Turpin’s ability to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball proved to be the winning formula as the Spartans handed Milford a 38-8 setback in the opening Eastern Cincinnati Conference opener for both teams on Friday night (Sept. 16). One week after rushing for 449 yards in a shootout win over Norwood, the Eagles (1-3, 0-1 ECC) were limited to just 26 by the stout Turpin D, while the Spartans (4-0, 1-0 ECC) gained 274 yards on the ground.
After a strong effort by both defenses in the early stages, Turpin struck first when quarterback Lucas Smith found Nathan Hooper for a 22-yard score with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, the Spartans scored 10 points just one minute apart with Smith dashing 59 yards for a touchdown to start. Then, after coming up with an interception deep in Milford territory, the Spartans were forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Harry Sand after a three and out.
On the ensuing possession, the Eagles put together their most impressive drive of the night, marching 87 yards in 11 plays to dent the scoreboard for what would prove to be the only time of the evening. The big play of the drive came when the Eagles dug into their bag of tricks for an end around 41-yard pass from Chase Witte to Max Brewer. Brewer came up big later in the drive when the Eagles faced a fourth and eight on the Turpin 12-yard line. Returning signal caller Tyler Smith rolled right and found Brewer open along the sidelines for nine yards, setting the stage for Dawson Slone’s hard fought three-yard run. Witte then cut the score to 17-8 when he converted a two-point conversion.
A long return on the ensuing kickoff and a Milford pass interference penalty proved key on the next Turpin drive that was capped by a Smith 21-yard jaunt and a 24-8 Spartans’ lead at the half. After the break, Will Hausfeld got into the scoring column with a pair of third quarter TD runs to wrap up the evening’s scoring.
Brewer finished the evening with a career-high 75 yards receiving to lead the Milford offense. One week after going over 150 yards on the ground, Slone was held to a team-high 48 against the Spartans. Smith led Turpin with 122 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns.
Click here for the final Milford-Turpin game stats.
Milford will be back at home in Week 5 for the first of two straight inside Eagles Stadium when they host archrival Loveland for a 7 p.m. kick.