Hillsboro Indians intercepted by Washington Blue Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Late in the fourth quarter, the Washington Blue Lions used two interceptions — including one on the goal line — to take a victory back home to Fayette County, causing the host Hillsboro Indians to suffer their fifth loss of the season, falling by a 27-21 score.
Both the Indians and Blue Lions battled tooth and nail in their Frontier Athletic Conference game on Friday night in Week 8, and both teams played close to even, with the Indians using their rushing attack for most of their success and the Blue Lions using their passing game.
But in the fourth quarter, all bets were off, and the Indians — who trailed by a 21-14 score after three quarters — went to their passing game to help them eventually tie the score.
Before the Indians tied the score, they began what was the game-tying drive with 2:21 left in the third with a rush of 10 yards by Mark Gallimore. Next was an 11-yard rush by quarterback Justin Spears, giving the Indians a first-and-10 play from their own 42-yard line. Next came a gain of two yards off a run by Spears, followed by a pass by Spears to Keith Doughman for a 38-yard gain, putting the ball on the Washington 15-yard line.
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Gallimore rushed the ball for 10 yards and a first down to the WCH 5-yard line to end the third quarter, giving the Indians a first-and-goal opportunity. Gallimore moved the ball to the 2-yard line, and on second-and-goal Gallimore barreled through the Washington defense for the 2-yard touchdown with 11:08 left in regulation. The converted PAT by Brock Haines made it a 21-21 score. Gallimore finished the night with 27 carries for 108 yards and two touchdown runs.
Washington (2-1, 5-3) took just six plays to regain the lead, with the ball being spotted on the HHS 13-yard line following a 68-yard kickoff return by Eli Lynch. Later in the drive, Chase Sluder broke through for a 1-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the game. The PAT was blocked by HHS, keeping the lead at six points for a 27-21 Washington advantage.
Lynch finished with five receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 14.2 yards per reception. He also had two carries for 40 yards.
Hillsboro (0-3, 3-5) put together another long and calculated drive, starting on the Blue Lions 40-yard line with 8:43 on the clock. On second down, Spears rushed for 29 yards to the Washington 37-yard line with 8:37 left in the fourth.
Later, there was another big gain, this time for 18 yards on a run by Spears, and on the next play Logan Hester had positive yardage, as did Gallimore to make it first and-goal at the WCH 4-yard line. Following a play for -1 yard and a five-yard penalty, the Indians were intercepted on the goal line with Trevin Downing intercepting the pass and returning the ball 40 yards, plus a 15-yard personal foul was added at the end of the return.
Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke spoke about the fourth quarter for the Indians.
“We just were inches short down there on the fourth down situation, and we just came up just a little bit short, and that’s all I can say right now,” O’Rourke said. “It might have not been the best play call, and we maybe should have done some things different, I don’t know, but right now I’m very proud of the kids.
“I’m proud of how hard they played, and they played right up to the last whistle, and we are going to get some breaks sooner or later.”
The Indians eventually forced a punt and regained possession of the ball with 51 seconds left in the game. Before regaining possession, the Indians’ defense had three straight tackles for loss by Zach Burns, Draven Stodgel, Gallimore and Sanchez Seals.
HHS began their final drive on their own 20-yard line and had a first down completion by Spears to Doughman for 12 yards. Next was another pass completion to Doughman for 12 more yards and a first down. Doughman totaled four receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown, averaging 21.3 yards per reception.
With 35 seconds left on the clock, the Blue Lions intercepted the pass by Miguel O’Flaherty to seal the win for Washington.
“Trevin Downing and Miguel O’Flaherty came up big for us. They (Hillsboro) ran the same play, Miguel read it, he saw it, and he said he kind of baited it and he knew it was coming and he waited and Miguel said he jumped it,” Washington head coach Chuck Williamson said. “It wasn’t a pretty win, but that system is a hard system to play against. It is unorthodox and we don’t see it often, and we told the kids going in it was going to be a war and it was. It wasn’t pretty, but we got the win. Win and survive and hope good things will happen for us.”
The Blue Lions totaled 254 yards of offense (39 plays), while the Indians had 349 yards on offense (60 plays).
As for the first three quarters, the first touchdown of the game came off an Ethan Rogers-Wright pass for 16 yards to Lynch for the score with 8:30 on the clock. The PAT by Grant Kuhlwein made it a 7-0 lead for the visitors.
