No. 3 Millard (9-2) at No. 2 Milford (10-1)
- 2A state tournament semifinal
- Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (at Orem High School)
- Parry’s Power Guide: Milford by 9
- All-time series: Series tied 5-5-2
- Coach vs. coach: Milford’s Thane Marshall leads Millard’s Ethan Stephenson 1-0
- Last meeting: Milford 37, Millard 29 (Week 8)
OREM — Saturday’s second 2A semifinal will feature a pair of programs that are at different steps in the process of building a championship level program, although neither has been where they ultimately want to end up this year.
First, there are the Millard Eagles, who went winless in 2016, Ethan Stephenson’s first year as head coach of his alma mater. The Eagles made a huge jump in 2017, going 7-4 and making it to the 2A playoffs, where they lost to the Grand Red Devils in the quarterfinals. In 2018, Millard went one more step, as it went 9-3 and made the semifinals, where it fell to the South Summit Wildcats.
On the other side are the Milford Tigers, who had been a struggling program before Thane Marshall became head coach in 2014. Like the Eagles, the Tigers steadily built, as they won four games in 2014, five in 2015, seven in 2016 and then broke through in 2017, going 11-1 and winning the 1A state championship. They were even better in 2018, as they went undefeated and won another title.
In 2019, both sides have been excellent. The Eagles enter Saturday with a 9-2 record, while the Tigers have adjusted to a higher classification just fine and are 10-1. A trip to the 2A state championship game next weekend awaits Saturday’s winner.
“I’ve been excited because we have gradually just gotten better each year, and that’s what I expect out of my teams and out of the players and out of myself,” Stephenson said. “I’m going to be a better coach each year and learn, and I think our players have done the same thing.”
Marshall said his team hasn’t really gone through the growing pains that other programs might in making a move up in classification, thanks in large part to the fact they’ve played a bunch of 2A teams over the past few years anyway.
“Really, truly, we only added Beaver and Millard, so mentally, it was pretty much the same type of teams that we played,” he said.
Milford got walloped by Beaver 41-0 on Sept. 13 for its first loss in almost two years, but it beat the Eagles squad it will face Saturday on Oct. 4, 37-29.
In that game, things were knotted up at 21 at halftime, as each team scored once in the first quarter and twice in the second. Milford scored the next 16 points to pull away, however, before the Eagles scored with seven seconds remaining.
Can Millard find a way to eliminate the Tigers, or will Milford march to another state championship game?
“I think experience definitely is one aspect of it. (The Tigers) have it, but I think our kids, we’re ready to play and we’re ready to go hard. They’re excited,” Stephenson said.
As one might expect, Marshall said his group just plans on staying the course that has brought them so much success for a long time now.
“We just gotta do what we do,” he said. “We don’t change much. We line up and do what we do.”
Milford statistical breakdown
- Scoring offense: 38.9 ppg (3rd in 2A)
- Scoring defense: 21.0 ppg (T-5th in 2A)
- Passing leader: Bryson Barnes (194-316, 61.4%, 3,024 yards, 35 TDs, 6 INTs)
- Rushing leaders: Gage Griffiths (133 carries, 634 yards, 9 TDs), Bryson Barnes (146 carries, 519 yards, 14 TDs)
- Receiving leaders: Bret Beebe (81 rec., 1,424 yards, 19 TDs), Zachary Sherwood (44 rec., 732 yards, 11 TDs)
- Tackles leaders: Casek Hardy (102 tackles), Blake Barnes (79 tackles)
- Sack leaders: Russell Walker (11 sacks), Gage Griffiths (7 sacks)
- Interception leaders: Bryson Barnes (3 INTs)
Millard statistical breakdown
- Scoring offense: 33.5 ppg (4th in 2A)
- Scoring defense: 19.3 ppg (4th in 2A)
- Passing leader: Brooks Myers (128-209, 61.2%, 1,645 yards, 17 TDs, 8 INTs)
- Rushing leaders: Austin Burraston (136 carries, 1,146 yards, 11 TDs), Brooks Myers (79 carries, 238 yards, 8 TDs)
- Receiving leaders: Sam Marshall (39 rec., 623 yards, 10 TDs), Kael Myers (42 rec., 288 yards, 2 TDs)
- Tackles leaders: Danny Garcia (96 tackles), Braxton Brewer (73 tackles)
- Sack leaders: Tilden Kesler (4 sacks), Zech Deherrera (3 sacks)
- Interception leaders: Kael Myers, Sam Marshall (2 INTs)
Felt’s Facts for Millard High School
- All-time record: 586-274-22 (94 years)
- Region championships: 40 (1933, 1937, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947 co, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 co, 1969, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983 co, 1988 co, 1989 co, 1997, 1998, 1999 co, 2001, 2002 co, 2003, 2004 co, 2006, 2007, 2009 co, 2010)
- Playoff appearances: 71
- All-time playoff record: 85-53
- State championships: 13 (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1995, 2001)
- State championship record: 13-8
Felt’s Facts for Milford High School
- All-time record: 256-394-11 (78 years)
- Region championships: 5 (1990, 1991, 1999 co, 2017, 2018)
- Playoff appearances: 34
- All-time playoff record: 20-30
- State championships: 3 (1993, 2017, 2018)
- State championship record: 3-1