Indians win 2 in a row; defeat Miami Trace
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The resurgence of the Hillsboro football program continued on Friday night, and they had what equaled a heavyweight championship fight between the Indians and the Miami Trace Panthers.
This was a game with some old-school running of the football, mixed with some trickery of the passing game where the Indians were left ringing the victory bell in celebration of Senior Night at Richards Memorial Field by a 35-30 score.
"They punched, and we counter punched," Hillsboro head coach Matt Hodge said. "Again, they punched, and we counter punched them. We came up with a big stop at the end.
"I can't say enough about my kids … boy, did they just play."
The big knockout play for the Indians was the final defensive stop by the hosts, with Britton Haines coming up big at cornerback, as the sophomore leaped and broke up a Miami Trace pass on a fourth-and-7 play, forcing a turnover on down and allowing the Indians to get into a victory formation for the second consecutive week.
"Our team has a lot of heart," Hodge said. "Britton came up with the big stop … what a great play by him. Our kids just worked, and we are a resilient team now. Every time they punched, we got back up and went on the attack."
Before the final knockout punch by the Indians, Hillsboro's offensive drive was a thing of beauty as well.
That drive began on their own 20-yard line and chugged away for 80 yards, eventually ending in the end zone here on a third-and-8 play from the MT 10-yard line. Ryan Hagan caught a pass from Hunter Chain for six points and what turned into a final score of 35-30.
The win by the Indians, as they are now 3-6 overall, wasn't easy because both teams played the game with great intensity and battled until that final snap.
Even with the win by the Indians, it was Miami Trace who was first to reach the scoreboard, taking the lead at the home of the Indians on their "blackout night" with the Panthers scoring on a three-yard touchdown run by Larry Jackson with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
Miami Trace's lead didn't last long because the Indians built a 59-yard scoring drive of their own. The drive consisted of positive yardage from Heith Brown, Hunter Chain and Hagan. The drive ended with six points from a 1-yard touchdown run by Chain for a 7-6 score with 11:57 left in the second quarter.
As the second quarter continued, the Indians allowed the Panthers to gain the "big score," as Miami Trace had a 61-yard score with around 6:00 left in the opening quarter. The converted PAT made it a 14-6 Panthers lead.
Again, when the Panthers punched, the Indians took it but were there to give a right hook of their own, and that came with 25.3 left in the second quarter when Chain had another 1-yard trip to the end zone. This time, the Indians went for two points on the PAT, and Chain found Brian Smith for the conversion and a 14-14 score. Smith's catch came in his return to the field, as this was his first game back since Week 2 where he was injured against Goshen.
The score was all even at 14 at halftime, but once the third quarter began, the Panthers were there with yet another jab to the Indians, as they took just five plays to regain the lead, with Devin Bainter racing 11 yards for the touchdown. The PAT by Blake Pittser put the Panthers ahead, 21-14 with 9:22 left in the third.
Like the previous times following the Panthers' score, the Indians picked themselves up, caught their breath, brushed off what happened and put together another scoring drive.
The Indians began this drive at their one 20-yard line, and following a 1-yard gain by Brown, Chain found Haines for a 20-yard completion on a third-and-9 play.
[[In-content Ad]]With the ball on their MT 45-yard line, Chain ran for two yards, then lost two yards, only to see HHS on third-and-10 gain 15 yards on a pass interference call.
The penalty gave the Indians the ball on the Panthers' 30-yard line, and Brown powered his way past the Panthers' defense for 29 yards and a first down. Lane Hester finished off the drive with a 1-yard score with 6:10 left in the quarter. The PAT by Deon Burns left the score all tied up at 21.
Late in the third, the scoring pattern took a U-turn on the Indians and went in favor of the visiting Panthers. Following the Indians getting possession of the ball on their own 2-yard line, the Indians lost a yard, and on a third down play, HHS was called for intentional grounding, as the quarterback was in the end zone when he made the throw. Per the rules, that's an automatic safety against the Indians, giving the Panthers the lead at 23-21 on the two-point score with 1:46 left in the third.
This time, the Indians' defense responded, regaining possession of the ball following a Panthers fumble and coming back with Brown recovering the ball with 1:35 left in the quarter.
