceptions and Magnus Boben and Maximus Hardoerfer each forcing fumbles.
Click here for final game stats.
