Game #	Date	Opponent	Site	Score	W/L	Record
1	8/23/08	Middletown	UC	38-19	W	1-0
2	8/30/08	St. Thomas Aquinas	PBS	35-24	L	1-1
3	9/5/08	Oak Hills	Home	30-7	W	2-1
4	9/12/08	La Salle	Home	31-0	W	3-1 (1-0)
5	9/20/08	Lakewood St. Edward	Home	52-31	W	4-1
6	9/26/08	St. Xavier	Home	33-15	W	5-1 (2-0)
7	10/3/08	Moeller	UC	28-14	W	6-1 (3-0)
GCL CHAMPS!
8	10/10/08	Covington Catholic	Home	56-7	W	7-1
9	10/18/08	Cleveland Benedictine	Home	48-14	W	8-1
10	10/24/08	Western Hills	Home	49-20	W	9-1
CITY CHAMPS!

Playoffs

The 2008 Elder Panthers had high expectations for the upcoming season, having finished their JV season with a 6-1 record, and their freshman season at 12-2 and GCL Champs. Game 1 pitted the Panthers against the Middletown Middies as part of the Crosstown Showdown at Nippert Stadium.  Senior Nick Gramke led the ground attack, scoring two TDs in the first quarter, and another in the second quarter.  Josh Jones caught his first TD pass of the season from junior QB Mark Miller (who took over the reins from senior Joe Hetzer who suffered a concussion in the pre-season), and Tony Miliano kicked a 47-yard field goal (a new school record) to give Elder a 31-7 lead at the half. The Panthers coasted to a 38-19 victory, and set the tone for what was to become another memorable season. 

The Panthers faced a national powerhouse in St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series at Paul Brown Stadium.  Elder scored twice in the first quarter, on a 42-yard Tony Miliano field goal and a 5-yard Josh Jones TD reception from Mark Miler, to take a 10-0 lead.  But the Raiders regrouped and scored 21 unanswered points to take a 21-10 lead into the break.  Each team scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters, but Elder's seven turnovers doomed the Panthers to their first loss of the season.  Miller went 11 for 18 passing for 161 yards, while Joe Hetzer completed 14 of 24 for 127 yards.

In Game 3, the Panthers opened the home portion of their schedule by welcoming the Highlanders of Oak Hills to The Pit.  Following a Highlander fumble and Nick Daffin recovery on the game's second play, Nick Gramke scored one minute into the game on a 3-yard run to set the tone for the contest.  Tony Miliano added two field goals before halftime, of 32 and 28 yards, to put Elder up 13-0 at the half.  Oak Hills scored a touchdown to open the second half, but Miliano kicked a third field goal (29 yards) in the third quarter, tying the school record of three in one game. Elder pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring two more TDs on runs of 52 and 11 yards by junior RB Adam Brown. The final score was 30-7.  (After the end of the season the schools announced this game would be the last in the neighborhood rivalry.  Elder has won every game in the series since 1986. Since the series began in 1979, Elder has won 26 times, and Oak Hills 5.)

The Panthers hosted La Salle for Game 4, to begin the battle for the coveted GCL Championship. Elder jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a 6-yard TD pass from Mark Miller to Tim O'Conner, a Tony Miliano PAT, and a Miliano 19-yard field goal.  An 11-yard Miller TD pass to Alex Welch in the second quarter gave the Panthers a 17-0 halftime lead, and third quarter TD passes to Josh Jones (12 yards) and Michael Del Prince (5 yards) ended the scoring, marking the first shutout of the Lancers by Elder since 2001.

The Panthers welcomed the Eagles of Lakewood St. Edward to The Pit for Game 5, for what turned out to be a scoring fiesta. Coach Doug Ramsey picked up his 100th win, Mark Miller set a new school passing record with 449 yards, and Josh Jones caught 4 TD passes of 56, 55, 42, and 9 yards as the Panthers picked up win number 4 on the season, 52-31.

