Hillsboro rolls to rain-soaked victory over East Clinton
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
With the remnants of the Gulf Coast’s Tropical Storm Gordon making its presence known, the Hillsboro Indians stormed out to a 49-0 win over East Clinton Friday, Sept. 7 on a rainy night at Richards Memorial Field. Hillsboro scored all its points in the first half.
Senior Josh Keets scored on the Indians’ first possession with a 30-yard romp into the end zone with 10:30 on the clock. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Indians owned a 6-0 lead.
The Astros’ first possession ended in a fumble, recovered by Hillsboro senior lineman Max Conover.
The Tribe took advantage of the turnover with three running plays by Deon Burns for a total of 23 yards. Mason Swayne added a five-yard carry to the East Clinton 15. After a holding penalty on Hillsboro, Keets bulled forward for 11 yards to the Astros’ 3-yard line.
On first-and-goal, Swayne picked up two more yards. As the Indians lined up from the Astros’ one, the officials stopped play for 30 minutes due to a lightning sighting with 7:07 remaining in the first.
After 28 minutes of the delay had elapsed, and just as both teams were completing their warmups, the game was delayed for a second lightning sighting at 7:30 p.m.
When play resumed, Swayne ran it into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to give Hillsboro a 12-0 lead. Reece Bloomfield’s first extra-point attempt of the season was no good, but the Indians held a 12-0 lead.
Hillsboro added two more first-quarter touchdowns, both scored by Keets, to take a 26-0 lead after 12 minutes of play. Following a fumble by East Clinton recovered by Bloomfield, Keets scored for an 18-0 lead for Hillsboro. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
On their next possession, Keets scored a touchdown as time ran out in the first quarter for a 24-0 lead. Swayne found Burns for a successful two-point conversion and the 26-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Indians added another 23 points in the second quarter, beginning with Swayne intercepting the ball on third down for the Astros. On his second quarterback sneak of the game, Swayne took the ball one yard into the end zone with 9:55 left in the second for a 32-0 lead. Burns caught the ball in the end zone for his second two-point conversion, leaving Hillsboro ahead, 34-0.
Hillsboro junior Justin Spears intercepted the ball on fourth down on East Clinton’s next possession, and senior Tyler Workman scored a touchdown for the Indians on a reverse play with 4:40 left in the first half. Senior James Coday scored the two-point conversion on a counter play.
The Indians’ final touchdown of the game came after another interception by Spears. Swayne scored his third touchdown of the game by running two yards into the end zone. Following the touchdown, Hillsboro successfully converted their first PAT of the season, with the kick by Bloomfield, for the 49-0 lead.
Following a brief halftime period, the teams opted for eight-minute quarters in the second half, and with a running clock, each team was limited to one possession in each of the two quarters. East Clinton attempted a field goal in the third quarter, but the kick was no good.
“We’re pretty happy with our performance, for the most part,” head coach Jack O’Rourke said following the game. “We’ll come in [to practice] and do what we talk about every day, which is try to get better every day.
“Hopefully we’ll get a chance, when it’s not pouring down rain, to actually try to throw the ball a little bit, but tonight it really wasn’t worth the headache.”
Hillsboro (3-0) will travel to Williamsburg on Friday, Sept. 14.
(Editor’s note: Thank you to WSRW 101.5 for stats and quotes.)
Score by quarters
ECHS – 00 00 00 00 – 00
HHS – 26 23 00 00 – 49
Senior Josh Keets scored on the Indians’ first possession with a 30-yard romp into the end zone with 10:30 on the clock. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Indians owned a 6-0 lead.
The Astros’ first possession ended in a fumble, recovered by Hillsboro senior lineman Max Conover.
The Tribe took advantage of the turnover with three running plays by Deon Burns for a total of 23 yards. Mason Swayne added a five-yard carry to the East Clinton 15. After a holding penalty on Hillsboro, Keets bulled forward for 11 yards to the Astros’ 3-yard line.
On first-and-goal, Swayne picked up two more yards. As the Indians lined up from the Astros’ one, the officials stopped play for 30 minutes due to a lightning sighting with 7:07 remaining in the first.
After 28 minutes of the delay had elapsed, and just as both teams were completing their warmups, the game was delayed for a second lightning sighting at 7:30 p.m.
When play resumed, Swayne ran it into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to give Hillsboro a 12-0 lead. Reece Bloomfield’s first extra-point attempt of the season was no good, but the Indians held a 12-0 lead.
Hillsboro added two more first-quarter touchdowns, both scored by Keets, to take a 26-0 lead after 12 minutes of play. Following a fumble by East Clinton recovered by Bloomfield, Keets scored for an 18-0 lead for Hillsboro. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
On their next possession, Keets scored a touchdown as time ran out in the first quarter for a 24-0 lead. Swayne found Burns for a successful two-point conversion and the 26-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Indians added another 23 points in the second quarter, beginning with Swayne intercepting the ball on third down for the Astros. On his second quarterback sneak of the game, Swayne took the ball one yard into the end zone with 9:55 left in the second for a 32-0 lead. Burns caught the ball in the end zone for his second two-point conversion, leaving Hillsboro ahead, 34-0.
Hillsboro junior Justin Spears intercepted the ball on fourth down on East Clinton’s next possession, and senior Tyler Workman scored a touchdown for the Indians on a reverse play with 4:40 left in the first half. Senior James Coday scored the two-point conversion on a counter play.
The Indians’ final touchdown of the game came after another interception by Spears. Swayne scored his third touchdown of the game by running two yards into the end zone. Following the touchdown, Hillsboro successfully converted their first PAT of the season, with the kick by Bloomfield, for the 49-0 lead.
Following a brief halftime period, the teams opted for eight-minute quarters in the second half, and with a running clock, each team was limited to one possession in each of the two quarters. East Clinton attempted a field goal in the third quarter, but the kick was no good.
“We’re pretty happy with our performance, for the most part,” head coach Jack O’Rourke said following the game. “We’ll come in [to practice] and do what we talk about every day, which is try to get better every day.
“Hopefully we’ll get a chance, when it’s not pouring down rain, to actually try to throw the ball a little bit, but tonight it really wasn’t worth the headache.”
Hillsboro (3-0) will travel to Williamsburg on Friday, Sept. 14.
(Editor’s note: Thank you to WSRW 101.5 for stats and quotes.)
Score by quarters
ECHS – 00 00 00 00 – 00
HHS – 26 23 00 00 – 49