Milford football beats Alvirne in overtime to clinch top spot in D2 South Conference

MILFORD - The Milford High School football team defended its home turf Friday night with a stunning overtime win, as the Spartans beat Alvirne 28-27.

The game came down to the very last play and was crucial for the Division II playoff seeding. With the victory, the Spartans finished their regular season with an 8-1 record, while the Broncos finished close behind with a 6-3 mark.

Milford was lead in this contest by quarterback Gavin Urda, who contributed heavily on the ground, and made a few exceptional plays through the air. Some of Urda’s more critical plays came late in the game when he was able to convert on fourth-and-4 and fourth-and-long on a fake punt to keep drives and game alive for the Spartans.

Urda started off the scoring when he was able to get the edge on the Broncos defense and score on a 40-yard touchdown run. The score didn’t come easy, and was fairly late into the first quarter. A bit later into the second quarter, Alvirne found an answer of its own to draw the game level.

Junior quarterback Kyle Gora had himself a great game as well. Gora was able to connect with his receiver in stride for a 25-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with the Spartans. Milford’s Junior Ughu would give the Spartans the lead once more before half on his 5-yard touchdown carry. The Spartans lead 14-7 at half, but the game would take an interesting turn in the second half.

With the Broncos' offense threatening deep in Milford territory, the Spartans' defense made an incredible play when it stuffed the Broncos on the goal line on fourth down. Milford would then use this momentum on the offensive side of the ball and convert with a scoring drive of its own capped off with a Caden Zalenski touchdown carry. The missed extra point put the Spartans up 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

Gora started to take over the game from this point forward, leading the Broncos to a scoring drive when he was able to throw for his second touchdown pass to bring the game to 20-14 with just over two minutes remaining. This score silenced the home crowd and gave life to the visiting supporters. The Broncos followed up their offensive excellence with an excellent special teams' play, as they were able to successfully recover the onside kick.

Gora led the Alvirne offense down the field again, this time on the ground as he carried and scored a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game 20-20. The Broncos would have taken the lead but missed a crucial extra point attempt.

After making a stop, the Broncos found themselves driving again, this time for the win.

The Broncos were able to get to the 10-yard line of the Spartans and lined up for the game-winning field goal with six seconds left. But Milford was able to get a good surge up front and blocked the kick with no time remaining sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Alvirne started first on offense. The Broncos response was extremely quick, scoring in just two plays retaking the lead 27-20. The Milford offense took a little longer but was ultimately able to match the Broncos when Urda connected with Logan Barnhill for the 10-yard touchdown pass.

Initially, the Spartans line up for the extra point to tie but took a timeout to discuss. After a few moments of deliberation, the Spartans offense took the field. The running back took a wide angle, dove and was ultimately helicoptered into the end zone for the score.