Hillsboro keeps Rotary Bowl trophy for 6th straight year; defeats rival McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD – The Hillsboro Indians took a seven-point lead into the halftime break, and when they returned to McClain Field in the second half, that’s when the Indians took complete control of the game and kept possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy for the sixth consecutive season, defeating the host McClain Tigers, 31-7.
The Week 10 Friday night contest was the 37th edition of the Rotary Bowl game, and the Indians added to their overall lead in the series with their 25th win of the annual game. McClain has 12 wins in the series, with their most recent victory against Hillsboro coming in 2015.
“Our defense played great tonight. They played good assignment football,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “I have to tip my cap to Coach (Nathan) Horne, who did a great job getting the defense ready this week, and we just kept hanging in there the whole time.
“Finally, we got some turnovers and got some field position. In the first half, we were playing near the end zone, but we came ready to play tonight, and the kids believed.”
The first half for the Indians (1-4, 4-6) saw their defense play strong, but it was the special teams that put Hillsboro in the lead with a game-opening kickoff return by Canaan Griffith, who caught the Tigers off-guard with a fake reverse on the kickoff return, taking the ball all the way to the end zone for a touchdown that went over 70 yards for six points.
Hillsboro connected with the PAT by Dylan Rigsby for the 7-0 lead.
On the kickoff, O’Rourke was asked if that is the way he wanted it to go … the head coach said, “Absolutely.”
“We’ve practiced that for the last three weeks … we’ve saved that,” O’Rourke said of the kickoff play. “To be honest, the play was supposed to be a throw across the field, but last night I started looking at the weather and everything else and I said, ‘No, we are going to make a reverse off that or a fake reverse,’ because we knew they always kicked the ball near the sideline.
“We knew if it got deep enough, we could catch it, and if we could just get by the first wave we were going to break it, and that’s exactly what happened. It set a great tone for our kids. Canaan is a top-notch senior and has been a great leader for us.”
McClain had a couple plays for positive yardage on their first drive as Andrew Potts had a 9-yard carry, followed later with another 9-yard run.
After forcing a turnover on downs, the Indians were on offense. Besides a 15-yard catch on a slant by Griffith – off a pass by Chris Stout – the Indians lost possession of the ball as a fumble on a handoff resulted in McClain’s Isaac Smith recovering the loose football with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
McClain had a 15-yard pass from Braden Wright to Kaden Penwell for a first down on the next possession, but the Tigers eventually punted.
Defense was on tap for both teams as the first half continued, and with 1:40 left in the second quarter, it was Griffith again with his name being called over the stadium speakers, this time with his first of two interceptions. Late in the second, Griffith intercepted a McClain pass on the Indians’ 4-yard line on a second down play.
After forcing the Tigers (0-5, 4-5) to punt on their first drive of the third quarter, the Indians built a drive of their own, ending with a 23-yard field goal by Rigsby, pushing the HHS lead to 10 points for a 10-0 score.
McClain was down, but not out following the field goal, taking them just two plays to respond with points. McClain’s Wright found Max Eikenberry in stride for a 77-yard touchdown pass and catch with 4:16 left in the third quarter. The PAT by Emerson Yates left the score at 10-7, with the Indians’ lead being cut down to three points.
The Indians eventually reached the end zone for a second time, with their first touchdown on offense in the game coming with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter when Stout — who was under heavy pressure — found Cam Smart wide-open for a touchdown. Rigsby connected for the PAT to put the Indians’ lead at 17-7.
Hillsboro’s defense kept that momentum with a second interception by Griffith, as the McClain Field scoreboard read 8:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Indians took advantage of the turnover and eventually were back in the end zone with a third touchdown. This score was a run of two yards by Travis Ross on third-and-goal for the six points. Rigsby made another PAT, pushing Hillsboro ahead, 24-7.
HHS scored their final touchdown of the game when Derek Whitt battled his way for a 1-yard score on third-and-goal with 1:00 left on the clock. Whitt had six carries on that drive, as he also played on the offensive line earlier in the game. Nick Turner kicked the PAT for Hillsboro, increasing the HHS lead to 31-7.
“Our kids look forward to this game every year, and in the six years I’ve been here we haven’t lost to (McClain), so it is one of those things we believe,” O’Rourke said. “We said we were not going to let this thing go, and all week we practiced hard and they busted their butt. We had a night tonight where we had a next man up.
“We lost our starting right guard last week to a concussion, and the kid who replaced him also got a concussion. We were short another kid who was quarantined because of COVID, so we had guys step up. We had some very inexperienced kids step up on the offensive line and play well enough for us to win and well enough for us to run the ball inside.”
O’Rourke continued to talk about how proud he was of his team.
“I’m very proud of those kids,” he said. “I’m proud of our seniors, and I’m glad we could send them off with a win.”
Going into the game, the Tigers had an opportunity to earn a playoff spot in Region 16 of Division IV, as they were ranked 17th, and the Top 16 teams make the playoff in ’21. The loss all but knocked out the Tigers’ chances of making the playoffs, with Waynesville unofficially keeping ahold of the 16th and final spot.
