Week after week, Milford Mill football was successful in staying locked on the next opponent.

But the No. 5 Millers always had this Friday and this matchup on their mind as well. And when Friday came, they stated their case in an overwhelming, emphatic manner.

More efficient in all three phases and sparked by a dominant running game, Milford Mill rolled to a 55-20 home win over No. 14 Perry Hall to reclaim the Baltimore County championship.

Last season, the Gators pulled off a 28-24 upset that ended Milford Mill’s four-year run as county champions. Now 8-0 overall and closing league play with a 6-0 mark, the Millers started a new streak.

Quarterback Owen Newborn ran for two touchdowns and threw for a score. Running back-cornerback Damon Ferguson, returning from a knee injury, had touchdown runs of 8, 20 and 57 yards and a key interception. And the defense caused four turnovers and had two sacks.

After Dajuan Nelson scampered 24 yards for the final touchdown with just over two minutes to play, the game finished with a running clock. The Millers’ statement was complete.

“This is very important to the team because last year they got us in a real hard-fought battle for the Baltimore County championship. Coming into this game, we had a whole different mindset — we were locked in all week,” Newborn said. “We watched film, we practiced real hard and it showed on the field.

“We showed a lot of effort, a lot of want to. We talked about that all week in practice, coaches emphasizing what’s your want to, why you out here working so hard? It led to maximize effort every play.”

It was the Gators who started fast with Vernon Allen returning the opening kickoff 66 yards to the Millers’ 20-yard line. On third-and-4, running back Lamont Smith scored from 14 yards for a 6-0 lead.

The Millers responded just as quickly behind Ferguson, who ran for 45 yards on the ensuing drive, capped by an 8-yard score to tie the game.

Midway through the second quarter with the score still tied at 6, Ferguson made a game-changing play when he intercepted Perry Hall quarterback Terrell Hearn’s pass to give the Millers the ball at the Gators’ 35.

After a Perry Hall penalty put it at the 40, running back Michael Smith Jr. burst through the middle, bounced off a tackle and went 60 yards to make it 12-6.

The Millers led 20-6 at the half after Newborn’s 18-yard run with 18 seconds left in the second quarter. But the Gators recovered an onside kick to start the second half and two plays later got a 20-yard touchdown run from Corey Costner to pull within 20-12.

The teams exchanged one more touchdown each in the third quarter before the Millers took over. Ferguson’s 57-yard score was followed by Newborn finding wide receiver Romero Ison on a 30-yard strike with 30 seconds left in the third quarter for a 42-20 lead. More defensive stops and rushing touchdowns from Newborn and Nelson closed out an emotional win.

Ferguson was happy to be back on the field helping the cause.

“I wanted to be back with my fellas — playing with them is just a joy,” he said. “This was a big win. Coming into the game, we knew Perry Hall was a great team and we came here prepared, did our best and came out with a big win.”

Said Milford Mill coach Reggie White: “This was a complete game — all three phases — and I’m so proud. This is so satisfying.”

The loss in the second straight for the Gators (6-2) and their first league loss to fall to 4-1. They were haunted by penalties that the Millers took full advantage of. Last week, Perry Hall let a big lead slip away in falling to Harford Tech, 33-32.

“Things kind of carried over from last week,” Gators coach Ryan Pittillo said. “The amount of penalties we had — just unforced — I don’t know what’s going on. … Things like that, you just can’t do and expect to win football games against good teams.”

Other football scores:

Oakland Mills 28, Guilford Park 0: Isaac Ramsey looked back toward coach Thomas Browne before a fourth down early in the first quarter. Sitting on Guilford Park’s 39-yard line, the quarterback awaited his coach’s approval to run a play.

Browne nodded. Ramsey faced back toward his offensive line. The fourth-and-9 call was a quarterback run — And it was executed perfectly.

The senior received the snap and split through his offensive line and Guilford Park defenders, scampering 39 yards for the first score of the game.

It was the first of three first-half touchdowns for Ramsey on Friday night. The quarterback added another rushing touchdown on Oakland Mills’ second drive of the game. The Scorpions (7-1) recovered a fumbled punt to set up at the Panthers’ 27. A few plays later, Ramsey sprinted 16 yards down the left sideline to extend the lead to 14-0.

His final first-half touchdown came with just over a minute remaining. The 6-foot quarterback powered into the end zone for a 4-yard carry.

