OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It may be a new year for the Milford Mill Miller's varsity football team, but that playoff loss a season ago on this very field to Huntington in the semifinals still stings.
WATCH: Milford Mill football team uses playoff loss as motivation for championship run
The team plans on using that loss as fuel and hopes to get to another state championship, which they haven't had since 2022.
"You lose your last game; it should stick with you," said head coach Reggie White.
Last year's sour season-ending loss still sits with White. His team has been grinding away in the weight room and on the field since January. As a coach who knows what winning the big game takes, he feels this group has championship potential.
"Everything is here. The puzzle pieces are laid out on the table. All we gotta do is put them together," White said.
It starts on offense with their star running back and Pittsburgh Panthers commit Damon Ferguson.
"Damon has more energy than I've ever seen out of any child in the United States of America. He's just energetic; he's playful," White said.
"Ferguson has a lucrative college career coming, but you wouldn't know it. He never talks about it and is another non-arrogant person," White continued.
Ferguson says he's improved his physicality this offseason.
"I lift more. You know the reason people lift is so their body can withstand hits. At running back, you get hit almost every play. It's guaranteed you're gonna get hit. So I had to get stronger," Ferguson said.
Defensively, there's plenty of talent on that side as well. White believes they have the best defensive back room in the state, and it starts with NC State commit Koby Sarkodie.
"He's athletic, he's long, he's rangy, you know, he's aggressive. We tell him to come off that edge, you know; he still ain't got all his wits about him, so he just tries to hit anything that moves. So I love that about him," White said.
Sarkodie said he's all about being stronger in his final year.
"I'm just training every day and taking lifting seriously. Last year I was kind of slacking on that, but this year I took it very seriously," Sarkodie said.
The Miller's first game is September 5th at home against Richard Wright Public Charter School.
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