The St. Xavier Bombers were the defending state champs as they entered The Pit for Game 6, but their record was only 3-2, having lost their starting QB Luke Massa in the previous week's loss to Louisville Trinity.  The Panthers sensed an opening, and took advantage of it, defeating the Bombers 33-15.  Behind defensive standouts Zach Autenrieb and Dominic Palmisano, who each had an interception, the Bombers were held scoreless until the fourth quarter and the game was out of reach.  Elder's scores came on Miller TD passes to Del Prince, O'Conner and Jones, Palmisano's interception return of 30 yards, Miliano's 37-yard field goal and 4 PATs, and a team safety.

The Panthers were now firmly in control of their destiny, needing a win over Moeller to capture their first GCL crown since the state championship year of 2003. Elder journeyed to UC's Nippert Stadium, serving as Moeller's home field, to face a 4-2 Crusader squad.  The teams battled to a 7-7 halftime tie, with Elder's score being contributed by Adam Brown's 2 yard run. Elder scored in the third quarter, as Mark Miller hit Alex Welch with a 36-yard pass, and again early in the fourth, on a 40-yard Adam Brown run.  The Crusaders responded with a score, but the Panther defense nullified its effect when Zach Autenrieb returned an interception 36 yards for a TD. Erich Vogelsang added a key third-quarter interception to halt a Moeller drive.  Final score, 28-14, and the Panthers had achieved goal #1 for the season:  GCL Champs!

Game 8 brought the Covington Catholic Colonels to The Pit for their annual visit, but they were no match for the Panthers.  Adam Brown placed his name in the Elder record book, scoring five touchdowns as the Panthers won their seventh game of the season, 56-7.  Tim O'Conner scored on an 11-yard pass from Mark Miller, and sophomore Ben Coffaro established himself as a star of the future, scoring two TDs late in the game on runs of 44 and 49 yards.

The Panthers trounced the visiting Cleveland Benedictine Bengals, 48-14, in Game 9, gaining 430 yards of total offense. Mark Miller was 16-of-20 passing for 266 yards and 3 TDs, to Alex Welch (8 yards), and Michael Del Prince (41 and 30 yards).  Junior linebacker Corey Mason returned an interception 4 yards for a score, and Josh Jones (5 yards) and Ben Coffaro (3 and 4 yards) added rushing TDs to Tony Miliano's six PATs to round out the scoring.

For the 80th meeting between the two schools, Western Hills offered an opening play wake-up call to the Panthers.  On the first play from scrimmage, Mustang running back D.J. Alexander scored a touchdown on a 61-yard run. The Panthers responded with 49 unanswered points. Touchdowns were tallied by Josh Jones (a 20-yard TD reception and a 27-yard run), Adam Brown (3-yard run), Tim O'Conner (3 and 17 yards), Ben Coffaro (9-yard run) and Mike Neyer (5-yard run). Tony Miliano was a perfect 7-for-7 extra points.  The Mustangs' Alexander added two more TDs, on runs of 5 and 99 yards to give Western Hills some late heroics.  The Panthers ended the regular season with a 49-20 win, a 9-1 record, a GCL-South championship, and a number 3 seed in the Harbin rankings, behind Colerain and Northmont.

The Panthers faced the 6th seeded Centerville Elks in the first round of the playoffs.  After forcing the Elks to punt on their first drive, Elder scored on its first possession, on a 41-yard pass to Tim O'Conner.  The Elder defense forced another Centerville punt, and Mark Miller hit Michael Del Prince with a 52-yard TD pass, and the Panthers led 14-0.  The teams then traded scores later in the first quarter; the Panthers scored at the end of a long drive on a 3-yard Nick Gramke run. Gramke added another TD in the second quarter, and Elder led comfortably at the half, 28-7. The Elks and Panthers battled mightily in the second half, as Elder scored 24 points on TDs by Jones, Coffaro, and Brown, and a 27-yard Miliano field goal.  The Elks added 20 points in the second half, but at the final buzzer, Elder took the contest, 52-27.