Rogers-Wright finished 9-of-16 for 144 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
The Indians answered in the first quarter with a 2-yard rush by Gallimore with 5:03 on the clock for a 7-7 tied score following a PAT by Brock Haines.
Washington scored the only points in the second frame with a 62-yard pass by Rogers-Wright to Calum Brown with 38 seconds left in the quarter, as that was his lone catch of the game.
The play was initially set up with the Blue Lions being down to a fourth-and-25 play from their own end zone. Lynch — who is also the punter — felt pressure from the HHS rush on the punt block attempt. Lynch, instead of attempting the punt, rushed out of the end zone and went for a gain of 33 yards all the way to the WCH 38-yard line. That play set up the ensuing touchdown pass that put the Blue Lions ahead 13-7 as the two-point conversion run failed.
“That wasn’t a called thing on the fourth down,” Williamson said. “Coach Mike Wilson does a great job for us up in the box and he said we could get around the right side anytime we wanted it, so we told Eli about it. We told Eli you are a senior, and if you think you can get it, go for it. He said he felt they (HHS) was going to block it, so he saw the opening, took it and went for it.
“Calum Brown made a great catch and ran a great route, and Ethan made a great throw for the touchdown and that was a huge play in the game.”
Both Washington and Hillsboro scored points in the third quarter, with the Indians scoring first and taking a 14-13 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter following a 23-yard pass from Spears to Doughman. Haines made the PAT for the one-point lead. Spears finished 6-of-12 for 98 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the Indians in rushing with 15 carries for 131 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per carry.
Washington regained the lead with 2:21 left on the third-quarter clock with Rogers-Wright passing to Lynch for 25 yards. The two-point pass by Rogers-Wright to Jerome Mack put the Blue Lions ahead by a 21-14 score, as that score stood after three quarters.
“It was a hard-fought, physical game and I’m proud of our kids for coming out here and playing hard. We still have a shot at Week 11, and you have to win these type of tough games. Jack (O’Rourke) runs a great program and has a hard offense to stop, and we played well enough to win,” Williamson said.
Leading the Blue Lions in rushing was Jameson McCane with 13 carries for 80 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry in the win.
On defense, the Indians were led by Hester with eight tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss. Seals totaled five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Also with a tackle for loss were Gallimore and Burns.
Both the Indians and Blue Lions battled tooth and nail in their Frontier Athletic Conference game on Friday night in Week 8, and both teams played close to even, with the Indians using their rushing attack for most of their success and the Blue Lions using their passing game.
But in the fourth quarter, all bets were off, and the Indians — who trailed by a 21-14 score after three quarters — went to their passing game to help them eventually tie the score.
Before the Indians tied the score, they began what was the game-tying drive with 2:21 left in the third with a rush of 10 yards by Mark Gallimore. Next was an 11-yard rush by quarterback Justin Spears, giving the Indians a first-and-10 play from their own 42-yard line. Next came a gain of two yards off a run by Spears, followed by a pass by Spears to Keith Doughman for a 38-yard gain, putting the ball on the Washington 15-yard line.
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Gallimore rushed the ball for 10 yards and a first down to the WCH 5-yard line to end the third quarter, giving the Indians a first-and-goal opportunity. Gallimore moved the ball to the 2-yard line, and on second-and-goal Gallimore barreled through the Washington defense for the 2-yard touchdown with 11:08 left in regulation. The converted PAT by Brock Haines made it a 21-21 score. Gallimore finished the night with 27 carries for 108 yards and two touchdown runs.
Washington (2-1, 5-3) took just six plays to regain the lead, with the ball being spotted on the HHS 13-yard line following a 68-yard kickoff return by Eli Lynch. Later in the drive, Chase Sluder broke through for a 1-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the game. The PAT was blocked by HHS, keeping the lead at six points for a 27-21 Washington advantage.
Lynch finished with five receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 14.2 yards per reception. He also had two carries for 40 yards.
Hillsboro (0-3, 3-5) put together another long and calculated drive, starting on the Blue Lions 40-yard line with 8:43 on the clock. On second down, Spears rushed for 29 yards to the Washington 37-yard line with 8:37 left in the fourth.