For the season, the Indians finish 1-4 in the FAC and 4-6 overall. McClain ends the year at 0-5 in the FAC and 4-5 overall. The FAC champion in football for 2021 is Jackson, followed by Miami Trace, Chillicothe, Washington, Hillsboro and McClain.
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The Week 10 Friday night contest was the 37th edition of the Rotary Bowl game, and the Indians added to their overall lead in the series with their 25th win of the annual game. McClain has 12 wins in the series, with their most recent victory against Hillsboro coming in 2015.
“Our defense played great tonight. They played good assignment football,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “I have to tip my cap to Coach (Nathan) Horne, who did a great job getting the defense ready this week, and we just kept hanging in there the whole time.
“Finally, we got some turnovers and got some field position. In the first half, we were playing near the end zone, but we came ready to play tonight, and the kids believed.”
The first half for the Indians (1-4, 4-6) saw their defense play strong, but it was the special teams that put Hillsboro in the lead with a game-opening kickoff return by Canaan Griffith, who caught the Tigers off-guard with a fake reverse on the kickoff return, taking the ball all the way to the end zone for a touchdown that went over 70 yards for six points.
Hillsboro connected with the PAT by Dylan Rigsby for the 7-0 lead.
On the kickoff, O’Rourke was asked if that is the way he wanted it to go … the head coach said, “Absolutely.”
“We’ve practiced that for the last three weeks … we’ve saved that,” O’Rourke said of the kickoff play. “To be honest, the play was supposed to be a throw across the field, but last night I started looking at the weather and everything else and I said, ‘No, we are going to make a reverse off that or a fake reverse,’ because we knew they always kicked the ball near the sideline.
“We knew if it got deep enough, we could catch it, and if we could just get by the first wave we were going to break it, and that’s exactly what happened. It set a great tone for our kids. Canaan is a top-notch senior and has been a great leader for us.”
McClain had a couple plays for positive yardage on their first drive as Andrew Potts had a 9-yard carry, followed later with another 9-yard run.
After forcing a turnover on downs, the Indians were on offense. Besides a 15-yard catch on a slant by Griffith – off a pass by Chris Stout – the Indians lost possession of the ball as a fumble on a handoff resulted in McClain’s Isaac Smith recovering the loose football with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
McClain had a 15-yard pass from Braden Wright to Kaden Penwell for a first down on the next possession, but the Tigers eventually punted.
Defense was on tap for both teams as the first half continued, and with 1:40 left in the second quarter, it was Griffith again with his name being called over the stadium speakers, this time with his first of two interceptions. Late in the second, Griffith intercepted a McClain pass on the Indians’ 4-yard line on a second down play.
After forcing the Tigers (0-5, 4-5) to punt on their first drive of the third quarter, the Indians built a drive of their own, ending with a 23-yard field goal by Rigsby, pushing the HHS lead to 10 points for a 10-0 score.
McClain was down, but not out following the field goal, taking them just two plays to respond with points. McClain’s Wright found Max Eikenberry in stride for a 77-yard touchdown pass and catch with 4:16 left in the third quarter. The PAT by Emerson Yates left the score at 10-7, with the Indians’ lead being cut down to three points.
The Indians eventually reached the end zone for a second time, with their first touchdown on offense in the game coming with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter when Stout — who was under heavy pressure — found Cam Smart wide-open for a touchdown. Rigsby connected for the PAT to put the Indians’ lead at 17-7.
Hillsboro’s defense kept that momentum with a second interception by Griffith, as the McClain Field scoreboard read 8:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Indians took advantage of the turnover and eventually were back in the end zone with a third touchdown. This score was a run of two yards by Travis Ross on third-and-goal for the six points. Rigsby made another PAT, pushing Hillsboro ahead, 24-7.
HHS scored their final touchdown of the game when Derek Whitt battled his way for a 1-yard score on third-and-goal with 1:00 left on the clock. Whitt had six carries on that drive, as he also played on the offensive line earlier in the game. Nick Turner kicked the PAT for Hillsboro, increasing the HHS lead to 31-7.
“Our kids look forward to this game every year, and in the six years I’ve been here we haven’t lost to (McClain), so it is one of those things we believe,” O’Rourke said. “We said we were not going to let this thing go, and all week we practiced hard and they busted their butt. We had a night tonight where we had a next man up.
“We lost our starting right guard last week to a concussion, and the kid who replaced him also got a concussion. We were short another kid who was quarantined because of COVID, so we had guys step up. We had some very inexperienced kids step up on the offensive line and play well enough for us to win and well enough for us to run the ball inside.”
O’Rourke continued to talk about how proud he was of his team.
“I’m very proud of those kids,” he said. “I’m proud of our seniors, and I’m glad we could send them off with a win.”
Going into the game, the Tigers had an opportunity to earn a playoff spot in Region 16 of Division IV, as they were ranked 17th, and the Top 16 teams make the playoff in ’21. The loss all but knocked out the Tigers’ chances of making the playoffs, with Waynesville unofficially keeping ahold of the 16th and final spot.
For the season, the Indians finish 1-4 in the FAC and 4-6 overall. McClain ends the year at 0-5 in the FAC and 4-5 overall. The FAC champion in football for 2021 is Jackson, followed by Miami Trace, Chillicothe, Washington, Hillsboro and McClain.
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