Kings beats Milford 64-40, remains unbeaten in ECC play

Charlie Hatch
Cincinnati Enquirer
Kings RB Nak'emon Williams runs for a big gain in the game between the Milford Eagles and the Kings Knights at Kings High School.

Andy Olds was looking for the right words. When he couldn’t find them, he could look to his right, where the scoreboard read: Kings 64, Milford 40.

“I never envisioned scoring 64 points,” said Olds, the Kings head coach. “I never saw it coming.”

What he did say, and actually repeated, however, was Milford entered Kings Stadium on Friday night with the best defense in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. That same defense that led the league allowed more points than it had all season, and in return, helped Kings become the frontrunner to win the conference.

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Knights (7-1, 5-0 ECC) are the only unbeaten team in the league and play at Loveland and then host West Clermont in the final two weeks. The Eagles (6-2, 4-2 ECC) drop to second.

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After trading touchdowns in the first half to make it 28-27 Kings at halftime, the Knights looked like they might lose momentum after fumbling the second-half kickoff. Then, they allowed a touchdown.

But what followed was 22-unanswered points that, to Olds, were the difference in the win.

First came Ashton Koller finding Gabe Hunt for a 23-yard passing touchdown. On the next possession, the Knights forced and recovered a fumble. Nak'emon Williams followed up with an 11-yard touchdown. 

When Milford got the ball back, Kings forced another fumble, then scored the next offensive series when Jake Stylski ran 15 yards for another touchdown. The sequence widened the gap between the teams to 50-33 with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter. 

“That was probably the difference maker in the game,” Olds said. “I thought that was probably the turning point in the game. ... Seven points in this game wasn’t going to be safe.”

Williams never had a doubt, though.

The senior running gashed the Milford defense for 240 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries, averaging 7.4 per carry. Even quarterback Ashton Koller ran for two touchdowns and 112 yards as the offense produced 415 yards.

“I couldn’t do it without my offensive line,” Williams said. “The offensive line is what kept me going. I just think I wanted it. From last year, I wanted it.”

The reference to 2017 was a 42-28 loss at Milford. If Friday night was payback for the Knights, it came with the added bonus of keeping Kings unbeaten in the ECC.

“Who wanted it more,” Williams said of the difference between the teams Friday. “I think who wanted it more was the difference because we prepared all week. Our coaches said, ‘Four hard practices equal four hard quarters.’ We transferred that over to the game and our offense showed it on the (scoreboard).”

As for what comes next, Williams said the team needs to take it one game at a time and improve heading into the playoffs. To Olds, the offensive explosion was a reminder of his team’s potential and capability.

“We’ve been finding ways to win all year long,” he said. “We’ve won a lot. … I think our team is just resilient. They’ve got a lot of moxie, a lot of poise and they find ways to win. They don’t get discouraged and down. Every game they go into it and they can win. That’s real important to be able to do that.

Milford – 13  14  6  7 – 40

Kings – 14  14  22  14  – 64

K – Treshawn Fisher blocked punt, fumble recovery 8 yards (Thomas Mitchell PAT good)

M – Hunter Johnson to Dylan Hughes 60 yards (Two-point conversion failed)

M – Hughes 8 yards (Grace Ertel PAT good)

K – Nak'emon Williams 1 yard (Mitchell PAT good)

K – Ashton Koller 18 yards (Mitchell PAT good)

M – Cameron Kells 4 yards (Ertel PAT good)

M – Kells 8 yards (Ertel PAT good)

K – Williams 10 yards (Mitchell PAT good)

M – Johnson 1 yard (Ertel PAT missed)

– Koller to Gabe Hunt 23 yards (Williams two-point run successful)

– Williams 11 yards (Mitchell PAT good)

– Jake Stylski 15 yards (Mitchell PAT good)

M – Kells 4 yards (Ertel PAT good)

K – Koller 34 yards (Mitchell PAT good)

– Williams 1 yard (Mitchell PAT good)