The second round opponent was the 10-1 Clayton Northmont Thunderbolts.  Northmont gave the Panthers a much tougher battle than most Panther fans expected, but Elder was able to squeak out a 13-10 win. The Panthers scored first on a Mark Miller-to-Josh Jones 6-ayrd TD pass; Northmont responded in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal.  Northmont took the lead with a TD in the third quarter, but two Tony Miliano field goals in the fourth quarter, of 22 and 31 yards, gave the Panthers the win.  This victory gave Cincinnati football the fans the long-anticipated match-up between Elder and Colerain.  Colerain had been ranked #1 in the Harbins, but Elder was chosen City Champs vote of the area coaches. 

The Elder-Colerain battle was exactly what everyone anticipated, and more. Fighting to a 20-20 tie in regulation, Elder took two overtimes to finally seal the victory. Colerain struck first, but the Panthers took the lead on two Miller-to-O'Conner TD passes, of 23 and 12 yards.  Two Cardinal field goals made the score 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter.  Tony Miliano kicked a 30-yard field goal, but Colerain took the lead 20-17 on a 1-yard TD run. Elder responded with a late drive which ended in another Miliano field goal, this time from 25 yards out, to tie the game.  In the first overtime, the Panthers ended the Cardinals' scoring attempt as Nick Daffin forced a fumble which was recovered by Erich Vogelsang.  The Panthers' field goal attempt was blocked, and the game entered the second overtime.  On the Panthers' first play from scrimmage, Mark Miller hit Josh Jones in the end zone and Miliano's PAT made it 27-20, Panthers.  Colerain's possession ended when Nick Daffin recovered another Cardinal fumble, and the Panthers were regional champs.

The Panthers drew 13-0 Pickerington Central in the state semi-final game, played at Dayton's Welcome Stadium. Elder trailed 10-0 before they finally scored in the second quarter on a 1-yard Nick Gramke run.  After regrouping at halftime, the Panthers scored two TDs in the third quarter, on a 22-yard run by Ben Coffaro and a 64-yard Miller-to-Josh Jones pass play.  The Elder defense held the Tigers scoreless as the offense added a Tony Miliano field goal to make the final score, 24-10. The stage was set for the Panthers to face Cleveland St. Ignatius in the state finals; St. Ignatius had defeated North Canton Hoover in the other semi-final.

The St. Ignatius Wildcats were returning to the state finals for the first time since 2001, when they won the school's ninth state title.  Elder was back in the finals for the first time since 2003, when they won the second of two back-to-back titles.  The Wildcats came out of the locker room inspired, the Panthers came out flat, and before the Purple Nation knew it, the Wildcats were ahead 21-0.  Elder scored just before halftime to gain some of the momentum back, but St. Ignatius scored early in the third quarter to regain their 21 point lead, 28-7.  The Panthers scored shortly thereafter, but the PAT was blocked, making the score 28-13.  Elder kept fighting, as the defense held the Wildcats scoreless and the Panthers scored again late in the game, but an onside kick attempt was recovered  by the Wildcats, and the game ended, 28-20, and the Panthers ended their season as state runner-up. Elder QB Mark Miller set state-title game records for pass attempts (50), completions (27), and passing yardage (399).

