Hillsboro loses in OHSAA Playoffs to Unioto Shermans
CHILLICOTHE — At times the Hillsboro Indians showed flashes of success in the Division IV OHSAA first-round playoff game on Saturday night at Unioto. The problem for the Indians was they just didn’t keep pace with the host Shermans, eventually falling by a 42-14 score.
This was the eighth time the Indians played in a playoff game, as the program is now 0-8 all-time in the playoffs. The loss on Saturday dropped Hillsboro to 1-6 overall, as every team in the state had an opportunity to either play in the playoffs this season, or to opt out, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the game on Saturday at Unioto, neither team had a strong start as they both were forced to punt in their first possession. Unioto regained possession of the ball with 8:22 left in the first quarter after a three-and-out by the Indians.
After two plays for a loss of -2 yards (including a tackle for loss by Jayse Middleton), Unioto got on a roll by having a 9-yard gain on third down, then they converted a fourth-and-3 play off a QB keeper rush by Isaac Little for a three-yard gain and a first down. Next came a gain of four yards, then on third-and-6 there was a pass from Little to Maddox Fox for a 34-yard gain, taking the ball all the way to the Hillsboro 4-yard line.
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On first-and-goal, the Shermans wrapped up the drive with a 6-yard pass from Little to Fox for a touchdown with 6:15 on the clock. The PAT was good by UHS for a 7-0 lead.
The Indians battled hard on the ensuing drive with a 14-play drive, including a 14-yard rush by Derek Whitt and later a 19-yard gain off a reception by Travis Ross on first-and-20. That play took the Indians to the UHS 29-yard line, but the Indians gained just four more yards on the drive as they had a turnover on downs on the Unioto 25-yard line to start the second frame.
Unioto scored a touchdown when they regained possession of the ball, and it took just four plays, and two HHS penalties, for them to go 75 yards to the end zone. Little found Fox for a 40-yard touchdown catch for six points with 10:10 left on the second-quarter clock. The PAT by Lucas Hanes was good, putting the Shermans in front, 14-0.
The Shermans were also aggressive on defense as Little had an interception on the second play of the drive, taking the ball from around the Indians’ 20-yard line all the way to the HHS 6-yard line with 9:57 left in the first half. One play later, Little kept the ball on a QB keeper for the 6-yard score with 9:53 on the clock. Again, the PAT was good by Hanes for a 21-0 lead by UHS.
HHS finally got on the board with a 10-play drive that went 64 yards for the touchdown. One of the bigger plays of the drive was a 17-yard catch by Ross on first down, and later, on a second down play, there was a 12-yard gain on a QB keeper by Chris Stout. The first HHS score of the game came on first-and-goal when Bryce Parsons rushed four yards for the six points with 4:34 left in the second quarter. HHS had a penalty on the PAT attempt, then attempted a trick play on a 2-point conversion try that failed, leaving them trailing by 15 points at 21-6.
The Indians were alert on the kickoff as the ball bounced off a Unioto player, resulting in the Indians’ Michael Kaufman recovering the loose football with 4:28 left in the quarter.
Five plays later, the Tribe returned to the end zone with a 20-yard touchdown run by Parsons, his second touchdown of the game with 1:50 left in the quarter. A pass from Stout to Bryant Cox left HHS down just seven points at 21-14.
Unioto wasn’t finished in the first half because the home team added another touchdown before the end of the first half. In a five-play drive, that included a 32-yard gain by Byrd Green off a pass by Little, the Shermans reached the end zone and added more points to their side off a 1-yard rush by Little with 32.2 left in the first half, The PAT went through the uprights for a 28-14 lead.
The Indians were held scoreless in the second half and were outscored 14-0 in the third frame, and neither team scored points in the fourth quarter. The first touchdown for UHS in the third came off a run by Little, as he broke numerous tackles down the side ine on a 33-yard touchdown rush with 8:09 left in the third.
The second score came with UHS regaining possession after the Indians lost the ball on a fumble. The very first play of the next drive, Unioto scored six points off a run by Cameron Lohnes for 84 yards with 5:45 left in the quarter. The PAT was good, leaving the Shermans ahead 42-14.
A plus for HHS near the end of the third was an interception by Cameron Smart with 1:34 left in the third, but HHS was eventually forced to punt at the start of the fourth quarter.
With the win, Unioto improves to 5-2 overall this season. Next they will play on Saturday, Oct. 17 against Archbishop McNichols (3-2) at 7 p.m.
Next for Hillsboro is a game against the East Clinton Astros as it will be counted as a regular-season game, and it will be played at Richards Memorial Field.
From there, HHS has another regular-season game scheduled on Friday, Oct. 23, as they are scheduled to host the Clermont Northeastern Rockets. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.