Milford backs Logan Barnhill, left, and Caden Zalenski run behind Ben Kilgore, center, to form a tough trio for opponents to handle in Division II. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MILFORD – They are the Fearsome Threesome.

You don’t want to run into Milford’s Caden Zalenski and Logan Barnhill, plus the guy who clears the way for them, Ben Kilgore, on the football field.

“We’re just strong and powerful, run hard, never fumble, just clean football,” said Barnhill, whose 6-2, third seeded Spartans will be set to host No 6 Plymouth (6-3) in Saturday’s Division III quarterfinals at 3 p.m.

Spartans coach Keith Jones calls the running back tandem “a great two-headed dragon, they both bring so much to the table, whether they’re blocking for each other, getting together on a tackle (on defense) or just leading by example in practice. You can’t even imagine what that’s like, they both go 100 miles an hour all the time. Great kids, then you add Kilgore into the mix, blood, guts. … and he just brings a whole different level because he gives it his all constantly.”

Barnhill’s been playing football since seventh grade. He actually was a quarterback in middle school, but he likes carrying the ball better. However, his freshman year was limited as he suffered a lacerated liver blocking a punt. But he recovered and has been playing on varsity every season.

He was good as a junior, but really worked on getting better for his senior Spartan season.

“I got a lot stronger since last year, and my balance has gotten better,” he said. “It’s nice to have speed and power.”

“I like the way he comes fast downhill,” Jones said. “He’s like a freight train.”

He enjoyed carrying the load for Zalenski when his teammate was sidelined with a foot injury.

“It was great, I usually don’t get to do that,” Barnhill said.

“Usually it’s the Caden Zalenski show.”

Yes, that’s the way it was advertised going into the season. But Barnhill has always been a good presence, and he and Zalenski – who both ran for TDs in the regular season finale vs. Timberlane – have been friends, playing together since the fourth grade.

“It was great,” Zalenski said of watching Barnhill lead the way while he was out. “Winning games, being on the sidelines, obviously you want to play, but it’s great, you still got the win. I loved it, showing all of D-II what he was about.”

And the dual threat is huge.

“You key one of us, the other’s going to have a big game,” Zalenski said. “If you’re going to key on Logan, I’ll run for a lot of yards. If you key on me, he’ll run for a lot of yards. No matter what happens, good luck. … When Logan and Caden are running for eight yards a carry, and you have to tackle us, you’re going to get tired, and you’re not going to want to play us in the second half.”

“Logan is everything you want in a high school football player,” Jones said. “He gives you everything in practice, leads by example, he does not care one way or another who is carrying the ball or who gets the yards. He’s blood and guts ‘We not me’.”

Zalenski says he loves the mental aspect of demoralizing other teams. “You hit them all game, they don’t want to play anymore,” Zalenski said. “There’s no other sport you can get that. That’s what I love about it.”

“He’s always the hammer and not the nail,” Jones said. “If you’re going to tackle him, you’re going to pay.”

Kilgore, who is about 6-3, 240, comes from a wrestling family as his cousins were state champions some 20 years ago. But football is still his favorite, even though he didn’t start playing until his freshman season. He’s trying to get some film together for schools. But he mans an offensive line that he says is made up of “a bunch of misfits; we mix and match different pieces, we work well as a unit, get our jobs done, and it’s great watching these guys run the ball, run people over.”

What does it take to make a good offensive lineman?

“Stay low, be aggressive, and get after it,” Kilgore said. “That’s all you can really ask for.”

As a freshman, Kilgore played right guard, but then as a sophomore, moved to starting left tackle. For a kid who just started playing the game, being up front couldn’t have been easy.

“It’s definitely a weird experience as you’re literally the first point of contact,” Kilgore said. “Every single play. Both sides of the ball. But once I got acclimated to it, it’s a lot of fun.”

Jones said the Spartans tried to start him on the offensive line as a sophomore, but the game at the time was just too fast on that side, so he played more on defense as a reserve. His progression was stalled a bit last year due to the limited schedule/season thanks to the pandemic. “But he’s really come a long way this year,” Jones said. “It gives us a little different dynamic in certain spots. … He’s out there on his own flipping tractor tires on the field. The kid’s an animal.”

Thus Kilgore also enjoys – almost prefers – playing on the defensive line, as he sees the job as “get hands on the guy in front of us, close up the gaps … open up space for Zalenski to come through and lay the hammer down.”

Kilgore enjoys the work in the trenches. “These guys (Barnhill and Zalenski) are great athletes, it’s fun watching them run,” Kilgore said. “You’re just hitting guys, just run them over every play.”

But, while that’s fun, defense, he says is more fun. Why?

“Because you get to hit the guy with the ball,” he said with a grin, noting he’d enjoy playing defense in college. And playing both ways, “you know the ins and outs.”

Kilgore’s been a huge key for both backs, driving people back off the line and giving Zalenski and Barnhill green pastures to run through.

“It makes Logan and my jobs much easier, take the pressure off,” Zalenski said. “Obviously with Kilgore and all the other lineman as well.”

Zalenski enjoys playing middle linebacker almost more than running back.

“I think the more he gets hit, the better he plays, to be honest with you,” Jones said. “It works out well for us, because he likes the violent contact of the game.”

But as a back, he feels he’s faster than teams expect, and even stronger. As ones said, “He’s sneaky fast.”

“I’ll run through you or around you, either way we’re getting yards,” Zalenski said.

Barnhill would like to play football in college, Kilgore would, too. He wrestles in the winter, and he’s certainly good at that as well. Zalenski, meanwhile, is a track athlete as a thrower – he won the discus in the Meet of Champions last spring — and that’s what he wants to do in college as some schools are already hot on his trail – includin UNH and Bucknell. Barnhill is trying to get film out and would love to play football “anywhere in New England.”

But all that is next year. First thing’s first, run to glory with either back leading the way.

“It doesn’t matter,” Zalenski said. “I really want to see Milford win a championship. I don’t care if Logan’s running the ball, I’m running the ball, I don’t care if Kilgore’s running the ball. If we win, that’s all that matters.”

“It’s a great nucleus,” Jones said. “We’re thin in a lot of areas, but all three have made the kids around them better.”