Indians drop season opener at Western Brown

MT. ORAB — The Hillsboro Indians trailed by three touchdowns at halftime, and after starting back Saturday morning following a weather postponement Friday night, the Indians began the season with a 48-22 loss to the Western Brown Broncos at Kibler Stadium in their 2016 season opener.

The Indians trailed 20-0 to the Broncos after two complete quarters due to the host team gaining three touchdowns on plays of no less than 39 yards in the first two quarters. That 20-0 score with 12:00 in the third quarter resumed at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The Indians kept the Broncos scoreless their first three drives, including two three-and-outs in the first quarter, then forcing a turnover on the third Western Brown drive when Laith Maxwell intercepted the pass from the Broncos with 3:46 left in the first quarter.

During those first three drives by HHS, they didn’t allow the Broncos to have a play of positive yardage until the third drive, with HHS defensive lineman R.J. Swackhamer having a tackle for a one-yard loss on the first play of the season. On the second drive, Hunter Chain had a tackle for loss as well, and Deegan Boris held WB to no gain on a third down tackle.

The problem for HHS was two plays later, they had a turnover of their own, with the Broncos returning the favor with an interception at the 3:04 on the first-quarter clock.

Gaining possession of the ball at their own 42-yard line following the interception, the Broncos scored the first touchdown of the game off a 55-yard touchdown reception by Carson Eyre, off a pass thrown by Seth Becker on a third-and-7 play, with Eyre taking advantage of single coverage. The PAT by Lane Sexton made it a 7-0 score with 2:29 left in the opening quarter.

HHS responded with a three-and-out, and on the ensuing drive, WB scored a 69-yard touchdown off a pass to Wyatt Fischer with 28 seconds left in the quarter. The PAT was missed for a 13-0 score.

The Indians committed another turnover that resulted in points for the Broncos. The Indians lost a fumble at the 7:46 mark of the second quarter, and after the Broncos recovered, they scored with 6:48 left in the first half, with Fischer scoring his second touchdown off a screen pass from Becker for a 39-yard score. The PAT was good this time for the current 20-0 lead.

HHS came back with an 11-play drive that began on their own 28-yard line and was full of 10 straight runs, before the Indians on the 11th play mixed in a pass that was intercepted by Eric Altman on the WB 15-yard line with 1:27 remaining in the second quarter.

Hillsboro’s defense battled back with an interception by Luke Gallimore, who raced down the sideline to the WB 40-yard line before being knocked out of bounds, leaving 35 seconds left in the first half.

During halftime, the lightning began to appear around 8:15 p.m., and around 9:30 p.m., the game was officially postponed.

Through the first half, unofficially the Indians totaled 81 yards offensively, while the Broncos totaled 212 yards of offense in the same two quarters.

When the second half picked back up on Saturday morning, the game was played closer than the first half, including a lot more scoring.

WB scored their fourth touchdown of the game with 8:50 left in the third, resulting in a 27-0 score, and that would stick through three full quarters.

In the fourth, the Indians scored their first touchdown of the season off a run by Deon Burns, and with that, a two-point conversion for a 27-8 deficit with 10:45 left in regulation.

WB responded with another score, this time reaching pay dirt with 9:25 remaining in the final quarter, taking a 34-8 lead.

That lead didn’t last long with Josh Keets returning a kickoff 75 yards to pay dirt for the Tribe. The two-point conversion by HHS brought them to a 34-16 deficit at the 9:07 mark of the fourth.

Following that score, both teams reached the end zone once again in less than a three-minute span. Hillsboro scored their third touchdown in the second half, this one by Gallimore, who raced 64 yards for six points. The Broncos responded with a score, giving them a 41-22 lead with 7:24 left in the final frame.

As the fourth continued, the Broncos tacked on another touchdown, giving them a 48-22 advantage, resulting in the final score.

In the second half, the Indians were outscored, 28-22.

The JV football game originally scheduled for Saturday at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro will now be played on Monday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. in Hillsboro.

HHS will play again next Friday night when they travel to Goshen at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: WB began the game by recovering a squib kick that bounced off an HHS player … On their second drive, the Indians didn’t have a play go for negative yardage but were forced to punt … Michael Rose of HHS had a sack for a loss of nine yards … Gallimore had a run of 12 yards in the second quarter.