Milford Mill football team has been dominant in its first five games, playing offense with Xbox-like efficiency. It wasn’t the case Saturday afternoon against New Town.

The sixth-ranked Millers were hindered by turnovers, allowing the Titans to stay within striking distance. Milford Mill found enough of a rhythm, along with a solid defensive effort, for a 37-14 victory in a Baltimore County Division II contest.

Junior quarterback Deshawn Purdie threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Millers (6-0 overall, 5-0 Division II), and Marquis Edmond added two rushing scores. Tahli Matthews had an 83-yard kickoff return for New Town.

Averaging about 50 points a game offensively, Milford produced a “pedestrian” 28 offensive points Saturday as Purdie, who has an early scholarship offer from the University of Maryland, threw scoring passes to Daysen Shell and Corey Jones, but threw three interceptions and lost three fumbles.

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Milford Mill had seven turnovers Saturday.

“We got to clean up. We can’t have that many turnovers ‚” said Millers coach Reggie White, whose team sits alone atop Division II with two games remaining. “We still put up 37 points on a really bad day so when we put it together, it’s going to be legit.”

“Sometimes we tend to get into our heads when we play tough opponents,” said Jones, a senior. “Once we overcome that, we’ll be amazing. We have to start off hard and finish harder.”

The Millers had a pretty good start in a wild first half Saturday. On the third play from scrimmage, Kobie Sarkodie scooped up an errant New Town snap around the two-yard line and fell into the end zone for a touchdown.

Five plays later, Purdie was intercepted by New Town junior linebacker Dovon Hopkins who ran it back 51............................................................................................ yards for a touchdown, bringing the Titans to within 7-6 midway through the opening quarter. Milford Mill rebounded early in the second with a 10-play, 65-yard drive as Edmond scored from three yards.

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The momentum lasted just seconds as Matthews returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a score, along with Carlos Harrison’s two-point conversion pass to Kyrin Robertson to get New Town even at 14 with 7:02 remaining before halftime.

The Millers answered on the next play from scrimmage as Jones nabbed a quick slant pass from Purdie and sprinted to the end zone for a 50-yard score. Two plays from scrimmage later, Sarkodie got his second fumble recovery.

After a bad snap resulted in a 22-yard loss, Purdie dialed up Shell on a post route for a 35-yard touchdown, putting Milford Mill up 28-14 at halftime.

Sarkodie, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound freshman linebacker who had a first half “hat trick” with three fumble recoveries, sacked Harrison in the end zone for a safety late in the third. Cameron Jefferson had a fumble recovery in the fourth, leading to Edmond (58 yards) breaking free for a 25-yard touchdown.

Milford Mill struggled most of the game running the ball Saturday against the Titans, who got two sacks from Hopkins in addition to the interception return for a touchdown. Darian Fowkles and Joliel Walker also had an interception, and Jordon McKnight recovered two fumbles.

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White said playing New Town (4-2, 4-1 Division II), whose players are friends and or youth league teammates with many of his players, is often a distraction.

“I’m still trying to figure this team out,” said White, whose team reached the 2A state final last year and 3A final in 2017. “This is a neighborhood rivalry…you know my name, I know your name kind of stuff.”

Led by Sarkodie, Milford Mill didn’t allow a Titan offensive score. Jefferson had an interception and a fumble recovery, and Edmond, Dashawn Fields and senior defensive linemen Emmanuel Gee each had a sack.

New Town did not cross Milford territory until the fourth quarter.

“We were in it, but our offense didn’t produce,” said Titans coach Will Savage. “Everytime we had a drive, we turned the ball over. We’ve been plagued with turnovers all season.”

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NO. 6 MILFORD MILL 37, NEW TOWN 14

New Town 6 8 0 0 - 14

Milford Mill 7 21 2 7 - 37

First quarter

Milford Mill - Kobie Sarkodie 2 fumble return (Eric Garcia kick)

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New Town - Dovon Hopkins 51 interception return (kick failed)

Second quarter

Milford Mill - Marquis Edmond 3 run (Garcia kick)

New Town - Tahli Matthews 83 kickoff return (Kyrin Robertson pass to Carlos Harrison)

Milford Mill - Corey Jones 50 pass from Dashawn Purdie (Garcia kick)

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Milford Mill - Daysen Shell 35 pass from Dashawn Purdie (Garcia kick)

Third quarter

Milford Mill - Safety (Sarkodie sack in end zone)

Fourth quarter

Milford Mill - Edmond 25 run (Garcia kick)