After struggling to get on track in the first half, the Milford High School football team looked like a different squad in the second half, but Dixie Heights ultimately held on for a 28-13 non-conference win over the Eagles on Friday night. Trailing by 21 points midway through the third quarter, the Eagles scored two straight touchdowns but one final big play by the Colonels was the last swing in momentum that pushed the hosts to victory.
The first half wasn’t pretty for Milford as the offense accounted for just 58 total yards and Dixie Heights’ running back Jose Torres started his big night with a pair of scores. Some offensive adjustments at the half proved key for Milford as they finished the contest with 228 yards of total offense after an improved second half. Making his first start at quarterback, senior Chase Witte finished with a team-high 122 yards rushing. Classmate Dawson Slone was also solid, collecting 78 yards and a pair of scores. Witte also became the first Milford signal caller to top 100 yards rushing since Drew Ashcraft ran for 158 yards on Oct. 31, 2014 against Loveland.
The night started strong for Dixie Heights as Torres went to work early and often. On his way to collecting 292 yards rushing, Torres took the third Colonels’ snap of the evening 58 yards for a touchdown. After the teams traded several punts, Torres found the end zone again with just under seven and a half minutes to play in the second when he jetted 29 yards to paydirt. The jaunt capped off an eight-play, 50-yard scoring drive for the Colonels. Milford’s Robbie McQueary came up big on the conversion though as he got a hand on the Dixie extra-point attempt, causing a missed kick.
Through the end of the first half and on Dixie’s first possession of the third quarter, the Eagles were able to recover a pair of Colonels’ fumbles, but couldn’t turn the miscues into points. With 6:38 remaining in the third, Colonels QB Noah Smedley bulled in from one-yard out following a 90-yard sprint down the field by Torres.
The Milford offense finally came to life on its next possession behind the legs of Slone and Witte. Witte picked up a key 24-yard gain, setting up Slone for a four-yard plunge for a score. The diminutive running back picked up 33 yards on the scoring drive. The next sequence saw the Eagles again recover a Dixie fumble, but this time they capitalized with Slone again scoring from four yards out. Staying on the ground all the way, Slone’s scored capped an eight-play, 44-yard drive.
In a second half of momentum swings, the Colonels grabbed it for the last time as Cameron Barrett took a handoff and raced 76 yards late in the third quarter for the final 28-13 margin.
Milford will again go for win number win next week, returning home to host Norwood on Friday night, Sept. 9 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Click here to view the final Milford-Dixie Heights stats.