Indians jump to first place in FAC with dominating win over Miami Trace
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
EBER — The Hillsboro Indians dominated the Miami Trace Panthers 47-13 on the road in Week 9 action to improve to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the Frontier Athletic Conference.
Thirty-five minutes away from Miami Trace High School, the Washington Blue Lions upset the Chillicothe Cavaliers, handing the Cavs their first-ever FAC loss by a 20-7 score, and also on Friday, the Jackson Ironmen took care of business against McClain.
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Those three outcomes led to a three-way tie for first place in the FAC with one game left in the regular season. This means if the Indians win next week against the McClain Tigers at the Rotary Bowl, the Indians will clinch a share of a conference title for the first time since 1998, because the Cavs and Ironmen face each other next week, giving the winner of that game a share of the conference title as well. HHS last won a conference title in '98 when they played in the SBAAC, sharing that title with Batavia.
Also for the Indians, moving to 8-1 overall on Friday night greatly improved their chances of making the state playoffs, also for the first time since 2005, as they entered this week as the No. 6 ranked team in Region 11. In the preliminary rankings following the game, HHS clinched a playoff berth according to JoeEitel.com, but the official rankings will be released on Tuesday.
Now for the fun stuff that was the Indians’ dominance of the Miami Trace Panthers in Week 9 as the Indians scored on their very first play of the game with Josh Keets rushing 62 yards to pay dirt from his own 38-yard line for the touchdown. The Indians scored on the 2-point conversion run for the 8-0 advantage.
For the game, Keets unofficially rushed for 225 yards on seven carries with three touchdowns.
On the Indians’ next drive, they went a total of 62 yards, but this time they did so with the touchdown run being one yard as Deon Burns barreled his way to the end zone for six points. The drive consisted of a 54-yard rush by quarterback Mason Swayne. The PAT conversion from Reece Bloomfield left the Indians ahead, 15-0.
After forcing two three-and-outs on the first two drives by the Panthers, the Indians this time ended the drive on third down by forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Luke Middleton of the Indians at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter.
The Indians had a big touchdown run called back following a holding call, but the Indians didn’t blink; instead, they were able to add more rushing yards to the stat sheet, with Keets this time racing 61 yards to the end zone with 3:43 left in the first quarter. The PAT was no good, leaving the Indians in front, 21-0.
After forcing another Panthers punt, Hillsboro this time scored on the first play of the drive for the second time in the quarter, with Mark Gallimore taking the football on a 41-yard rush to the end zone with 1:19 on the clock for a 27-0 advantage. Gallimore finished with over 100 yards rushing for the game.
In the second quarter, the Indians were back visiting the end zone, but this time they put together a drive play-by-play as the drive included a 31-yard rush by Gallimore and a 19-yard run from Keets. Later, the Indians — on a drive that began from their own 7-yard line — saw a 27-yard run by Gallimore on a third-and-17 play, setting up first-and-goal.
The next play saw a pass from Swayne to Middleton for a 10-yard score in the back of the end zone, as Luke Middleton got on his tiptoes to stay in bounds for the touchdown with 6:34 left in the first half. The PAT was no good, leaving the score at 33-0.
Hillsboro had some issues on the ensuing drive by Miami Trace with some personal fouls and a long drive by the Panthers that left MT on a fourth-and-2 from the HHS 9-yard line. On the fourth down play, Swayne intercepted the pass in the end zone and maneuvered past MT defenders, but a penalty during the return left HHS with the ball on their own 10-yard line.
Following a personal foul on the Panthers, the Indians had a first-and-10 play from their own 35-yard line and promptly saw Keets race 65 yards to the end zone for his third touchdown run of the first half over 60 yards with 1:22 left in the second quarter. Following a missed PAT, the Indians led 39-0, which stood when halftime arrived.
The Indians added one more touchdown in the end zone with the Indians having a third-quarter touchdown by Burns (57 yards) with the two-point conversion by James Coday for the 47-6 lead with 2:29 left in the third.
Miami Trace had two touchdowns in the second half from Tyler Taylor and Josh Liff.
Hillsboro’s win moves them to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the FAC. MTHS falls to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in the FAC.
GAME NOTES: Max Conover had a tackle for a loss in the first quarter … Middleton and Swayne combined for a TFL to start the second quarter … Logan Hester had a TFL for 4 yards in the second quarter … Zach Burns also had a tackle TFL in the second quarter.
