Indians lose close game to Cavaliers

The Hillsboro Indians scored first, but the Chillicothe Cavaliers scored the most points with the Tribe falling to the host Cavs, 14-6 Friday night.

Hillsboro's South Central Ohio League loss moves them to 1-5 overall, 0-3 in the SCOL, though the Indians led for a majority of the game at Herrnstein Field in Chillicothe.

The lone Hillsboro touchdown occurred with 4:48 left in the first quarter as Lane Hester raced to the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown, taking a 6-0 lead, as the Indians missed the PAT.

“We’re not big on moral victories in Hillsboro. We’re not ever going to accept losing. This one hurts, as it should," HHS head coach Matt Hodge told WSRW 101.5 radio announcers Stew Gardner and Jarrod Weiss. "We don’t ever want to accept losing, but we don’t want to hang our heads. We have a lot to be proud of. We need to get back to work and get ready for Massie.

“Chillicothe is tough. They have skill kids all over the place, and their line’s good as well. Our coaches had a plan and the kids executed, but we’ve just got to put points on the board.

"I’m glad we were on turf tonight. That helped a little bit. There was a constant downpour and you could tell the ball was slick on both sides, but each team had to play in it.”

Chillicothe's two touchdowns came in the third and fourth quarters. Their first score came off a touchdown run by Nate Rosenbauer on a 28-yard run with 3:28 left in the third. The PAT by the Cavs moved them into the lead for good at 7-6.

The final CHS score came with Rosenbauer scoring his second touchdown run of the game with 3:24 remaining in the game.

Though the Indians lost, they still had some solid play, including Connor Lowe (an offensive lineman) catching a pass in the second quarter. Later in the second, Lowe produced on the defensive side of the ball with solid play.

Late in the second on a third down play, Britton Haines caught a pass for a first down. When HHS was on defense near the end of the first half, Christian Opst broke up a trick play by the Cavs.

Early in the third, the Cavs had a touchdown run called back, and that was followed with Lowe recovering a fumble.

In the fourth, the Indians forced a turnover with an interception by Haines with 6:37 on the clock. After the Indians didn't take advantage of the turnover, the Cavaliers regained possession of the ball, but HHS had their third fumble recovery of the game.

The Indians tried to rally, but the Cavs forced a turnover of their own by intercepting a pass by the Indians. HHS had possession of the ball late in the game but were unable to reach pay dirt.

HHS will host SCOL leader Clinton-Massie in Week 7 at Richards Memorial Field. CM defeated the Washington Blue Lions by a 50-6 score to move to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the SCOL.

“We know next week, Massie’s a great football team, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got, lay it all on the field and see what happens,” Hodge said.