With the ball on their own 48-yard line, the Indians wasted no time, as they were able to duck a potential knockout punch by the Panthers, only to deliver an upper cut of their own. On a trick play of sorts, Smith passed the ball to Hagan for 52 yards and a touchdown with 1:27 left in the third. Chain then found Hagan, who jumped to catch a 2-point conversion and stayed in bounds for the points and a 29-23 Hillsboro lead.
This time, the Panthers were the ones who responded when trailing, with Jackson delivering the Panthers' punch in terms of a 20-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Indians' defense with 11:18 left in the fourth. The PAT put MT back in front by a 30-29 score.
Then it was time for the final round between the two South Central Ohio League foes, with Hillsboro being the ones left standing in victory.
HHS began their final drive to pay dirt from their own 20-yard line, where Brown carried the ball for 10 yards. From there, he added four yards on a run, and behind a block by Austin Miller, Chain raced eight yards for a first down.
Brown rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive week, both HHS wins.
"Heith is our workhorse back there," Hodge said. "We go as he goes, and he just worked his tail off. I can't say enough about all my seniors, they just work every day. They come out (Friday) and play like that, they are big leaders for us and they got rewarded for that (Friday)."
The Indians, with the ball on their own 42-yard line, went one yard on a run by Brown, followed by a pass to Hagan for 33 yards and another first down. After a play that lost them a yard, Hagan caught another pass, this one for a 13-yard gain, as Chain rolled out to make the throw.
Chain added another two yards, and on a third down play from their own 10-yard line, Hagan caught his third pass of the drive, this one for six points with 6:12 left in the quarter and the final five-point lead.
The loss drops MT to 2-7 overall with their final game of the season next Friday against the Washington Blue Lions (4-5) at MT. Hillsboro will play in the annual Rotary Bowl, where they will face Highland County rival McClain at MHS. McClain won their first game of the season Friday night, defeating the East Clinton Astros, 28-21.
GAME NOTES: Hillsboro's Josh Keets recovered a kickoff fumble by MT … Andrew Palmer knocked down a fake field goal pass on the final play of the second quarter … Jed Asmus stopped a potential MT first down with a tackle on third down, forcing a punt in the third quarter … Laith Maxwell had a timely tackle on the final drive by MT … Asmus and Connor Lowe forced a fourth-and-three with a combo tackle for no gain … Hagan had a big second down tackle on the final MT drive.
This was a game with some old-school running of the football, mixed with some trickery of the passing game where the Indians were left ringing the victory bell in celebration of Senior Night at Richards Memorial Field by a 35-30 score.
"They punched, and we counter punched," Hillsboro head coach Matt Hodge said. "Again, they punched, and we counter punched them. We came up with a big stop at the end.
"I can't say enough about my kids … boy, did they just play."
The big knockout play for the Indians was the final defensive stop by the hosts, with Britton Haines coming up big at cornerback, as the sophomore leaped and broke up a Miami Trace pass on a fourth-and-7 play, forcing a turnover on down and allowing the Indians to get into a victory formation for the second consecutive week.
"Our team has a lot of heart," Hodge said. "Britton came up with the big stop … what a great play by him. Our kids just worked, and we are a resilient team now. Every time they punched, we got back up and went on the attack."
Before the final knockout punch by the Indians, Hillsboro's offensive drive was a thing of beauty as well.
That drive began on their own 20-yard line and chugged away for 80 yards, eventually ending in the end zone here on a third-and-8 play from the MT 10-yard line. Ryan Hagan caught a pass from Hunter Chain for six points and what turned into a final score of 35-30.
The win by the Indians, as they are now 3-6 overall, wasn't easy because both teams played the game with great intensity and battled until that final snap.
Even with the win by the Indians, it was Miami Trace who was first to reach the scoreboard, taking the lead at the home of the Indians on their "blackout night" with the Panthers scoring on a three-yard touchdown run by Larry Jackson with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
Miami Trace's lead didn't last long because the Indians built a 59-yard scoring drive of their own. The drive consisted of positive yardage from Heith Brown, Hunter Chain and Hagan. The drive ended with six points from a 1-yard touchdown run by Chain for a 7-6 score with 11:57 left in the second quarter.
As the second quarter continued, the Indians allowed the Panthers to gain the "big score," as Miami Trace had a 61-yard score with around 6:00 left in the opening quarter. The converted PAT made it a 14-6 Panthers lead.
