Indians fall at Goshen in non-league game
The Hillsboro Indians had their first lead of the season on Friday night during their Week 2 non-league game against the Goshen Warriors. But playing in their second consecutive road game to start the season left the Indians with the same result, losing to the Warriors, 49-26.
This was the second consecutive game of the season the Indians have allowed 40-plus points in a game, but HHS played closely throughout the first quarter, trailing by just a single point at 7-6.
One player who stood out for the Tribe on Friday night was Deon Burns, as head coach Jack O’Rourke spoke about Burns and the team following the game during an interview on WSRW 101.5 FM.
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“We’re fortunate (to have Burns),” O’Rourke said. “He works hard every day. He’s a load, but he runs hard and makes everything else for us go.
“I told the kids I was very proud of them and the effort they put forth all four quarters. The kids are playing hard and getting better every day.”
For the Indians on Friday, they trailed by a 7-0 score in the first quarter, as the Warriors were first to score. HHS answered with a touchdown of their own as Luke Gallimore raced to the end zone for six points. The Indians were unable to gain the extra point, trailing by a 7-6 score.
In the second quarter, HHS took their first lead of the season, with Gallimore gaining a second touchdown, on a 9-yard carry, with 9:29 left in the first half. HHS converted the 2-point conversion for a 14-7 advantage.
Goshen came back with a touchdown pass, tying the score at 14-14 following a PAT with 7:24 left in the first half. After gaining back possession of the football, Goshen scored again, this time on a short-yardage rush to pay dirt, and following the PAT, GHS led, 21-14 with under 3:00 left in the same opening half.
Josh Keets kept the Indians in the game with a kickoff return to the 48-yard line. With Hunter Chain completing passes to Sajoun Jones and Keets, the Indians scored on a touchdown pass for five yards to Brian Smith with 24 seconds left in the first half. The missed PAT by HHS left the Indians trailing by a 21-20 score.
GHS wasn’t finished yet, with the team reaching pay dirt in the final 24 seconds of the second quarter, scoring a touchdown to complete a two-play, 50-yard drive. The PAT was good, sending the Warriors into the half with a lead of 28-20.
Goshen eventually took a 35-20 lead to start the third quarter, but HHS did score a touchdown of their own in the third frame as well. HHS scored a touchdown from Burns, who scored on a short-yardage run through the defense, getting HHS to a score of 35-26 as the Indians were unable to convert a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:25 left in the third.
That would be their final touchdown of the game, as the Warriors scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to get to the final 13-point deficit at 49-26.
The win moves Goshen to 1-1 overall and the Indians to 0-2 on the season. HHS will play next on a rare Saturday night, hosting Clermont Northeastern in their final non-league game of the season.
O’Rourke spoke on WSRW 101.5 about playing next Saturday and about it being fair week in Highland County.
“It probably will be different, but I think the kids will do their best to be there every day and get everything done,” he said. “They’re serious about this, and you can tell that by the way they played tonight.
“We played on a Saturday morning last week, so we’ll make do.”
(Editor's note: Thank you to 101.5 WSRW FM for providing information on this game.)