— Michael Howes

Old Mill 19, Glen Burnie 7: Glen Burnie football hadn’t beaten Old Mill in 29 years — so many of them marred by losing seasons and more recently, heartbreaking close shaves and badly-timed injuries to major players.

Despite carrying a lead into the fourth quarter, Friday turned out not to be the night it all ended.

Old Mill players tossed their water bottles as the clock expired and the comeback against the host Gophers went final. The Patriots piled up, chanting, among many things, “30 years.”

Glen Burnie coach Alec Lemon knew Friday’s outcome would be a matter of wills more than skill — who wanted it more? Patriots senior Connor Adams had the answer.

“We’d seen it from kickoff. They didn’t want it as much as us. They didn’t come out with the same energy as us,” said Adams, who collected a fumble recovery and an interception. “We just needed things to fall in line in the second half, and they did.”

— Katherine Fominykh

Harford Tech 24, Edgewood 21: When Stephen Kelley II is in trouble, the quarterback’s safest option is often a downfield heave to a target he knows well.

Karon Evans is around somewhere, Kelley confidently tells himself. If he just gives him a chance, Evans can make a play.

Friday night late in Harford Tech’s win over Edgewood, the Cobras needed a play to put them ahead for good. So, naturally Kelley looked for Evans. The receiver slid past his defender on an ankle-breaking double move and hauled the pass in over his back shoulder. It didn’t go for a score, but Kelley took care of that himself, rushing one in moments later.

In the regular season’s penultimate week and a battle between the two best football teams in Harford County, Harford Tech stamped its case as the one to beat, handing Edgewood its first loss of the season.

Kelley finished with three scores: a passing touchdown to Evans in the first quarter and two rushing scores from 1 yard out. The tandem highlighted an impressive offensive output, but it was the Cobras’ defense that shined brightest.

Quarterback Mike Robinson had electrified Edgewood (7-1) during its unbeaten stretch with speed that no one could slow down and an arm to match. But he was stymied Friday and the rest of the Rams’ attack dissipated alongside their struggling quarterback.

— Taylor Lyons

Liberty 17, Westminster 7: After a devastating overtime loss to South Carroll last week, Liberty had no time to pout and feel sorry for itself as a clash with Westminster for first place in Carroll County awaited on the horizon. Knowing what was at stake, the Lions came out firing.

They quickly jumped out to a two-score lead and the defense held the Owls down. Quarterback Chase Miller led the way, throwing for 266 yards and two touchdowns Friday night.

For some, the tough times carried over as the Lions had to face and overcome adversity early.

After two short, scoreless and uninspiring drives, Miller came alive as the Lions finally found the end zone in the second quarter. Despite being stuffed for short gains up to that point, Kevin Poole bounced back, making an impact as a pass catcher.

When a third-down pass play broke down, Miller scrambled to his left and fired the ball in the end zone to Poole at the last second to put the Lions on the board.

After wide receiver David Akinboye dropped his first two targets of the night, he bounced back in grand fashion with three catches, 80 yards and a touchdown for the Lions. His catch in the corner of the end zone put the Lions up 14 and stunned the Homecoming crowd at Ruby Field.

— Timothy Dashiell

Annapolis 64, Severn Run 0

Arundel 70, South River 6

Broadneck 43, North County 0

Winters Mill 45, Manchester Valley 20

Century 21, South Carroll 8

Girls soccer

South Carroll 9, Western Tech 0

Liberty 5, Carver A&T 0

Century 2, Walkersville 0

Sparrows Point 2, Eastern Tech 0

C. Milton Wright 3, Fallston 1

Bel Air 7, City 0

Severn 2, Bryn Mawr 1, OT

Patterson Mill 5, Havre de Grace 0

Long Reach 1, Atholton 0

Boys soccer

Harford Tech 4, Edmondson-Westside 0

Liberty 2, South Carroll 1

Century 2, Middletown 0

Perry Hall 4, Parkville 2

Glen Burnie 2, North County 0

Patterson Mill 5, Benjamin Franklin 0

Broadneck 1, Leonardtown 0

Archbishop Curley 4, John Carroll 0

Gerstell 3, Indian Creek 0

St. Mary’s 3, Annapolis Area Christian 0

Baltimore Sun Media contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com, 410-332-6636 andx.com/GlennGrahamSun.