SETTING THE SCENE: Milford’s daunting three-week jaunt against some of the ECC’s upper echelon teams continues this week as the Eagles host Lebanon on Homecoming. It’s been a tough go of late for the Eagles who have dropped four straight. Before being shutout last week at Anderson, the Milford offense had generated 21 points in each of the previous two weeks. They’ll try to regain that offensive form against a Lebanon team that has been shaky defensively the last two weeks, having allowed over 500 yards per game and 70 combined points. The Eagles-Warriors match-up has been closely contested in recent years as five of the last six meetings have been decided by six points or less.
Click here for full preview.
The match-up by the numbers
A look at the Milford-Lebanon match-up by the numbers (per game averages & conference team rankings):
§ Milford scoring offense (9th-16.0) vs. Lebanon scoring defense (6th-11.6)
§ Milford total offense (8th-205.6) vs. Lebanon total defense (10th-375.5)
§ Milford rushing offense (9th-43.8) vs. Lebanon rushing defense (7th-127.2)
§ Milford passing offense (6th-162.7) vs. Lebanon passing defense (10th-248.3)
§ Lebanon scoring offense (2nd-29.3) vs. Milford scoring defense (8th-35.5)
§ Lebanon total offense (3rd-342.5) vs. Milford total defense (9th-372.7)
§ Lebanon rushing offense (2nd-142.5) vs. Milford rushing defense (10th-217.7)
§ Lebanon passing offense (5th-200.0) vs. Milford passing defense (5th-155.0)
A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:
Rushing Yards: Jackson Hopkins (96, 0 TDs)
Passing Yards: Jayden Bodley (899, 8 TDs)
Receiving Yards: Joey Dahmer (377, 7 TDs)
Tackles: Jake Dixon (80)
Sacks: Parker Mott (1.5)
Interceptions: Isaiah Smith (2)
Kicking Points: Tyler McQueen (18)
Punting Average: Tyler McQueen (39.3)
Kickoff Return Yards: Karson Long (237, 0 TDs)
Punt Return Yards: Sione Lolo (5, 0 TDs)
A look at Lebanon’s statistical leaders:
Rushing Yards: Logan Schmenk (366, 3 TDs)
Passing Yards: Luke Faler (1126, 12 TDs)
Receiving Yards: Daniel Wallace (426, 4 TDs)
Tackles: Hunter Davis (43)
Sacks: Jackson Martin/Braylen McFarland (2.0)
Interceptions: Three tied (2)
Kicking Points: Logan Lane (22)
Punting Average: Logan Lane (36.7)
Kickoff Return Yards: Wyatt Lassen (289, 1 TDs)
Punt Return Yards: Wyatt Lassen (2, 0 TDs)
Notable 2025 Performances
Week 1
· Senior P/K Tyler McQueen had a booming start to his senior year. In the Eagles' opener against Withrow, Tyler punted four times for an average of 49.8 yards per kick, including a career-best 59 yarder. He also placed his only kickoff of the night inside the 10-yard line.
Week 2
· In just his second varsity start, junior QB Jayden Bodley accounted for four touchdowns in leading the Milford offense to a 37-0 win. Jayden threw three touchdown passes, while rushing for a fourth. The junior finished with 130 yards passing and a team-high 45 more rushing. Junior DB Chase Gale came up big on defense, leading the Eagles with nine tackles, snagging his first career interception, and breaking up another pass.
Week 3
· Against a tough Winton Woods team, Joey Dahmer, a junior, finished with 143 all-purpose yards and his team-leading third touchdown of the season. Overcoming a slow first half, Joey finished with 63 yards receiving, including a touchdown, plus eight yards rushing and 72 yards in kickoff returns. Aiden Luley, a sophomore, tallied a season-high 11 tackles, while adding half a sack and one quarterback hurry.
Week 4
· Jayden Bodley, the Eagles' junior quarterback, had a career-night against Loveland. For the game, he completed 26-of-38 passes for a personal-high 251 yards, while matching his best with three touchdowns. Joey Dahmer, also a junior, was Jayden's favorite target at receiver. He finished with a pair of touchdowns among his seven receptions, totaling 67 yards receiving. Joey added 12 yards on one rushing attempt.
Week 5
· Joey Dahmer, a junior wide receiver, continued his stellar campaign with his third multi-touchdown game of the year. Against West Clermont, Joey snagged seven passes for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an acrobatic, leaping catch in double coverage for an 80-yard score. Jake Dixon, a senior linebacker, made history by simply matching his jersey number. In a gutsy performance against West Clermont, Jake set a school and ECC record by tallying 26 tackles, including 10 solo. He also forced a fumble. Jake is the ECC leader in tackles at the season's halfway point.
Week 6
Against a very talented Anderson secondary, senior WR Karson Long corralled a season-high five receptions for a career-best 69 yards, including a long of 28 yards. He was also busy on special teams, returning six kickoffs for 114 yards (19.0 yard average).
Last Year vs. Lebanon
It wouldn’t be a Milford-Lebanon football match-up without some last-minute dramatics and a close final score. The 2024 renewing of the rivalry once again fit the script, but with a slightly different outcome as Lebanon knocked off the Eagles by a 22-16 final.
