SETTING THE SCENE: Seeking its first road victory of the season, the Milford High School football team is back on the gridiron Friday night as they head to Withrow for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Eagles enter the match-up with a 2-5 overall record and a 1-3 mark inside the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Withrow meanwhile will be after its first ECC triumph of the campaign and brings an overall mark of 1-6 into the tilt.

A LOOK BACK: Oct. 7 at Kings: A huge first half scoring outburst by Kings proved to be too much as the Knights handed Milford a 55-28 Eastern Cincinnati Conference loss on Oct. 7. The highlight of the night for the Eagles was clearly the fourth quarter as they scored three touchdowns to cut into Kings’ final winning margin.

After a not so good first half, the Eagles were much more productive after the break with four scores, including two rushing touchdowns by senior quarterback Tyler Smith. Chase Witte got Milford on the board midway through the third quarter when he dashed 26 yards for a score. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Smith found a wide-open Robbie McQueary who broke loose for a 41-yard catch and run. Smith closed out the scoring, sandwiching a pair of TD runs around Kings’ final score of the night. His second jaunt was a biggie as he raced 55 yards to paydirt with less than 20 seconds to play.

Despite the margin in scoring, Milford had one of its best rushing games of the season as a team, plowing for 243 yards on the ground. Smith led the charge for the Eagles, gathering his first career 100-yard rushing game as he finished a game-high 148 yards.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: A look at Withrow, Milford’s 2016 Week 8 opponent:

• Friday, Oct. 14 at Withrow, 7:00 p.m.
• 2016 Record: 1-6, 0-4 ECC (RV Division II area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Offensive Player: Junior RB Milyke Brown (181 yards receiving, 1 TD)
• Top Defensive Player: Senior LB Leondre Dean (2 fumble recoveries)
• Last Meeting: 2015; Withrow 35, Milford 11
• Capsule look at the Tigers: Its been a tough season for Withrow who have been outscored by a 225-131 margin. To their credit, the Tigers have been close in several of their losses, dropping three of the six contests by six points or less.

THE MATCH-UP: A look at the Milford-Withrow match-up by the numbers (per game averages with conference team rankings):

• Milford scoring offense (6^th-22.6) vs. Withrow scoring defense (6^th-32.1)
• Milford total offense (5^th-284.9) vs. Withrow total defense (N/A-383.5)
• Milford rushing offense (2^nd-216.6) vs. Withrow rushing defense (N/A-216.0)
• Milford passing offense (7^th-68.3) vs. Withrow passing defense (N/A-167.5)
• Withrow scoring offense (7^th-18.7) vs. Milford scoring defense (7^th-32.6)
• Withrow total offense (N/A-245.0) vs. Milford total defense (N/A-372.9)
• Withrow rushing offense (N/A-114.0) vs. Milford rushing defense (N/A-243.9)
• Withrow passing offense (N/A-131.0) vs. Milford passing defense (N/A-129.0)

INSIDE THE ECC: Turpin continues to remain unbeaten and all alone atop the ECC standings at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in league play. A three-way logjam behind the Spartans features Anderson, Kings and Loveland all at 3-1.

The Week 8 ECC schedule includes: Milford at Withrow, Turpin at Anderson, Kings at Walnut Hills, and Glen Este at Loveland (Saturday).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:

Rushing Yards: Chase Witte (603)

Passing Yards: Tyler Smith (258)

Receiving Yards: Max Brewer (240)

Tackles: Bryce Dugan (62)

Sacks: Eric Richey (1.5)

Interceptions: Luken Dalessandro/Jeremy Dentino (1)

Kickoff Return Yards: Chase Witte (170)

Punting Average: Chase Witte (34.3)

Punt Return Yards: Sam Pickett (81)

POLL WATCH: Milford did not receive any votes in the latest Cincinnati Enquirer area Division I area coaches’ poll, released on Oct. 10. Colerain took all six of the first place votes and the No. 1 position, with Elder, St. Xavier, Mason and Fairfield completing the top-five. The ECC is very well represented in the Division II rankings, headlined by Turpin sharing the No. 1 position with LaSalle. Kings is just behind in third, with Anderson ranked seventh, Loveland in ninth, Walnut Hills in 10^th and Withrow receiving votes. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

WHAT THE COMPUTER SAYS: The latest installment of the OHSAA Computer Ratings which ultimately determines the playoff match-ups across the state have been released. In DI, the top-eight teams in each of Ohio’s four regions will earn a berth in the playoffs. The current top-eight in Region 4 by ranking are: Colerain, Lebanon, Elder, Mason, St. Xavier, Springboro, Hamilton and Fairfield. Milford is currently ranked 13^th in the region.

In the Division II, Region 8 rankings, of which the balance of the ECC resides, Turpin (second) and Kings (fifth) are in qualifying positions, with Anderson just outside in 10^th and Walnut Hills in 12^th.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Milford’s offense had a big night in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over Norwood. On a night that featured 100 points and over 1,000 yards of combined offense in a 52-48 Milford win, the Eagles finished with 449 yards of total offense, the most by an MHS team in nearly a decade. The 52 points were the most since the Eagles put up the same amount against Woodward in Week 5 of the 2010 season.

ON THE TUBE: Local cable access channel ICRC-TV will broadcast a pair of Milford home contests involving this fall for tape-delayed replay. The first of the two scheduled games was against Turpin on Sept. 9 and the cameras will return for the Oct. 21 match-up vs. Anderson.

TICKET TALK: Once again this season, pre-sale tickets for all ages are available for all home and ECC away games only in the Milford High School Athletic Office for a cost of $5. Please note tickets for all ages at the gate are priced at $7 each. Come out and support the Eagles and save by purchasing your tickets in advance!