Later, there was another big gain, this time for 18 yards on a run by Spears, and on the next play Logan Hester had positive yardage, as did Gallimore to make it first and-goal at the WCH 4-yard line. Following a play for -1 yard and a five-yard penalty, the Indians were intercepted on the goal line with Trevin Downing intercepting the pass and returning the ball 40 yards, plus a 15-yard personal foul was added at the end of the return.
Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke spoke about the fourth quarter for the Indians.
“We just were inches short down there on the fourth down situation, and we just came up just a little bit short, and that’s all I can say right now,” O’Rourke said. “It might have not been the best play call, and we maybe should have done some things different, I don’t know, but right now I’m very proud of the kids.
“I’m proud of how hard they played, and they played right up to the last whistle, and we are going to get some breaks sooner or later.”
The Indians eventually forced a punt and regained possession of the ball with 51 seconds left in the game. Before regaining possession, the Indians’ defense had three straight tackles for loss by Zach Burns, Draven Stodgel, Gallimore and Sanchez Seals.
HHS began their final drive on their own 20-yard line and had a first down completion by Spears to Doughman for 12 yards. Next was another pass completion to Doughman for 12 more yards and a first down. Doughman totaled four receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown, averaging 21.3 yards per reception.
With 35 seconds left on the clock, the Blue Lions intercepted the pass by Miguel O’Flaherty to seal the win for Washington.
“Trevin Downing and Miguel O’Flaherty came up big for us. They (Hillsboro) ran the same play, Miguel read it, he saw it, and he said he kind of baited it and he knew it was coming and he waited and Miguel said he jumped it,” Washington head coach Chuck Williamson said. “It wasn’t a pretty win, but that system is a hard system to play against. It is unorthodox and we don’t see it often, and we told the kids going in it was going to be a war and it was. It wasn’t pretty, but we got the win. Win and survive and hope good things will happen for us.”
The Blue Lions totaled 254 yards of offense (39 plays), while the Indians had 349 yards on offense (60 plays).
As for the first three quarters, the first touchdown of the game came off an Ethan Rogers-Wright pass for 16 yards to Lynch for the score with 8:30 on the clock. The PAT by Grant Kuhlwein made it a 7-0 lead for the visitors.
Rogers-Wright finished 9-of-16 for 144 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
The Indians answered in the first quarter with a 2-yard rush by Gallimore with 5:03 on the clock for a 7-7 tied score following a PAT by Brock Haines.
Washington scored the only points in the second frame with a 62-yard pass by Rogers-Wright to Calum Brown with 38 seconds left in the quarter, as that was his lone catch of the game.
The play was initially set up with the Blue Lions being down to a fourth-and-25 play from their own end zone. Lynch — who is also the punter — felt pressure from the HHS rush on the punt block attempt. Lynch, instead of attempting the punt, rushed out of the end zone and went for a gain of 33 yards all the way to the WCH 38-yard line. That play set up the ensuing touchdown pass that put the Blue Lions ahead 13-7 as the two-point conversion run failed.
“That wasn’t a called thing on the fourth down,” Williamson said. “Coach Mike Wilson does a great job for us up in the box and he said we could get around the right side anytime we wanted it, so we told Eli about it. We told Eli you are a senior, and if you think you can get it, go for it. He said he felt they (HHS) was going to block it, so he saw the opening, took it and went for it.
“Calum Brown made a great catch and ran a great route, and Ethan made a great throw for the touchdown and that was a huge play in the game.”
Both Washington and Hillsboro scored points in the third quarter, with the Indians scoring first and taking a 14-13 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter following a 23-yard pass from Spears to Doughman. Haines made the PAT for the one-point lead. Spears finished 6-of-12 for 98 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the Indians in rushing with 15 carries for 131 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per carry.
Washington regained the lead with 2:21 left on the third-quarter clock with Rogers-Wright passing to Lynch for 25 yards. The two-point pass by Rogers-Wright to Jerome Mack put the Blue Lions ahead by a 21-14 score, as that score stood after three quarters.
“It was a hard-fought, physical game and I’m proud of our kids for coming out here and playing hard. We still have a shot at Week 11, and you have to win these type of tough games. Jack (O’Rourke) runs a great program and has a hard offense to stop, and we played well enough to win,” Williamson said.
Leading the Blue Lions in rushing was Jameson McCane with 13 carries for 80 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry in the win.
On defense, the Indians were led by Hester with eight tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss. Seals totaled five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Also with a tackle for loss were Gallimore and Burns.