Entering the night, four of the five match-ups between the schools as members of the ECC were decided by six points or less. But unlike this season’s barnburner, Milford had been on the winning side of three of those contests. This year went to the Warriors, as Daniel Wallace’s short touchdown run with 59 seconds to play snapped a 16-16 tie.
Wallace’s heroics almost went for not, as Milford QB Luke Brand led the Eagles on a near game-winning drive. Entering the final drive, Lebanon had limited the Eagles to just 10 yards of total offense in the second half, but that didn’t deter Brand and company from nearly pulling out the win. Aided by a Warrior personal foul early in the drive, Brand hit Caden Bailey, Jordan Davis and Carter Ings for completions of nine, 14 and 24 yards, respectively to move the Eagles to the Lebanon eight-yard line with 12 seconds to play. On the game’s final play, following two incomplete passes, Brand was sacked for the fifth time.
The first half that was a virtual mirror image on both sides. It took nearly 10 minutes of game action for the first score of the night when Lebanon took a 6-0 lead. Just two snaps later the game was tied when Brand found Caden Bailey wide open for a 72-yard bomb. Milford couldn’t convert the point after, leaving the score 6-6.
Quarter number two was more evenly contested play. Lebanon kicked a field goal early in the period, while Eagle Mason Cooper nailed a 31-yard try right before the half to send the game into break knotted at 9-9.
With just over half the third quarter clock expired, Lebanon QB Luke Faler rushed in from eight yards out to put his team back in front, this time 16-9. But like in the first, the Eagles immediately answered and once again it was Bailey at the center. On the ensuing kickoff following Faler’s run, Bailey recorded the first return touchdown of his career, darting 96 yards through the Lebanon coverage.
Interestingly, Bailey’s kickoff return touchdown marked the third straight season Milford scored a special teams touchdown against the Warriors. In 2022, Jacob Smith returned both a kickoff and a punt for a score, while Reece Davis made a house call on a punt return last year.
Due in part to possessing the ball for just 8:25 in the second half, Milford was outgained on the night by a 365-203 margin. Brand threw for 209 yards on the night, but was sacked five times, finishing with -51 yards rushing. Davis managed 45 yards on 11 carries as the Eagles were held to -6 yards rushing, the fewest by a Milford squad since being held to -8 in the 2020 playoffs against Colerain. Bailey finished with 85 yards receiving, while Ings had 73 yards through the air, along with 41 in returns. Jake Dixon paced the defense with a career-high 15 tackles.
2025 Week 6 Game Summary
The state’s top-ranked team in Division II played the part as Anderson scored touchdowns in all three phases while rolling past Milford 63-0. The Raptors, behind four touchdowns from former Eagle Jordan Davis, led 42-0 by halftime.
In addition to Davis’ heroics for Anderson, the Raptors also blocked a punt for a touchdown and added a second half interception return for a touchdown. Davis finished with 84 yards receiving and 37 rushing to go with his touchdowns, while QB Owen Scalf was 23 of 34 for 287 yards.
The Eagles’ best scoring chance of the night came midway through the second quarter as they took advantage of a short field. Jayden Bodley to Karson Long completions of 15 and nine yards drew the Eagles to the Anderson 12-yard line. But then three straight incompletions and an interception in the end zone wiped out the scoring threat.
Long finished with a career-best night in the loss as he tallied five catches for 69 yards, along with 114 yards on six kick returns. Jake Dixon, the ECC’s leader in tackles, added 10 more on the night to improve his season tally to 80. Isaiah Smith also provided a highlight with his second interception of the season.
Milford (1-5,1-4) vs. Anderson (6-0,5-0)
Date: Sep 26, 2025 at Anderson
Quarter
Scores 1 2 3 4 Score
Milford 0 0 0 0 0
Anderson 14 28 7 14 63
Scoring Summary
AND 1st-09:46 Jordan Davis 3 yd run (Jordan Davis rush)
AND 1st-03:58 Owen Scalf 9 yd run (Owen Scalf rush failed)
AND 2nd-09:48 Jordan Davis 4 yd run (Maddux Snider kick)
AND 2nd-07:44 Cooper Kathman 6 yd pass from Owen Scalf (Maddux Snider kick)
AND 2nd-06:38 Ke'Maury Tye 0 yd blocked punt return (Maddux Snider kick)
AND 2nd-01:50 Jordan Davis 1 yd run (Maddux Snider kick)
AND 3rd-03:28 Cooper Snider 59 yd pass from Jeremiah Glenn (Ethan Landers kick)
AND 4th-07:37 Luke Pastura 2 yd run (Ethan Landers kick)
AND 4th-04:38 Swing Mullins 41 yd interception return (Ethan Landers kick)
Top Milford Performers
Rushing Yards: Jackson Hopkins (19)
Passing Yards: Jayden Bodley (99)
Receiving Yards: Karson Long (69)
Tackles: Jake Dixon (10)
Sacks: None
Interceptions: Isaiah Smith (1)
Punting Average: Tyler McQueen (42.8)
Kickoff Return Yards: Karson Long (114)
Punt Return Yards: None