Hillsboro wins on homecoming over East Clinton
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Forcing turnovers in the first half was the key to Hillsboro Indians defending Richards Memorial Field on homecoming against the East Clinton Astros. The Indians had four interceptions in the first half, all leading to some type of shift on the scoreboard, as HHS defeated the Astros, 28-14.
The win was the Indians’ second of the season, and their first win since Week 3. Nevertheless, Hillsboro used not only their turnovers, but a mix of the run, pass and a few big plays to dominate the first half, including three interceptions by Britton Haines and one from Hunter Chain, with Chain taking his to the end zone for the first points of the South Central Ohio League game.
Chain was also named the homecoming king before the game, and the queen was Emily King.
Speaking of that interception by “The King,” that came on the second drive of the contest of the Astros, with Chain intercepting the East Clinton pass and returning it 55 yards to pay dirt down the sideline of EC for the six points with 6:08 left in the opening quarter. Haines kicked the PAT for a 7-0 score.
“Britton Haines had a very nice ball game, as well as Hunter Chain with his interception for a touchdown,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “They played a big part in this win tonight.”
EC regained possession following the kickoff, but the Indians took back the ball with the first interception by Haines in the half, this one coming with 3:35 left in the first quarter, with the ball on the HHS 30-yard line.
Nine plays later on a drive that included a 35-yard reception from Chain to Sajoun Jones, the Indians reached the end zone for a second time, this one with 10:46 left in the second quarter. The touchdown came on a 10-yard run by Luke Gallimore on a second-and-8 play.
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Once EC took over on offense, the Indians defense waited just three plays to take back the football with Haines gaining his second interception. This time, he picked off the pass on a third-and-14 play, giving the Indians possession of the ball on their own 48-yard line with 9:04 left in the second quarter.
The interception eventually turned into points for the Indians, with Jones racing for a 17-yard score with 4:28 left on the scoreboard. That touchdown came on a third-and-8 play, and on a drive that had a 43-yard reception from Chain to Jones. HHS didn’t convert the 2-point conversion, leaving their lead at 19-0.
Then came the biggest play of the game for the Indians. After regaining the football on a punt, the Indians didn’t settle by running out the clock to end the half, but went for it, and that paid off for them. The reward for being aggressive was an 84-yard touchdown run by Luke Gallimore with 1:12 left in the opening half for six points. The PAT by Haines was good for a 26-0 lead.
The Astros still had time to score points, and they drove downfield, getting all the way to the HHS 10-yard line. But Haines was there again to stop the Astros, intercepting a pass for a third time at the 1-yard line with 1.1 second on the clock.
Having a 26-point lead entering the third frame, the second half didn’t equal the first two quarters as they were outscored, 14-2 in the final 24 minutes of play. EC scored their first touchdown on a 42-yard rush by Anthony Osburn with 6:36 left in the third quarter.
“We played a good first half. We let down a little bit on defense in the second half,” O’Rourke said. “We made a couple errors here and there on a couple crucial situations on offense in the second half. Not getting the ball in on fourth down and one on the goal line and a few things like that means we have more room for improvement.
“Osburn got going, and the guys gave him the football a little bit more in the second half.”
The Astros’ final score came on a 1-yard rush on a quarterback keeper by Brendan Jenkins with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter, That play was set up off a big 57-yard run from Osburn. The PAT made it a 26-14 score.
Hillsboro had two more points left in them, scoring on a safety after EC was unable to handle a snap in the shotgun formation. The pressure on the safety was brought by Laith Maxwell, Max Conover and Gary Vincent.
The fourth quarter also saw Hillsboro’s Deon Burns have some crushing runs, as the sophomore broke tackles and gained yards on a number of runs as he returned from a injury suffered earlier in the season.
“We were kind of hoping to hold Burns out and give him another week, but I felt in that situation I needed a power runner there, someone who could break tackles,” O’Rourke said. “We got him involved, and I thought that was a good thing.”
Hillsboro now stands at 1-4 in the SCOL and 2-6 overall. The Astros fall to 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the SCOL with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Indians travel to face the Miami Trace Panthers (2-3, 5-3) in Week 9. MT was defeated on Friday night by Wilmington, 35-7.
“They’re (MT) a little different ball club this year, so we’ve got to come with our best ball game next week,” O’Rourke said. “If we do that, and get a few breaks here and there, I think we can get a W there too.”