 

HONORS
ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-OHIO ALL STAR TEAM
First Team	Austen Bujnoch, Josh Jones, Tony Miliano, Mark Miller
Special Mention	Orlando Scales
Co-Offensive Player of the Year	Mark Miller
SWOFCA  ALL-DISTRICT ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense	Austen Bujnoch, Josh Jones, Mark Miller, Tony Miliano
First Team Defense	Orlando Scales
Second Team Offense	John Anevski
Second Team Defense	Zach Autenrieb
Honorable Mention	Michael Del Prince, Jake Fishburn, Corey Mason, Tim O'Conner
Offensive Player of the Year	Mark Miller
Co-Coach of the Year	Doug Ramsey
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ALL-CITY ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense	Josh Jones, Austen Bujnoch, John Anevski, Tony Miliano
First Team Defense	Orlando Scales, Zach Autenrieb
Honorable Mention	Tim O'Conner, Jake Fishburn, Corey Mason, Michael Del Prince
Player of the Year	Mark Miller
Coach of the Year	Doug Ramsey
G.C.L. SOUTH ALL-STARS
First Team Offense	John Anevski, Austen Bujnoch, Michael Del Prince, Josh Jones, Mark Miller, Tony Miliano
Second Team Offense	Adam Brown, Jake Hahn, Alex Welch
First Team Defense	Zach Autenrieb, Jake Fishburn, Corey Mason, Orlando Scales
Second Team Defense	Zac Asman, Steve Newman, Dominic Palmisano
Academic All-Star	Brett Niehauser
Player of the Year	Mark Miller
Coach of the Year	Doug Ramsey
Offensive Lineman of the Year	Austen Bujnoch
Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year	Orlando Scales
Kicker of the Year	Tony Miliano
TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable Player	Mark Miller
Best Offensive Lineman	Austen Bujnoch
Best Defensive Lineman	Orlando Scales
Best Offensive Back	Mark Miller
Best Defensive Back	Zach Autenrieb
Best Linebacker	Corey Mason
Best Receiver	Tim O'Conner
Most Improved Player	Carlos Ware
Mr. Panther	Mike Neyer
Mr. Z. I. P.	Nick Gramke

 

Final Regular Season Individual Leaders (10 Games)

Final Team Playoff Statistics (5 Games)

 

OFFENSE
First Downs	Total - 92	Run - 30, Pass - 58	Penalty - 4
Yards Gained	Total - 1889	Avg./Game - 377.8
Points Scored	Total - 136	Avg./Game - 27.2
Yards Passing	Total - 1373	Avg./Game - 274.6
Yards Rushing	Total - 516	Avg./Game - 103.2
DEFENSE
Opp. First Downs	Total - 92	Run - 63, Pass - 26	Penalty - 3
Opp. Yards Gained	Total - 1593	Avg./Game - 318.6
Opp. Points Scored	Total - 95	Avg./Game - 19
PASS DEFENSE
Opp. Yards Gained	Total - 567	Avg./Game - 113.4
Opp. Receptions	50/86	Comp % - 58.1%	Avg. Yards - 11.3
RUSH DEFENSE
Opp. Yards Gained	Total - 1026	Avg./Game - 205.2
Opp. Carries	Attempts - 226	Avg. Yards - 4.5
TAKEAWAYS
Interceptions	Total - 3	Yards - 17
Fumble Recoveries	Total - 4	Yards - 0

Final Individual Playoff Leaders (5 Games)

SCORING
	Anthony Miliano	34 Points (16 XPs, 6 FGs)
	Tim O'Conner	30 Points (5 TDs)
RUSHING
Adam Brown	58 Carries	301 Yards	5.2 Yard Average
Mark Miller	39 Carries	49 Yards	1.3 Yard Average
Ben Coffaro	24 Carries	78 Yards	3.3 Yard Average
RECEIVING
Tim O'Conner	29 Receptions	459 Yards	15.8 Yard Average
Josh Jones	22 Receptions	410 Yards	18.6 Yard Average
Michael Del Prince	17 Receptions	194 Yards	11.4 Yard Average
PASSING
Mark Miller	91 Comp/146 Att (62.3%)	1363 Yards	10 TDs, 5 INT
KICKING
Anthony Miliano	6 FG/9 Att (67%)	116 XPs/17 Att (94%)
Corey Mason	12 Punts	439 Yards	36.6 Yard Average

 

Team Roster

Players' names are links to their statistics.

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