Blue Lions run past Indians on homecoming

HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Indians celebrated homecoming by crowning Ryan Hagan king and Bree Opst queen before the start of their battle against the visiting Washington Blue Lions.

Following the festivities, the Blue Lions took over at Richards Memorial Field by controlling the tempo of the game, the line of scrimmage and with that used their rushing attack to power their path that led to them defeating the host Indians, 22-3.

The key to the victory by the Blue Lions, resulting in the loss for Hillsboro, was simple. The Blue Lions used their size on the offensive line to create rushing opportunities (along with the Indians having multiple untimely penalties), allowing them to control the pace in which the game was played at Richards Memorial Field Friday night.

Hillsboro (0-1, 1-3) was held to a field goal in their Week 4 loss, coming off the foot of Deon Burns from 25 yards with the ball sailing through the uprights, as the second-quarter clock read 4:20.

"They (Washington) just manhandled us up front," HHS head coach Matt Hodge said. "They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, did what they wanted to do, and we didn't stop it.

"We couldn't sustain anything, we kept getting beat at the line of scrimmage, and when that happens, it is hard to do anything. They dominated the line of scrimmage (Friday), and that's why we got beat."

The rest of the scoring came from the Blue Lions, who are now 2-2 on the season, winning their past two games by a combined score of 56-16. Their defense held their opponents in check the past two games, something Washington coach Corey Dye spoke about following the game.

"The credit goes to our offensive line," Dye said. "They are gelling more each and every week. They created running lanes, and our halfbacks Kyle Garrett and Timmy Robinson did a great job of isolating, kicking out, and overall it was an outstanding job."

As for the Blue Lion scoring, their first score came on a three-play drive (their second drive of the game), resulting in 54 yards in less than a minute. The touchdown drive came to an end with Caleb Rice racing 44 yards on a second-and-eight play with 3:54 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Alex Trombold put the Blue Lions in front, 7-0.

The Indians gave away two points to their visitors with a failed punt attempt, as the snap was high, bouncing in the end zone with the punter falling on the ball for a safety and a nine-point Blue Lions advantage with 2:07 left in the first.

Even with the Blue Lions gaining possession of the ball with the safety, the Indians did all they could on the ensuing drive to defend their home field in front of a large home crowd on homecoming.

Two plays after the safety, the Indians rebounded by forcing a fumble and gaining possession, with Christian Opst gaining possession of the loose football with 1:26 left in the first, but the Indians were eventually forced to punt away the football.

On the next Blue Lions possession, the visitors had a 71-yard touchdown pass called back due to an illegal forward pass as the receiver was left without any coverage. With the touchdown erased, the Indians forced a second fumble, this time with Connor Lowe falling on the football with 6:45 left in the second.

That turnover led to a field goal as the Indians gained possession on the Blue Lions’ 19-yard line. The big play of the drive, following an offensive pass interference call that possibly kept the Blue Lions from intercepting a pass, was a 15-yard gain by Hagan on second-and-goal. That run put the Indians in field goal position, where Burns kicked the 25-yard field goal on fourth down.

Washington led by a 9-3 score at halftime, and though the band played "Uptown Funk" at the half, the Blue Lions came out and used their “downfield force” to control most aspects of the second half.

At the start of the third quarter, the Indians, starting on their own 18-yard line, went 53 yards on a pass completion from quarterback Hunter Chain to Hagan, taking them to the Blue Lions’ 27-yard line.

The remainder of the drive went the way of the visitors, as the Indians had multiple penalties while the Blue Lions applied defensive pressure to eventually force a punt on a fourth-and-44 play on the Blue Lions’ 40-yard line.

Once regaining possession of the ball with 9:23 left in the third, the Blue Lions put together a 16-play drive that ended with a 10-yard pass from Jarett Patton to Mason McCane for six points and a 15-3 lead.

Washington scored one final touchdown with 1:28 left in the fourth with Eric Barden taking the ball 10 yards to pay dirt, untouched on second-and-goal. The PAT by Trombold gave the Blue Lions their final 22-3 lead.

Dye spoke more on his offense.

"When a defense loads the box, you have to either pass the ball or hit the perimeter, and we were able to do that," he said. "We were able to successfully to do that. We are moving the chains, moving the clock, and that's what we want to do.

"Also, our defense played outstanding again. We gave up a couple turnovers we didn’t want to do, especially in their red zone. Our defense stepped up big in only giving up three points, so I was proud of our defensive effort."

Next week, the Indians will travel to Clinton County to face the Wilmington Hurricane, who are 3-1 on the season. On Friday, the Hurricane defeated the McClain Tigers, 54-7.

The Blue Lions (2-2) next week will play at East Clinton.

GAME NOTES: Lane Hester of HHS unofficially totaled 11 tackles … the Indians fumbled the final kickoff return in the fourth quarter … One HHS player was ejected from the game in the third quarter.