Hillsboro Indians fall in FAC opener at Chillicothe
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By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — The athleticism of the Chillicothe Cavaliers' quarterback Branden Maughmer and too many turnovers was a combination that was just too much for the Hillsboro Indians to overcome on Friday night, as they went on the road and fell to the host Cavaliers by a 42-20 score at Herrnstein Field.
Hillsboro (0-1, 4-2) came into the inaugural Frontier Athletic Conference contest with three straight non-conference victories, but being unable to halt the offense of the Cavaliers in the second half proved to be the difference maker in Week 6 for the Tribe.
“Turnovers really hurt us. We had some drives going, and we made some turnovers and blitzes, and that really hurt us a great deal,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “It could have been closer or even a tied ball game at the half.
“More than anything, it’s inconsistent play from us, and not too smart play at times.”
On their first drive of the game, the Cavaliers — following a punt by the Indians on the first drive of the game — chipped away at the defense of the Indians, eventually building a 13-play, 88-yard drive that resulted in a third-and-goal touchdown off a 3-yard rush by senior Connor Mathis with 4:25 left in the opening quarter.
From there, the teams exchanged turnovers as the Indians fumbled the football on the first play of the second quarter, which was recovered by Payton Shoemaker with 11:55 on the clock. The Cavs’ turnover was a turnover on downs, as the Indians held Chillicothe on a fourth-and-12 from the Indians’ 35-yard line, giving HHS the ball back with 10:38 left in the quarter.
The momentum gained on defense went away quickly four plays later. HHS began the ensuing drive with a 21-run by Josh Keets, followed by a 3-yard rush by Keets. The Indians recovered their own fumble on the next play, then on third-and-10 threw an interception from their own 49-yard line, which was grabbed by J’Quan Harris of the Cavs with 8:51 left in the first half.
Chillicothe took full advantage of that play as they had a 10-play, 59-yard drive and once again scored in the red zone as Maughmer went 13 yards for the touchdown with 4:10 on the second quarter clock. The PAT by Matt Detty made it a 14-0 lead.
HHS began to build a drive on their next possession, including a 16-yard rush by Devon Gallimore, but again the Indians just didn’t put a string of plays together, resulting in a turnover on downs with 1:29 left in the quarter.
The Cavaliers (1-0, 4-2) almost added points to their lead late in the second quarter, but a holding call on a 60-yard run erased a touchdown run by Harris. On the very next play, the Cavs conveyed a hook-and-ladder play that had Connor Mathis gain 44 yards on the pitch, taking the football all the way to the Indians’ 18-yard line. The Indians ended the first half with an interception by Britton Haines.
For the first half, the Indians totaled just 76 yards.
The potential 21-point lead for the Cavaliers came to fruition at the start of the third quarter. The Indians began the quarter with a short kick that landed on the CHS 46-yard line, and on the Cavs’ first play of the third, Maughmer rushed straight to the end zone for 54 yards, 12 seconds into the quarter, for a 21-0 advantage over the Indians.
The Indians had an excellent return by Lewis, taking the ball to the HHS 47-yard line. On the first play of the drive, the Indians had a 7-yard carry by Burns, but unfortunately he was injured on the play with around 11:23 left in the quarter.
Hillsboro wasn’t finished, scoring on their first play of the drive as Britton Haines went 46 yards on a pass from Mason Swayne for six points and the touchdown with 11:09 on the third-quarter clock.
With CHS leading by 15 points, they had a 50-yard touchdown called back on a holding call, but they rebounded with a 52-yard rush from Harris and two plays later reached the end zone on a second-and-goal 3-yard run with 9:57 left in the third. The PAT made it a 28-6 advantage.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Indians were called for a targeting penalty on the return, taking away a 20-plus yard return. Things continued to get worse for HHS, as they had a 15-yard personal foul call taking them back to their own 13-yard line, sending it to a third-and-18 play. Lewis came back with a 10-yard run, but the Tribe was forced to punt.
The Cavs put together another scoring drive with Maughmer keeping the drive alive with a 38-yard rush on third-and-18, taking the ball from the 48-yard line to the 10-yard line. On second-and-goal, Harries pounded his way seven yards for a touchdown wth 6:20 left in the third. The PAT increased the Cavaliers’ lead to 35-7.
With the score staying 35-6 after three quarters, the Cavaliers continued a drive that began late in the third, switching out some of their starters with reserves when the fourth quarter began. The drive ended with six more points by the Cavaliers as they competed a 12-play, 53-yard drive with a 9-yard run from McKellan Lee with 10:54 left in the fourth for a 42-6 lead following the PAT.
The Indians continued to battle in the fourth, including a 34-yard reception by Haines off a pass by Swayne, taking the ball from the HHS 45-yard line all the way to the CHS 21-yard line. The drive ended with the Indians’ second touchdown of the game, as Mason Lewis rushed to pay dirt nine yards for the score with 5:24 left in regulation. HHS failed on the 2-point conversion, leaving the score 42-12.
HHS followed their touchdown with Deegan Boris forcing a fumble and Mark Gallimore recovering the fumble with 4:18 left in the game. The Indians took advantage of the fumble recovery when Mason Lewis rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 8.9 seconds on the clock. Earlier in the drive, the touchdown was set up with a 17-yard rush from Lewis on second-and-10 from the 21-yard line.
For Week 7, the Indians return home after two straight weeks on the road as they are scheduled to start what will be three consecutive home games, beginning with a FAC game against the Washington Blue Lions at 7 p.m.
The Blue Lions (0-1, 3-3) lost to the Jackson Ironmen (1-0, 5-1) at Gardner Park in Week 6 by a score. As for the Blue Lions this week, they were awarded a win following last week’s loss to St. Charles, as St. Charles was forced to forfeit the win due to having an ineligible player.
