Indians secure 1st win of season

HILLSBORO — Following a lightning delay which lasted nearly an hour, the Hillsboro Indians built a 20-point lead at halftime, but they had to battle tough in the second half against a Goshen Warriors team who had a strong comeback effort in the second, but it wasn’t strong enough.

Once the clock hit all zeroes, the Indians were the winners, using strong defensive efforts when they needed them the most and getting tackles for loss at the most opportune times, leading to the Tribe defeating the Warriors 20-13 in their non-conference Week 2 game at Richards Memorial Field.

With the victory bell ringing away following their win, the Indians celebrated a victory which saw them score three touchdowns in the first half, but that half took a long time as a lightning delay forced a play stoppage at the 6:29 mark of the first quarter at 7:43 p.m.

The two teams didn’t return to the field until around 8:38 p.m., but when they did, the Indians were in possession of the ball but fumbled on third-and-goal as Goshen recovered the ball with 5:32 left in the first frame.

Before the turnover and the hourlong weather delay, the Indians had a big play from sophomore Austin Barrett, who had a 51-yard rush from Hillsboro’s 27-yard line. Barrett maneuvered past defenders and raced down the sideline for the big gain.

Though the Indians didn’t score any points on that drive, and both teams were scoreless in the first quarter, HHS did overcome a turnover, had a nice defensive stand and began their first scoring drive of the game with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

The scoring drive included the second play where Barrett rushed for a 16-yard gain, and later on fourth-and-9 he caught an 11-yard pass from Chris Stout to put the Indians on the GHS 24-yard line with a first down. The drive continued into the latter stages of the first quarter where a personal foul by the Warriors on third down gave the Tribe an automatic first down.

That 15-yard personal foul penalty gave Hillsboro much-needed life, because on first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Barrett had a gain of five yards to end the first quarter. On the first play of the second frame, it was a bruising 4-yard rush from Derek Whitt which put the Indians in the end zone with 11:56 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Dylan Rigsby gave HHS an 7-0 lead.

For the game Stout passed for 54 yards and rushed for 89 yards, unofficially. As a team the Indians finished with 193 yards rushing and 247 total offensive yards. Barrett totaled 60 rushing yards for HHS on 10 carries.

On the ensuing drive, the Indians forced a punt, but they lost possession of the punt during the return, with Goshen recovering the ball at the 9:39 mark of the second frame.

Then it was time for sophomore Gary Reno to make his mark on defense. The HHS defensive lineman stripped the ball from the Goshen rusher forcing the turnover. He proceeded to take the ball to the end zone, but the touchdown was called back due to a HHS penalty on the return with 9:22 on the clock.

The turnover by Reno and the penalty left the Indians on their own 25-yard line. Five plays later, the Indians were celebrating in the end zone with their second touchdown of the game.

Even with GHS having a sack on first down, HHS quarterback Stout dusted himself off and proceeded to race for a 21-yard gain on second down. Next was a 7-yard scamper by Ethan Grooms and a 10-yard dash by Stout.

On the ensuing first down, Stout landed in the end zone with him rushing past the opposing defense for a 42-yard touchdown. The TD came with 7:12 left in the first half. Rigsby’s PAT was good for the 14-0 lead.

Reno was at it again by recovering a first-down fumble by the Warriors with 6:58 on the second-quarter clock. The very first play of the next drive, Canaan Griffith caught a pass for a 23-yard touchdown. The PAT was blocked, leaving the Indians in the lead at 20-0.

Goshen responded with two second-half scores.

Their first TD came with 3:38 left in the third frame when Andrew Morris found Corey Watkins for the 27-yard touchdown. Their PAT left HHS in the lead at 20-7.

Tracker Newberry had the perfect onside kick, with the senior recovering the ball after it traveled 10 yards, giving possession of the ball back to the Warriors.

Goshen didn’t score any points, but later in the fourth quarter the visitors made the game very interesting. Goshen began their second – and final – scoring drive on their own 27-yard line, and following gains of 14 yards and 25 yards, with a few other single-digit scoring drives mixed in, the Warriors scored a 5-yard touchdown on first-and-goal off a rush from Morris with 8:11 left in the game. The PAT failed following a bad hold, leaving Hillsboro ahead by seven points at 20-13.

The Warriors had a final chance to tie the score or take the lead, but HHS junior Ryan Mau had a tackle for loss on third-and-1, and on fourth down Mau and Ayden Clemons combined for a TFL and a 6-yard loss to all but seal the win.

Hillsboro’s offense went into victory formation, earning their first win of the season.

Next for HHS (1-1) is an away game at East Clinton (2-0) starting at 7 p.m.
 

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