The Astros will host the McClain Tigers (0-5, 1-7) in their Week 9 game. MHS lost to the Washington Blue Lions, 48-34.
The win was the Indians’ second of the season, and their first win since Week 3. Nevertheless, Hillsboro used not only their turnovers, but a mix of the run, pass and a few big plays to dominate the first half, including three interceptions by Britton Haines and one from Hunter Chain, with Chain taking his to the end zone for the first points of the South Central Ohio League game.
Chain was also named the homecoming king before the game, and the queen was Emily King.
Speaking of that interception by “The King,” that came on the second drive of the contest of the Astros, with Chain intercepting the East Clinton pass and returning it 55 yards to pay dirt down the sideline of EC for the six points with 6:08 left in the opening quarter. Haines kicked the PAT for a 7-0 score.
“Britton Haines had a very nice ball game, as well as Hunter Chain with his interception for a touchdown,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “They played a big part in this win tonight.”
EC regained possession following the kickoff, but the Indians took back the ball with the first interception by Haines in the half, this one coming with 3:35 left in the first quarter, with the ball on the HHS 30-yard line.
Nine plays later on a drive that included a 35-yard reception from Chain to Sajoun Jones, the Indians reached the end zone for a second time, this one with 10:46 left in the second quarter. The touchdown came on a 10-yard run by Luke Gallimore on a second-and-8 play.
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Once EC took over on offense, the Indians defense waited just three plays to take back the football with Haines gaining his second interception. This time, he picked off the pass on a third-and-14 play, giving the Indians possession of the ball on their own 48-yard line with 9:04 left in the second quarter.
The interception eventually turned into points for the Indians, with Jones racing for a 17-yard score with 4:28 left on the scoreboard. That touchdown came on a third-and-8 play, and on a drive that had a 43-yard reception from Chain to Jones. HHS didn’t convert the 2-point conversion, leaving their lead at 19-0.
Then came the biggest play of the game for the Indians. After regaining the football on a punt, the Indians didn’t settle by running out the clock to end the half, but went for it, and that paid off for them. The reward for being aggressive was an 84-yard touchdown run by Luke Gallimore with 1:12 left in the opening half for six points. The PAT by Haines was good for a 26-0 lead.
The Astros still had time to score points, and they drove downfield, getting all the way to the HHS 10-yard line. But Haines was there again to stop the Astros, intercepting a pass for a third time at the 1-yard line with 1.1 second on the clock.
Having a 26-point lead entering the third frame, the second half didn’t equal the first two quarters as they were outscored, 14-2 in the final 24 minutes of play. EC scored their first touchdown on a 42-yard rush by Anthony Osburn with 6:36 left in the third quarter.
“We played a good first half. We let down a little bit on defense in the second half,” O’Rourke said. “We made a couple errors here and there on a couple crucial situations on offense in the second half. Not getting the ball in on fourth down and one on the goal line and a few things like that means we have more room for improvement.
“Osburn got going, and the guys gave him the football a little bit more in the second half.”
The Astros’ final score came on a 1-yard rush on a quarterback keeper by Brendan Jenkins with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter, That play was set up off a big 57-yard run from Osburn. The PAT made it a 26-14 score.
Hillsboro had two more points left in them, scoring on a safety after EC was unable to handle a snap in the shotgun formation. The pressure on the safety was brought by Laith Maxwell, Max Conover and Gary Vincent.
The fourth quarter also saw Hillsboro’s Deon Burns have some crushing runs, as the sophomore broke tackles and gained yards on a number of runs as he returned from a injury suffered earlier in the season.
“We were kind of hoping to hold Burns out and give him another week, but I felt in that situation I needed a power runner there, someone who could break tackles,” O’Rourke said. “We got him involved, and I thought that was a good thing.”
Hillsboro now stands at 1-4 in the SCOL and 2-6 overall. The Astros fall to 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the SCOL with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Indians travel to face the Miami Trace Panthers (2-3, 5-3) in Week 9. MT was defeated on Friday night by Wilmington, 35-7.
“They’re (MT) a little different ball club this year, so we’ve got to come with our best ball game next week,” O’Rourke said. “If we do that, and get a few breaks here and there, I think we can get a W there too.”
The Astros will host the McClain Tigers (0-5, 1-7) in their Week 9 game. MHS lost to the Washington Blue Lions, 48-34.