“It’s Court House. All we’ve got to do is say that name, and I think we’ll be ready,” O’Rourke said.
Hillsboro (0-1, 4-2) came into the inaugural Frontier Athletic Conference contest with three straight non-conference victories, but being unable to halt the offense of the Cavaliers in the second half proved to be the difference maker in Week 6 for the Tribe.
“Turnovers really hurt us. We had some drives going, and we made some turnovers and blitzes, and that really hurt us a great deal,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “It could have been closer or even a tied ball game at the half.
“More than anything, it’s inconsistent play from us, and not too smart play at times.”
On their first drive of the game, the Cavaliers — following a punt by the Indians on the first drive of the game — chipped away at the defense of the Indians, eventually building a 13-play, 88-yard drive that resulted in a third-and-goal touchdown off a 3-yard rush by senior Connor Mathis with 4:25 left in the opening quarter.
From there, the teams exchanged turnovers as the Indians fumbled the football on the first play of the second quarter, which was recovered by Payton Shoemaker with 11:55 on the clock. The Cavs’ turnover was a turnover on downs, as the Indians held Chillicothe on a fourth-and-12 from the Indians’ 35-yard line, giving HHS the ball back with 10:38 left in the quarter.
The momentum gained on defense went away quickly four plays later. HHS began the ensuing drive with a 21-run by Josh Keets, followed by a 3-yard rush by Keets. The Indians recovered their own fumble on the next play, then on third-and-10 threw an interception from their own 49-yard line, which was grabbed by J’Quan Harris of the Cavs with 8:51 left in the first half.
Chillicothe took full advantage of that play as they had a 10-play, 59-yard drive and once again scored in the red zone as Maughmer went 13 yards for the touchdown with 4:10 on the second quarter clock. The PAT by Matt Detty made it a 14-0 lead.
HHS began to build a drive on their next possession, including a 16-yard rush by Devon Gallimore, but again the Indians just didn’t put a string of plays together, resulting in a turnover on downs with 1:29 left in the quarter.
The Cavaliers (1-0, 4-2) almost added points to their lead late in the second quarter, but a holding call on a 60-yard run erased a touchdown run by Harris. On the very next play, the Cavs conveyed a hook-and-ladder play that had Connor Mathis gain 44 yards on the pitch, taking the football all the way to the Indians’ 18-yard line. The Indians ended the first half with an interception by Britton Haines.
For the first half, the Indians totaled just 76 yards.
The potential 21-point lead for the Cavaliers came to fruition at the start of the third quarter. The Indians began the quarter with a short kick that landed on the CHS 46-yard line, and on the Cavs’ first play of the third, Maughmer rushed straight to the end zone for 54 yards, 12 seconds into the quarter, for a 21-0 advantage over the Indians.
The Indians had an excellent return by Lewis, taking the ball to the HHS 47-yard line. On the first play of the drive, the Indians had a 7-yard carry by Burns, but unfortunately he was injured on the play with around 11:23 left in the quarter.
Hillsboro wasn’t finished, scoring on their first play of the drive as Britton Haines went 46 yards on a pass from Mason Swayne for six points and the touchdown with 11:09 on the third-quarter clock.
With CHS leading by 15 points, they had a 50-yard touchdown called back on a holding call, but they rebounded with a 52-yard rush from Harris and two plays later reached the end zone on a second-and-goal 3-yard run with 9:57 left in the third. The PAT made it a 28-6 advantage.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Indians were called for a targeting penalty on the return, taking away a 20-plus yard return. Things continued to get worse for HHS, as they had a 15-yard personal foul call taking them back to their own 13-yard line, sending it to a third-and-18 play. Lewis came back with a 10-yard run, but the Tribe was forced to punt.
The Cavs put together another scoring drive with Maughmer keeping the drive alive with a 38-yard rush on third-and-18, taking the ball from the 48-yard line to the 10-yard line. On second-and-goal, Harries pounded his way seven yards for a touchdown wth 6:20 left in the third. The PAT increased the Cavaliers’ lead to 35-7.
With the score staying 35-6 after three quarters, the Cavaliers continued a drive that began late in the third, switching out some of their starters with reserves when the fourth quarter began. The drive ended with six more points by the Cavaliers as they competed a 12-play, 53-yard drive with a 9-yard run from McKellan Lee with 10:54 left in the fourth for a 42-6 lead following the PAT.
The Indians continued to battle in the fourth, including a 34-yard reception by Haines off a pass by Swayne, taking the ball from the HHS 45-yard line all the way to the CHS 21-yard line. The drive ended with the Indians’ second touchdown of the game, as Mason Lewis rushed to pay dirt nine yards for the score with 5:24 left in regulation. HHS failed on the 2-point conversion, leaving the score 42-12.
HHS followed their touchdown with Deegan Boris forcing a fumble and Mark Gallimore recovering the fumble with 4:18 left in the game. The Indians took advantage of the fumble recovery when Mason Lewis rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 8.9 seconds on the clock. Earlier in the drive, the touchdown was set up with a 17-yard rush from Lewis on second-and-10 from the 21-yard line.
For Week 7, the Indians return home after two straight weeks on the road as they are scheduled to start what will be three consecutive home games, beginning with a FAC game against the Washington Blue Lions at 7 p.m.
The Blue Lions (0-1, 3-3) lost to the Jackson Ironmen (1-0, 5-1) at Gardner Park in Week 6 by a score. As for the Blue Lions this week, they were awarded a win following last week’s loss to St. Charles, as St. Charles was forced to forfeit the win due to having an ineligible player.
“It’s Court House. All we’ve got to do is say that name, and I think we’ll be ready,” O’Rourke said.