Again, when the Panthers punched, the Indians took it but were there to give a right hook of their own, and that came with 25.3 left in the second quarter when Chain had another 1-yard trip to the end zone. This time, the Indians went for two points on the PAT, and Chain found Brian Smith for the conversion and a 14-14 score. Smith's catch came in his return to the field, as this was his first game back since Week 2 where he was injured against Goshen.
The score was all even at 14 at halftime, but once the third quarter began, the Panthers were there with yet another jab to the Indians, as they took just five plays to regain the lead, with Devin Bainter racing 11 yards for the touchdown. The PAT by Blake Pittser put the Panthers ahead, 21-14 with 9:22 left in the third.
Like the previous times following the Panthers' score, the Indians picked themselves up, caught their breath, brushed off what happened and put together another scoring drive.
The Indians began this drive at their one 20-yard line, and following a 1-yard gain by Brown, Chain found Haines for a 20-yard completion on a third-and-9 play.
[[In-content Ad]]With the ball on their MT 45-yard line, Chain ran for two yards, then lost two yards, only to see HHS on third-and-10 gain 15 yards on a pass interference call.
The penalty gave the Indians the ball on the Panthers' 30-yard line, and Brown powered his way past the Panthers' defense for 29 yards and a first down. Lane Hester finished off the drive with a 1-yard score with 6:10 left in the quarter. The PAT by Deon Burns left the score all tied up at 21.
Late in the third, the scoring pattern took a U-turn on the Indians and went in favor of the visiting Panthers. Following the Indians getting possession of the ball on their own 2-yard line, the Indians lost a yard, and on a third down play, HHS was called for intentional grounding, as the quarterback was in the end zone when he made the throw. Per the rules, that's an automatic safety against the Indians, giving the Panthers the lead at 23-21 on the two-point score with 1:46 left in the third.
This time, the Indians' defense responded, regaining possession of the ball following a Panthers fumble and coming back with Brown recovering the ball with 1:35 left in the quarter.
With the ball on their own 48-yard line, the Indians wasted no time, as they were able to duck a potential knockout punch by the Panthers, only to deliver an upper cut of their own. On a trick play of sorts, Smith passed the ball to Hagan for 52 yards and a touchdown with 1:27 left in the third. Chain then found Hagan, who jumped to catch a 2-point conversion and stayed in bounds for the points and a 29-23 Hillsboro lead.
This time, the Panthers were the ones who responded when trailing, with Jackson delivering the Panthers' punch in terms of a 20-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Indians' defense with 11:18 left in the fourth. The PAT put MT back in front by a 30-29 score.
Then it was time for the final round between the two South Central Ohio League foes, with Hillsboro being the ones left standing in victory.
HHS began their final drive to pay dirt from their own 20-yard line, where Brown carried the ball for 10 yards. From there, he added four yards on a run, and behind a block by Austin Miller, Chain raced eight yards for a first down.
Brown rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive week, both HHS wins.
"Heith is our workhorse back there," Hodge said. "We go as he goes, and he just worked his tail off. I can't say enough about all my seniors, they just work every day. They come out (Friday) and play like that, they are big leaders for us and they got rewarded for that (Friday)."
The Indians, with the ball on their own 42-yard line, went one yard on a run by Brown, followed by a pass to Hagan for 33 yards and another first down. After a play that lost them a yard, Hagan caught another pass, this one for a 13-yard gain, as Chain rolled out to make the throw.
Chain added another two yards, and on a third down play from their own 10-yard line, Hagan caught his third pass of the drive, this one for six points with 6:12 left in the quarter and the final five-point lead.
The loss drops MT to 2-7 overall with their final game of the season next Friday against the Washington Blue Lions (4-5) at MT. Hillsboro will play in the annual Rotary Bowl, where they will face Highland County rival McClain at MHS. McClain won their first game of the season Friday night, defeating the East Clinton Astros, 28-21.
GAME NOTES: Hillsboro's Josh Keets recovered a kickoff fumble by MT … Andrew Palmer knocked down a fake field goal pass on the final play of the second quarter … Jed Asmus stopped a potential MT first down with a tackle on third down, forcing a punt in the third quarter … Laith Maxwell had a timely tackle on the final drive by MT … Asmus and Connor Lowe forced a fourth-and-three with a combo tackle for no gain … Hagan had a big second down tackle on the final MT drive.