Thirty-five minutes away from Miami Trace High School, the Washington Blue Lions upset the Chillicothe Cavaliers, handing the Cavs their first-ever FAC loss by a 20-7 score, and also on Friday, the Jackson Ironmen took care of business against McClain.
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Those three outcomes led to a three-way tie for first place in the FAC with one game left in the regular season. This means if the Indians win next week against the McClain Tigers at the Rotary Bowl, the Indians will clinch a share of a conference title for the first time since 1998, because the Cavs and Ironmen face each other next week, giving the winner of that game a share of the conference title as well. HHS last won a conference title in '98 when they played in the SBAAC, sharing that title with Batavia.
Also for the Indians, moving to 8-1 overall on Friday night greatly improved their chances of making the state playoffs, also for the first time since 2005, as they entered this week as the No. 6 ranked team in Region 11. In the preliminary rankings following the game, HHS clinched a playoff berth according to JoeEitel.com, but the official rankings will be released on Tuesday.
Now for the fun stuff that was the Indians’ dominance of the Miami Trace Panthers in Week 9 as the Indians scored on their very first play of the game with Josh Keets rushing 62 yards to pay dirt from his own 38-yard line for the touchdown. The Indians scored on the 2-point conversion run for the 8-0 advantage.
For the game, Keets unofficially rushed for 225 yards on seven carries with three touchdowns.
On the Indians’ next drive, they went a total of 62 yards, but this time they did so with the touchdown run being one yard as Deon Burns barreled his way to the end zone for six points. The drive consisted of a 54-yard rush by quarterback Mason Swayne. The PAT conversion from Reece Bloomfield left the Indians ahead, 15-0.
After forcing two three-and-outs on the first two drives by the Panthers, the Indians this time ended the drive on third down by forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Luke Middleton of the Indians at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter.
The Indians had a big touchdown run called back following a holding call, but the Indians didn’t blink; instead, they were able to add more rushing yards to the stat sheet, with Keets this time racing 61 yards to the end zone with 3:43 left in the first quarter. The PAT was no good, leaving the Indians in front, 21-0.
After forcing another Panthers punt, Hillsboro this time scored on the first play of the drive for the second time in the quarter, with Mark Gallimore taking the football on a 41-yard rush to the end zone with 1:19 on the clock for a 27-0 advantage. Gallimore finished with over 100 yards rushing for the game.
In the second quarter, the Indians were back visiting the end zone, but this time they put together a drive play-by-play as the drive included a 31-yard rush by Gallimore and a 19-yard run from Keets. Later, the Indians — on a drive that began from their own 7-yard line — saw a 27-yard run by Gallimore on a third-and-17 play, setting up first-and-goal.
The next play saw a pass from Swayne to Middleton for a 10-yard score in the back of the end zone, as Luke Middleton got on his tiptoes to stay in bounds for the touchdown with 6:34 left in the first half. The PAT was no good, leaving the score at 33-0.
Hillsboro had some issues on the ensuing drive by Miami Trace with some personal fouls and a long drive by the Panthers that left MT on a fourth-and-2 from the HHS 9-yard line. On the fourth down play, Swayne intercepted the pass in the end zone and maneuvered past MT defenders, but a penalty during the return left HHS with the ball on their own 10-yard line.
Following a personal foul on the Panthers, the Indians had a first-and-10 play from their own 35-yard line and promptly saw Keets race 65 yards to the end zone for his third touchdown run of the first half over 60 yards with 1:22 left in the second quarter. Following a missed PAT, the Indians led 39-0, which stood when halftime arrived.
The Indians added one more touchdown in the end zone with the Indians having a third-quarter touchdown by Burns (57 yards) with the two-point conversion by James Coday for the 47-6 lead with 2:29 left in the third.
Miami Trace had two touchdowns in the second half from Tyler Taylor and Josh Liff.
Hillsboro’s win moves them to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the FAC. MTHS falls to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in the FAC.
GAME NOTES: Max Conover had a tackle for a loss in the first quarter … Middleton and Swayne combined for a TFL to start the second quarter … Logan Hester had a TFL for 4 yards in the second quarter … Zach Burns also had a tackle TFL in the second quarter.